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First, You were right to have written to the Bank. Now in terms of the next step, I would advice that you write another letter to the bank, notifying them of when and where the incident happened, the letters you have written to them so far, and telling them that you’ll take them to court and ask for a refund and damages should they fail to refund you. The letter may look like this:

(Date)

(Your name)

(Address)

(Email/phone number)

The Branch Manager

(Name of Bank)

(Address)

Dear Sir/Ma

REQUEST FOR REFUND OF DEBIT MADE TO MY ACCOUNT NUMBER ……. ON…….. AT…….

With reference to my letters dated …… and ….. which states that I was debited the sum of …… in your ATM located on…… at……. I write to notify you that it is over (number of weeks/months) now I’m still yet to be refunded.

This is a breach of the duty of care you owe to me as your customer. Kindly note that that should your bank fail to make the said refund within 7 days I will be taking the matter to court and asking for the following:

a. The (sum debited) debited.

b. The sum of N5,000,000.00 as specific damages for …..

c. The sum of N10,000,000.00 as general damages and

d. The sum of N3,500,000.00 as my attorney fees.

I look forward to receiving the said refund within 7 days of your receipt of this letter.

Yours Sincerely,

(Name)

(The above letter may be adopted as a template with the specific details of your case). The amount you seek for damages should also be reasonable.

In conclusion, the failure of your bank to honor your refund request for the unauthorized debit from the failed ATM transaction is a breach of the duty of care your bank owes to you as a customer. Your bank owes you the duty to ensure that both your card and the ATM work as they are supposed to, which is to give you money when you want. Therefore, whenever there is a failure of these services to you then your Bank has the duty to explain to you what happened and make appropriate refunds (where applicable).

Also, some banks have Internal policies within which such refunds are to be made. You may request the customer care of your bank for the timeline to confirm whether or not they have passed the timeline their policy provided for such issues. If they have then it’ll be an added point for you in court. I hope you find this helpful.