Western Union Takes My Money - Doesn't Give Back

I wanted to send my friend some money for some contract work he did for me. He works abroad in places like Shanghai, East Germany, and Canada where I met him. On Sept 20, 2008, I went to Western Unions website and did the online transfer -- I paid with my credit card. This was my first time using their service. The final step is to phone them in person to have the transfer approved. So we went over my transfer over the phone, and I was declined! No idea why. He told me i'd get an email and that was it. Nothing was mentioned what would happen to my $316.00.

I assumed it would be like any other business -- they would simply credit my credit card and the balance would show a couple days later.

So, a couple days later, I phoned again. Where is my money? The rep said "oh, your money is on a 1 month hold". Ok. So I believed him. 1 month hold. Just have patience. So, I put the issue on the backburner -- afterall, I'd have to wait almost 1-2 months to see any credit on my credit card summary.

Christmas came around and I was gone for a week or two, so it wasn't until mid-Jan that i remembered. The issue is still not resolved. I didn't see any credit from Western Union on my creditcard transaction summary in November or December. So i phoned them again. I was told that they'd put in a request to have someone phone me after 48 hours. No one ever did. So I phoned them yet again. I was told the same thing.

By this time, I had had enough of Western Union. They sounded unprofessional and incompetent. They were telling me that they had nothing on file. I didn't trust anything they said at this point. Everything was lies, and deceptive. So no one ever phoned me -- so I phoned yet again. This time a rep told me that I'd have to "contest it" with my bank -- the one that issued my credit card. So, i wrote my bank an email. I got an email back, days later stating it was my creditcard company I had to contact. So I contacted my credit card company, and they replied back to me, stating that because the transfer had occured more than 100 days ago, they couldn't do anything about it, and I'd have to take it up with "the merchant": Western Union.

Oh gawd. So, I've emailed western union about a thousand times -- no reply. So that's it. Western Union has stolen $316.00 from me. It's amazing how it's legal for these big companies to steal from people.

I will never ever do business with these crooks again. And I have half a mind to write a letter to the grocery-store where I shop, to get the western union out of there. Why are these crooks everywhere? If that happened to me, it must be happening to other people! I don't use their service often. That was my first time. And last time!

Please don't patronize crooks like Western Union. They should be shut down because they think they are above the law.

Comment On This

I am currently undergoing a very similar situation. I sent my daughter $200. The money was to go to Valrico, Fl in the Tampa Bay area. The next day when she went to get it there was no record of it. I called Western Union and was told she had picked up the money in Miami Beach at 11:32 that morning. But, she was in Tampa at 11:51 to try to pick it up. She has verification from the company she went to that she was there. There is no humanly way she could have been in Miami Beach at 11:32 and in Tampa at 11:51. I have not been able to get Western Union to help me with this. I have emailed 3 times with no reply. When I call the "customer service" dept.I am told she already picked it up and I have to go thru the entire story again. Then they tell me that someone will contact her to discuss and verify. I have spoke with the fraud department now 4 times. Each time they tell me someone will call the next day. Well no one ever does. I am now going to file a complaint with my state Attorney General's office. These people are so horrible to deal with. They must be making a nice sum of money. I have been told by several establishments that also handle Western Union that it had to have been a Western Union employee who took the money. I know I will never see my $200 again. PEOPLE BEWARE.