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Fiona Logie, owner of Yealmpton Stores, near Plymouth, Devon, told Talking Retail she had logged a call about her broken internal ATM five to six weeks ago, but it had still not been repaired.
“About five weeks ago, the machine showed an error and I called the helpdesk. They told me an engineer would come out.
“A few days later, no engineer, so I called them again and was told the company had furloughed a number of staff.
“The last phone call I made to the helpdesk was last Friday. The girl sounded very fed up and said it wasn’t just me, there were a lot of business requiring an engineer and that the problem had been pushed up the line.
“I asked for the name of the managing director or chief executive, but she couldn’t tell me and they have continuously refused to pass me on to someone more senior.”
Other stores in the area have also reported problems with their Cardtronics ATM, as have businesses in other parts of the country.
Spar Tattenhall, in Cheshire, tweeted at the end of May. “Our ATM has been empty for a week because @Cardtronics #cashzone have furloughed their staff.”
TalkingRetail understands that Spar Tattenhall’s machine was eventually filled, but not before the store owners contacted their local MP.
A spokesperson from Cardtronics told TalkingRetail: “We apologise if some of our customers are experiencing a delay in bringing their ATM back online.
“There is currently a backlog of problems caused by the introduction of the new polymer £20 notes, and a spike in demand from businesses that are reopening after the easing of the lockdown.
“Our engineers are working flat out to get to as many customers as quickly as possible.
“Anyone with a machine that is not functioning should log the fault with our service desk and we will ensure the problem is put on to the local engineer’s schedule and is addressed as soon as possible.”
But Logie was not convinced by the latest explanation. She said: “When the £10 notes came in, they didn’t need to do anything to their machines, and to me the £20 notes feel the same as the £10 notes
“I was told they [Cardtronics] had furloughed most of their engineers.”
