Nbc Investigation Into Coin-Counters Short Changing Customers

I don't have experience in using coin counters or in Coinstar (aside from checking the reject slot).

I have gotten rid of a lot of change using self checkout machines, and have not been cheated by them. Yet.

I avoid Coinstar as I don't pay fees to counters.
I've run at least $30-$50K through a nice LaRue that my CU leases and I usually have a good idea of what I have whether it's $50 or $500. If there are issues, the CU will gladly look into and resolve them.

I only have had 1 instance where my machine at my local CU shorted me by a few dollars...I mentioned it and it was resolved. I dump a box or two a week of halves at my local 2 credit unions because I don't want to piss people off too much. I haven't been short changed that I know of (If I have it has been very little), one of my local CU's has a brand new machine that is very quick and efficient.

I have a WF by me that is consistently off. And I tell them politely, not asking for any money,just that they are aware of it and can get it re calibrated, and without fail, they tell me how accurate their machine is and how those pennies (that were actually dimes) were from the customer before me. If they were the previous customers (which they're not, because I end up with something like 749.09), they aren't very accurate, are they?

I'll see what they say now after this article.

Truth.

Good post. I've been thinking of starting a thread about coin counting machine errors for a month as that's when I 1st started using them.

First time at TD the machine shorted me 7 dimes on the 300 I put in and gave me less credit for the pennies I put in. Not absolutely positive about the pennies but felt I counted them correctly. BUT I had counted and weighted the dimes 50 at a time. Never got credit for the shortage.

I started counting and weighing large amts of coins from the start to make sure I didn't make an error. The weight of nickels, dimes & quarters per roll is aways pretty close, perhaps a tenth of a gram difference from one roll to the next. I add and remove a coin now and then and can easily see the change in weight. Pennies can vary greatly due to the pre-82 and post-82 weight difference due to the change in copper composition that year.

Second time it shorted me 2 dimes, I can live with that if it only happened one time ever. It then spit out a penny after the quarters were counted - where'd that penny come from?

Third time it gave me credit for an extra dime and nickel as well as 23 more pennies than I put in.

Forth time it counted $40 in dimes correctly but shorted me on the halves. I asked to have the machine checked as I KNEW I had exactly $60 in halves but I was credited with $59. Sure enough, when the mgr opened the machine we found 2 more halves sitting loose inside.

Fifth time at another TD, the machine shorted me on halves and when it was opened up one half was still stuck on the platter that spins around due to "junk" that was also stuck there. Another simply fell to the floor of the machine and was not counted.

If I get shorted a dime, such is life. If I buy $250 in dimes, cull through them and then deposit $250 in dimes, I want $250 not $240. The bank is banking on my savings, I get 0.25% for interest, they lend it for 3, 4, 5%? Banks are not hurting. Creative accounting may fool you into believing they are. Figures don't lie, but liars figure.

I now routinely ask for help if the coin count is off, they always help. I also make sure I take all the change left by other customers - no matter what the country of origin is, so I can make sure I stay ahead of the game. $5 in foreign change so far. I can spend it at grocery stores or perhaps find some place that exchanges currency. Can't lose anything, the coins were left by other customers who didn't want them.

The CU that I bank at has a coin machine, always dead on - until the last time I used it, shorted me a half. The teller just laughed and said they'd credit me with it "if" they found it later, never got any credit.

So it pays to count big dollar amts, all these machines can jam. I've found all kinds of "junk" in the coin return. One mgr found an aluminum washer stuck in place on the platter holding coins back. An exacto blade was found stuck to the magnet. Be careful when you stick your fingers in to retrieve coins.

What I don't like about TD's machines, is they do not show an actual count until after they print the receipt. The other machines I've used give you a running count, I know an error occurred before the receipt prints and can ask for help.

Some advice (from a TD mgr) to help you out. The next time, before you pour in change, let the machine cycle once w/o any coins being put inside. If something is stuck in the mechanism, it may dislodge.

Also, I now put pennies through first, even if it's only 50 cents. Hoping that if something is stuck in place, the pennies will dislodge it. I'd rather be a few pennies short on the first count and then get correct counts on the nickels, dimes, quarters and halves afterwards. I also put more pennies through after the halves to make sure the halves all fall through.

CoinStar machines have been "suspect" for a long time. Things just don't seem quite right and when they jam up even funnier things seem to happen.

Surprisingly, I have NEVER had an issue with coin counts at casinos in Nevada.