Last Friday, I withdrew from my bank's ATM somewhere in Manila. The machine was not responding as quickly as it normally should. After one minute, an error message popped up and it gave me back my card. The thing is, when I did a balance inquiry, it deducted the amount which it never dispensed. Bummer! This has happened to me so many times. During the first couple of times, I freaked out because the funds in my account were the only ones I had. Good thing I had extra cash this time around.

When this happens to you, first thing you need to do is CALM DOWN. your money isn't going anywhere. The bank won't give it to you ASAP but they will eventually. It's important to follow these steps:

1. Do a quick balance inquiry to confirm if the amount was indeed debited.

2. Get the receipts from the failed withdrawal as well as the balance inquiry that followed.

3. Call the 24-hr bank hotline, choose the 'Lost card' option to get to an agent quickly. Give him or her your card number, bank account number and other pertinent details such as the ATM bramch, time of withdrawal, etc.

4. Get a reference or case number.

Other tips: 

- Always get a receipt when making a withdrawal.

- If possible, transact only with your bank's ATM. Other banks may take longer to investigate and give your money back after a couple of weeks.

- If something appears to be wrong with the machine, don't even attempt to make a transaction.

Unfortunately, this is a case of shit happens. Just remember to keep calm and remember all the transaction details when this happens.