Stories published in my book "Para Vivir Seguros" (2005) If you missed the previous story, here it is: #569877

As she did every midday, Mrs. Morella Vásquez was rushing around. She picked up her kids from school, took them to the apartment, fed them lunch, gave instructions to the housekeeper, dropped the kids off at their afternoon activities, and then dashed off to her job as an executive at a well-known advertising agency. That afternoon she was in even more of a hurry because she needed to pay the lady who did her laundry and ironing. She parked her Renault Scenic SUV double-parked in front of her bank, told the kids not to touch anything and to stay calm, and ran to the ATM.

Fortunately, there was no line. She looked in her purse for her card, checked that the kids and the SUV were fine, inserted the plastic card into the slot and withdrew it, but she felt something different than usual, as if the card didn’t hit a stopping point. Without pausing to think, she tried the operation again, but to her surprise, the card didn’t encounter any resistance and slid entirely into the slot. Only the edge remained visible, impossible to pull out with her fingers.

“What a great prank,” she muttered.

She looked again at the kids and the SUV. She wondered what she could do. On the screen, in digital letters, there was a number to call for any complaints. She was about to take out a pen to write it down when a man who had been standing two meters away, talking on a cell phone, approached her. He was a man of about forty, elegantly dressed in a gray suit, blue shirt, and matching tie.

“What happened, ma'am?” “I don’t know... I don’t know what’s wrong with this machine...” “Did it keep your card?” “Yes. I don’t understand... I put it in and now it won’t come out...” “The same thing just happened to me. Darn, I was on the phone and didn’t notice you arriving. Otherwise, I would have warned you. Look, I’m on the phone with the bank to report what happened... These things need to be reported immediately. If you want, you can talk to them now... Hello, friend, I’m going to pass the phone to a lady who just had the same problem as me...”

The man handed her the small cell phone. Mrs. Morella Vásquez took it and put it to her ear.

“Hello?” “ATM Services. How can we help you, ma'am?” “Ah, look, I’m here at one of your ATMs that swallowed my card. There’s no way to get it back.” “Did you perform any transaction?” “No. I couldn’t do anything. I inserted the card and...” “Yes. We are receiving reports of this type of failure at some ATMs. But don’t worry, we will block your card and you can pick up a new one the day after tomorrow at the main branch... Can I have your name, please?” “Mrs. Morella Vásquez de Castro.” “Can you give me your card’s access code…”

Mrs. Vásquez gave the information. Nervously, she turned to check that the kids were okay... The operator kept giving her instructions.

“Very well, ma'am, from this moment your card is blocked. Please come by the main branch in two days. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

Mrs. Vásquez briefly thanked the kind man with the cell phone, ran back to her SUV thinking that she would now have to figure out how to pay the laundry lady in cash. With so many activities occupying her, she forgot about the matter and didn’t go to the bank the next day. She trusted that the card was blocked and preferred to wait a few days to retrieve it. But two days later, she received an alarming phone call.

“Hello, Mrs. Morella, I’m calling from the butcher shop. Look, the check you gave us on Saturday bounced...” “But that can’t be... I have funds...” “Well, I don’t know... That’s what they told me at your bank...”

Mrs. Morella Vásquez managed to find time to go to her bank branch. She requested the balance of her checking account. She was stunned to see the slip the teller handed her. She requested the most recent transactions on the account. She was puzzled to see that all the transactions were ATM withdrawals dated the day the machine had swallowed her card. Now she sensed that something unusual had happened. She knew the assistant manager of the branch. She waited until she could talk to him. She explained what had happened and complained that those transactions couldn’t be possible because her card was supposed to be canceled and blocked from that very date. The assistant manager entered the data into the system, then contacted the card services department. He made a troubled face.

“Mrs. Vásquez, they’re telling me that your card is active. It was never blocked...” “But that can’t be... I spoke with the bank myself...” “How did you report it?” “Well, a very kind man lent me his cell phone and I...” “Look, ma'am... It’s best you go to the Central Office, talk to the Security department, and explain exactly what happened...”