Bank Lippo's Cirrus frustrating

I am holder of a Lippo ATM card bearing the Cirrus and Alto logos No.705-15-01676-1. On Jan. 6, I withdrew Rp 400,000 from the Bank Seri Partha ATM with the Cirrus logo at Legian in Bali. The machine only produced a slip stating the amount withdrawn but not the balance of my account. On Jan 7, I made another withdrawal at Bank Nasional Indonesia bearing the Cirrus logo. The amount was Rp 300,000. The slip mentioned a debit of Rp 640,000.

Back in Jakarta I contacted the Lippo Card Center. They explained to me that each rupiah withdrawal through Cirrus is converted into U.S. dollars using the prevailing exchange rate. It also applies to me although my savings account is in rupiah.

My first withdrawal entailed a debit of Rp 600,648 inclusive of the conversion with an extra Rp 20,000 for the ATM transaction fee; my second withdrawal cost me Rp 403,949 plus Rp 20,000. So, the two withdrawals amounting to Rp 700,000 led to a debit of Rp 1,044,598.

I felt the transactions were extremely disadvantageous to me, further, when I applied for the ATM card Bank Lippo did not inform me at all about this system. Only after my complaint to the bank, did a Bank Lippo staff member, Ibu Krisna, give me an explanation of the two systems determined by the bank management. She advised me to use Alto instead of Cirrus.

Frankly speaking I feel cheated by Bank Lippo. If the management has set the rules, why have they not taken preventive measures to guard their own customers against loss? I am sure not all holders of Lippo ATM cards with the Cirrus logo are aware of the debit system. Bank Lippo should not cover up its system and must start explaining when cases have occurred.

IKE HASNA DEWI

Jakarta