The Bank of Butterfield have blamed heavy rain and phone line faults for problems in getting cash from ATMS.

One bank customer, Gareth Thomas, said his cab bill had soared while he fruitlessly hunted for cash early last Sunday morning.

Mr Thomas said: "We got in the cab and then realised we didn't have any money so we had to take a detour to the Flatts ATM on North Shore Road but that was empty.

"Then we went to the Shelly Bay bank but that was empty.

"It cost us another $15 on the usual cab bill and we still didn't have cash so I had to wake up a flat mate to get the money. I just want to know what's going on."

A Bank of Butterfield spokesperson said it was extremely rare for their ATMs to run out of cash.

"If an ATM displays an `unable to dispense cash' message, it likely results from another cause, for instance a breakdown in the telephone line that links the ATM with the Bank."

The spokesman said the bank has a 24-hour computerised monitoring system which automatically detects any fault an ATM may have.

The system automatically contacts a mobile security team to inform them of both the type of fault and ATM location.

The spokesman added: "Our Flatts (4-Star Pizza) ATM has been down for a week because the telephone line is down.

"We have reported the matter to the telephone company and await a resolution.

"We also note that the Collector's Hill and hospital areas can be affected when it rains, as the underground telephone line system in these areas appear susceptible to heavy rain."

The Bank said customers who had have difficulty in processing ATM transactions were welcome to ring and report problems.

A BTC spokesman said heavy rain had also hampered efforts to fix the faulty line but they said a crew was being sent out yesterday (Friday) afternoon to get it sorted.