CDM Complaint Letter — Cash Deposit Not Credited
A complaint to your bank when cash deposited in a cash deposit machine was not credited, or was credited short.
Details
cdm money not credited complaint letterRed highlights mark what is still blank. Everything stays on this device.
Dear Sir / Madam,
I hold account no. [account no.] with your bank. On [date], I deposited ₹ [amount] in the cash deposit machine [machine ID and location]. The machine accepted the cash but my account was not credited.
| Date and time | [date] |
| Machine | [machine ID and location] |
| Amount deposited | ₹ [amount] |
| Amount credited | ₹ 0 |
I request you to check the machine’s records and the cash found when it was balanced, and to credit [the amount not credited] to my account at the earliest. Please give me an acknowledgment with the complaint number.
Enclosures: copy of the machine slip; copy of my account statement for that day.
Thanking you.
What is a CDM Complaint Letter?
A CDM complaint letter tells your bank that cash you fed into a cash deposit machine was not credited to your account, or was credited short. It gives the bank what it needs to trace the deposit: the machine ID and location, the date and time, the amount, and the slip or transaction number. Without a written complaint and a complaint number, you have no record of when you reported the problem, and nothing to take further if the bank goes quiet.
Account holders use it when a machine counts and accepts the notes, then shows an error, freezes, prints no slip, or prints a slip for the right amount while the account shows nothing. It also covers part-credits, where some of the notes seem to vanish, and deposits made for someone else — a shopkeeper paying in the day's takings, a parent depositing into a student's account. Most people ring customer care first; the letter or email that follows turns the call into a formal complaint on record, with the evidence attached.
There is no fixed RBI deadline for crediting a failed CDM deposit. RBI's 2019 turnaround-time framework covers failed ATM cash withdrawals and card transactions, not CDM deposits, so each bank sets its own timeline; ask your bank, and read the grievance redressal policy on its website. If the bank does not reply within 30 days, rejects the complaint or replies unsatisfactorily, you can go to the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021. Outside India the route after the bank differs: the Financial Ombudsman Service in the UK, AFCA in Australia, the CFPB in the US.
The letter records the problem and asks the bank to investigate and credit the money. It does not oblige the bank to pay by a particular date, and it is not a legal notice. It is for cash deposit machines only: a failed ATM withdrawal, a card transaction debited but declined, or a UPI transfer that never arrived each follows different rules and needs its own complaint. If you suspect fraud rather than a machine fault — someone else using your card at the machine, say — tell the bank at once and report it to the police as well.
What to put in a CDM Complaint Letter
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Your name | For example: Ramesh Kumar Naidu |
| Account number | Many people show only the last four digits |
| Bank | For example: State Bank of India |
| Home branch | For example: Guntur Main Branch |
| Branch address optional | For example: Kothapet, Guntur 522001 |
| Machine ID and location | For example: CDM S1NW000123, Brodipet ATM lobby |
| Date of deposit | Free text |
| Time of deposit | For example: 7:45 p.m. |
| Amount deposited | For example: 25,000 |
| Amount credited to the account | For example: 0 |
| Transaction or slip number optional | For example: Txn no. 4471 (on the machine slip) |
| What happened | Free text |
| Anything else the bank should know optional | For example: The machine printed a slip showing the deposit, but no SMS came and the amount does not… |
| Phone number | For example: +91 98480 00000 |
How to write a CDM Complaint Letter
Address the home branch with account details
Write to the Branch Manager of the branch that holds your account, with the bank's name and the branch address, and mention any complaint you have already made to customer care. Give your name, account number and registered phone number. A subject line such as ‘Cash deposited in CDM not credited to account’ gets the letter to the right desk without anyone having to read it twice.
Identify the machine and the moment
Give the machine ID, which is printed on a sticker on the machine and often on the slip, and the location — ‘the CDM outside the Brodipet branch, Guntur’, to take an example. Then give the date and the time of the deposit as exactly as you can. The bank traces a deposit by checking the machine's cash when it is next balanced, and these details are how it finds yours.
State the amounts deposited and credited
Give the amount you put in, with the notes if you remember them — twenty notes of ₹500, for example — and the amount actually credited, which may be nothing. Add the transaction or slip number. Setting the two figures side by side shows the bank the exact shortfall it is looking for, and heads off a reply that treats a part-credit as settled.
Describe exactly what the machine did
Describe the sequence: the notes were counted and accepted, then the screen showed an error; or the slip printed the full amount but no SMS came; or some notes came back and the rest were kept. Add anything else the bank should know — a photo of the screen, a guard or staff member who saw it, another customer with the same problem. Keep it factual and short.
Attach evidence and get a complaint number
Enclose copies of the slip, a photo of the machine ID, the account statement for the day and the SMS, or a note that none arrived; keep the originals. Ask the bank to credit the amount and reply in writing, and record the complaint number and date. If there is no reply within 30 days, or the complaint is rejected, you can take it to the RBI Ombudsman through cms.rbi.org.in.
Common mistakes
- Leaving the machine without the slip, the time or the machine ID, which leaves the bank little to trace the deposit with.
- Waiting days before reporting, which lets the details blur and delays the check that would find the money.
- Not getting a complaint number, which leaves you unable to show when you complained, even though the Ombudsman's time limits run from that complaint or the bank's reply.
- Quoting an RBI deadline or daily compensation for CDM deposits, which the bank will point out does not apply, weakening the rest of your letter.
- Going straight to the RBI Ombudsman without complaining to the bank first, which the scheme is not designed for and which gets the complaint turned back.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do if my money is stuck in a CDM?
Before leaving the machine, photograph the screen and the machine ID, and keep any slip. Report it at once to your home branch or customer care and get a complaint number. Then send a written complaint giving the date, time, machine ID and location, the amount deposited and credited, and the slip number. Keep the account statement for the day and the SMS, or note that none came.
How long does a CDM deposit take to reflect?
A deposit that goes through normally shows in the account straight away, with an SMS. For a failed or short-credited deposit there is no fixed RBI deadline: RBI's 2019 turnaround-time framework covers failed ATM withdrawals and card transactions, not CDM deposits. Each bank sets its own timeline for tracing the money once the machine is balanced, so ask for it when you register the complaint and note what you are told.
How do I write a complaint letter to the bank manager for a CDM deposit not credited?
Address the Branch Manager of your home branch. Give your name, account number and phone, then the machine ID and location, the date and time, the amount deposited, the amount credited and the transaction or slip number. Describe what the machine did, enclose the slip, a photo of the machine ID, the statement and the SMS, and ask for the amount to be credited, with a written reply and a complaint number.
Can I complain to the RBI if my bank does not respond?
Yes, under the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021, at cms.rbi.org.in, once you have complained to the bank and it has not replied within 30 days, has rejected the complaint or has given an unsatisfactory reply. The complaint generally has to be filed within one year of the bank's reply, or within one year and 30 days of your complaint if there was no reply. Check the current scheme before filing.
What details do I need for a CDM complaint?
Your name, account number, bank and home branch; the machine ID and its location; the date and time of the deposit; the amount deposited and the amount credited; the transaction or slip number; and a short account of what the machine did. Keep the slip, a photo of the machine ID, the account statement for the day, and the SMS or a note that none arrived, along with the complaint number.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.