It’s every bank account holder’s secret dream: that an ATM will suddenly start giving out free cash.
It actually happened in Eccles on Sunday 6 March.
From around 4pm to 9pm a faulty Royal Bank of Scotland cash machine on Church Street doled out hundreds of pounds in unaccounted £10 notes.
Readers contacted SalfordOnline.com to tell us of the unexpected windfall.
One enterprising man, who wishes to remain anonymous, told how word of mouth spread quickly in local pubs.
“I was watching Manchester United play West Bromwich Albion in Eccles and was cheesed off with the 1-0 loss to say the least,” he said.
“I was cheered up when a mate came up to me and said there was an ATM that had been loaded up incorrectly and had no £10 notes.
“He’d typed in for a £10 withdrawal and got £20, while other people were making transactions of £50 and getting £60 instead.”
When account holders checked their bank details later, the extra £10 withdrawals had not been counted.
The source continued: “People were flocking to the machine to see if it was true.
“I walked over the road to see if it was right and there were a queue of people lining up, I saw one lad make about eight £10 withdrawals who received an extra £80.
“Some even withdrew money and then got a receipt to see if the full amount had been debited from their account.
“Sure enough, it only showed the amount typed in and not the amount they received.
“I have no idea how long this went on for, as word had soon got around and I should imagine that the bank’s computer system would have noticed all these sudden cash withdrawals.
“A lot of people were celebrating their luck in the pubs with their bonus windfall, and saying that the banks were to blame in the first place.”
The cash machine is managed by Welsh firm NoteMachine, who operate over 8,000 ATMs across the UK and Germany.
In a statment NoteMachine said: “The machine was erroneously configured for £20 notes rather than £10 notes for dispensing.
“This was identified by a user, to whom we are very grateful, after a period of around four hours.”
A spokesperson for The Royal Bank of Scotland said they were unable to comment as the cash machine was remotely managed by NoteMachine.
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