Ming the Mechanic:
Western Union sucks
The NewsLog of Flemming Funch
 Western Union sucks2006-07-22 14:42
246 comments
picture by Flemming Funch

Yesterday I needed to make an important payment, with money I had in my U.S. account. Without thinking it through very well, I decided that the fastest way of getting the money over here was Western Union. "Money in Minutes", you know. Had I thought it through better, I'd have realized that the easiest thing is just to ask my bank to increase my cash advance limit, and then take them out in an ATM. As I'd have to use the same cash advance limit to make a Western Union payment. But I didn't think that through at first.

So, I got my bank to make $1000 available, and went to the Western Union website, and ordered the wiring of the money. And it said it had been ordered, but before the money would be available, I'd need to call them to answer some security questions.

Now, it has been a lot in the news recently that Western Union has blocked money transfers for anybody with an Arab name, in some misguided attempt of hindering the funding of terrorists. Which sucks if you're one of the millions of innocent people named Mohammed. But that doesn't really apply to me.

But it turned out that they've implemented a new elaborate security verification scheme. Which consists of asking me questions based on what they've found in the public record about me. They asked me about 10 different multiple-choice questions. They were basically two kinds: 1. giving me a list of domain names and asking if I've registered any of them, and if so which one, or whether I just don't recognize any of them. 2. giving me a list of addresses, and asking me whether I've had any relation to them, and if so what city they're in, chosen from multiple choices, or whether I don't recognize any of them.

I own lots of domains. But yet they gave me several lists of domains I'd never heard of, which I told them. And they gave me lists of addresses I didn't recognize. Except for one, which was an address I used to have a mailbox at, 15 years ago. And then they gave me a list of 5 cities, to identify which one would go with the address. The problem was that my address at East Broadway was in Glendale, California. But the choices were "Los Angeles", "Riverside", "San Bernardino", and a couple more. I explained that to the operator, that there must be some mistake, the address I recognized was in Glendale, and not in any of those, but if I had to choose one of them, the closest would be Los Angeles.

So, then after all 10 questions like that, he informs me that, sorry, but I don't pass the Western Union expanded security requirements. Which, obviously, are screwed up somehow. Essentially they take the kind of stuff that is in one's credit record, or in domain registrations, and if there's anything that happens to be a bit incorrect, or wrong, or one doesn't remember one's address of 15 years ago, one is out of luck.

Now, the problem is also that they already took my money. I.e. they charged a $1000 cash advance from my account when I ordered the money transfer, which registered on my account immediately. And now the guy says he'll cancel the transaction, but that it is no concern of his how and when my bank responds to that.

A call to my bank, after they opened a number of hours later, reveals that all they see is that I spent $1000 with Western Union, and if anything would be reversed, they'd estimate that it might take 2 or 3 business days. Which in itself is ridiculous, of course. If you can do an instant subtraction, you can of course just as easily do an instant addition. But that is often not how banks work. I can spend my money instantly, but if, say, I do a wire transfer between countries, it takes 5-7 business days. There's no good excuse for that, of course. Anyway, in this case the problem is that my $1000 instead of being transferred "in minutes" got locked up for a few days, and I've already spent my maximum cash advance limit for the day, and despite that there were more money in my account, there was no way of getting at them that day. Oh, I could have gone and bought a huge dinner with it, and VISA would have charged it instantly, but that's a different matter.

So, what sucks? Well, Western Union is really cumbersome, has a dysfunctional set of security requirements, and operators who's job it seems to be to give you a hard time, rather than helping you. And if they don't want your transaction, they keep your money for several days more anyway. Which might well be because the banking system sucks.


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246 comments

24 Jul 2006 @ 03:36 by Lois @138.88.148.37 : Western Union does indeed Suck
I support missions and penpals in Africa, and have transferred amounts as much as up to $4000 or more. I got questioned as if they were gustapo, and then after I explained to them what transfer was for. They still stopped transfer at point of delivery and asked that I call FBI and explain to them. I complied and sent answers. They still would not allow it to go. There was no terrorism involved. I am not an ex-offender and don't like being treated as one. It was not for drugs. I simply refused to send them another explanation. I will never use them again for anything.  

27 Aug 2006 @ 04:53 by steve lipshitz @68.154.153.143 : w.u sucks
tried something similar with my credit card. tried to send 553$ to the philippines and got the 3rd degree. they ended up charging my credit card the monies and afterthat said they were putting an "authorization hold "on the transaction and told me "they didnt do business like that" i think they thought it could have been gambling related. i was floored. they said they would cotact my credit card in 24 hours and tell them the charge didnt go thru (yea right) and my card would be credited the full amount. unbelievable. interested to see how this one plays out. done with w. u. what a screwjob  

31 Aug 2006 @ 21:22 by Me too... @165.154.46.146 : Western Union so-called 'Security'
Me too. I was sending some money to the Philippines to fund terrorism, or maybe it was to help pay my wife's relative's medical bills... ...It must have been one or the other (note to morons - that's a joke).

I got the stupidest-excuse for a security questioning that I'd ever experienced.

The hapless operator went away for at least 6 or 7 minutes and then came back and started asking stupid questions. Said my telephone number didn't match my address (it does, and has since forever). After some back and forth she agreed to allow the transaction. I told her that her "Public Records" weren't worth a heap of dung at a pig farm.

Security that is so darn stupid does nothing for anyone. All it does is piss-off honest (non-terrorist) people. What is the freaking point of it all?

Other issues with Western Union:

No humans in the 1-800 system. None at all. Not even one.

Webpage makes math errors and mixes up currencies.

Complaint form on the Contact Us is totally ignored.

PS: I've got all these complaints documented.  

2 Sep 2006 @ 18:47 by Richard Marquart @68.99.130.160 : Western Union SUCKS,WTF, Send the MONEY
I have been sending money to China for the last 6 months buying NFL apperal and haning it shipped here to the States. Everything has been working just fine except for this last money transfer. I tried to send 1160.00USD and my receiver told me he could not pickup the money. It turns out I have been "Flagged", is what they called it; and am never allowed to use western union services again is what their security support told me. WTF Chuck? While on the phone with security support they would not tell me why I was flagged, only I could never use their services again. After repeated attempts to find out what I have done wrong they told me I could write a letter to their office and they would respond in writing. They told me they couldn't tell me what was wrong because it would be a breach of security! OK. I smell B.S.
I stand behind our country in the fight against terror, but this is complete B.S.
If you have any stories please post them to let people know what CRAP this situation is.  

5 Sep 2006 @ 21:22 by John Chris @65.8.28.140 : SAME HERE
I experience exactly the same thing. A friend had an emergency in Santo Domingo (was mugged and had no money even to eat). I tried sending money and after all the security questions the transaction was denied. Basically told to go to a local retailer to send the money. But now I was screwed because the money was placed on a hold and it would take 3-5 business days to be released.
I explained my situation to them and it was like talking to a brickwall.. Basically treated like human garbage.
I have used them in the past atleast over 10 times. The agents response was that NO! I have never used them. They refused to offer any kind of assistance whatsoever. I had to call my bank and the agent was nice enough to place a conference call to their accounting department to release the hold on the funds. You cant even complain on their CONTACT US link on their site!! The text box doesnt allow enough characters. It saddens me to see how others in here have experience similar problems. But I hope more and more people read this so others can see how WESTERN UNION conducts business.  

2 Oct 2006 @ 19:02 by russell @12.0.177.36 : Western Union
What a hassle. The web based transfer, includes an address book.
But guess what, the fields it stores the names in are long enough
For any normal Spanish surname. So it cuts the name off without warning.
Not a bib problem if you catch the mistake. But is was a big problem for my recipient.
She had to travel a long way to make the pickup, and them could not receive the
Money because the middle name was missing two letters.
She instant messengeedr me, from an internet café. (only 5 blocks away) And I was able to correct the problem in less than one hour, unfortunately the delay caused my friend to travel (walking mostly) home after dark. Very scary when anyone seeing you leave the Western Union office, would know you are carrying money.  

7 Oct 2006 @ 10:06 by Little Dragon @74.114.149.248 : Western Union Sucks
Western Union Sucks. THE WESTERN UNION WEBSITE SHOULD BE TAKEN DOWN. They should have a disclaimer on their site before sending "instant" money online, saying that you should be careful, there is a security system in place that will most likely decline you from sending any money, YET will still tie up your money up due to authorization holds for "upto 15 days".
Why can't they attempt their stupid verification process BEFORE putting a hold on your credit card? People send money via western union and pay this rediculous FEE for this reason: it's fast and convenient. Tieing up people's money like this is BULLSHIT. IT DEFEATS THE VERY PURPOSE OF USING WESTERN UNION IN THE FIRST PLACE. Sadly, some people, including myself, learn the hard way: NEVER USE WESTERN UNION'S WEBSITE TO "INSTANTLY" SEND MONEY.
Send your money instantly. Yeah right. Instantly into a black hole, that is.  

28 Oct 2006 @ 14:50 by statesmc @72.255.1.46 : Western Union Sucks!!!!
You are so right. I am just a normal American who tried to send money to a friend the other day, from state to state, and they refused after I answered every single question and verified to them who I was. I urge everyone on this website to go to craigslist.com, go to rants and raves and tell everyone what you think of Western Union. Also write their CEO/PRESIDENT and tell her what you think:
Christina A. Gold
CEO/President Corporate Headquarters
P.O Box 6992 G
Greenwood Village Colorado
80155-6992  

9 Nov 2006 @ 05:50 by Elizabeth Reyes @67.10.222.129 : Western Union
How can they submit a transaction to your bank then decide that you dont meet the criteria and reject the transfer. That is what happened to me, I submitted a request online and they declined the transfer after they put the funds on hold in my account, so the money that was needed in an emergency was not available. and they would not contact my bank to confirm that the online transaction was declined, the response was I have to wait 2-3 days for the
funds to become available, so much for emergency cash.....Is there a way to complain about this type of service?  

9 Nov 2006 @ 17:02 by Mak @205.160.53.142 : Agreed!
Wow worst customer experience ever with western union online.... What a bunch of idiots whoever deigned that system. I'm thinking of a law suite to get their attention  

18 Nov 2006 @ 04:06 by Johnny Delgado @172.163.223.115 : WESTERNUNION is making Money out of it!
That is exactly what happend to me!
i tried to do westerunion.com but i failed to pass thier stupid verification system (which i dunno where that freakin stupid information about me came from.)
i cant get money from my creditcard because my maximum cash advance limit have already been reached without ME having the money :S
F****ng Westernunion! i think they have rolled over my hard-earned money to investments that profits them b4 returning it back to my account after 3days :S
they should be SUED!!!  

3 Dec 2006 @ 02:18 by Alisha @70.46.24.2 : Happened to me too....
I'm so sad to see that this is normal procedure for Western Union. My niece was vacationing in Jamaica and had an asthma attack. She had never had this before and went to a local hospital. The problem is, there you have to pay for services before you can be treated. She called me from the hospital barely able to breath and I went online to Western Union.com. I sent my last $150.00 on my bank debit card. Well, they canceled the transaction because of some stupid verification error. It was a Saturday and there was nothing I could do but go around and beg for some money to send at the local agent. It was Craaaaaazy and they are lucky my niece is okay. I will never use them again!  

6 Dec 2006 @ 09:45 by Sklyer @70.68.66.136 : SAME THING!!!
I tired to Western Union money to someone in CHINA a month ago. I didn't realize how shitty Western Union was online, so i transfered about 500 usd with my credit card to them online. And then i call them declined cause I told them i didn't know the person personally. I try again then ext day not knowing that i would still be in their system and so i called them again and they declined me again. No biggie i just get my buddy to do it. So a couple days later i check my credit card bill and there in two seperate paymnets were my Western Union transaction totalling 1000 USD. So i call up my visa and they tell me i should give Western Union a call, i call up Western Union and ask them about it and they say it's not their fault it's my banks fault for not refunding me the money right away. I spend an hour trying to get her to admit it was Western Unions fault but failed. So i called up my bank again and finally got someone who know something about this. Turns out it was Western Unions fault and that the money was going to be credit to me ( it took over 2 weeks) but due to the fact that Western Union is slow as fuck to refund it right away i was in limbo and was out of possibly 1000 usd. FUCK WESTERN UNION AND THEIR RETARDED FEE's  

7 Dec 2006 @ 00:07 by WU is a piece of shit @216.165.227.190 : FUCK WU
my dad transfered money to US from indonesia in the amount of 3500. A few days after depositing the check, my mom finds out that her account has been frozen because of fraudulent check. The bank cannot verify the check that was made by western union. Actually it was 4 checks. My bank tells me to call WU and ask them for a letter. The WU tells me to tell the bank to call them. And finally, the fraud department says that WU needs to write a letter saying the check is fine. I called WU about the checks, although they say it is fine, they still cannot send a letter saying so to my bank. I am currently still in the middle of this problem. I dont know why the checks cannot be cleared. My account is blocked and if i cannot get a letter from WU, my account will be closed and I wont be able to re open a new account.  

9 Dec 2006 @ 07:45 by Glitter @75.35.1.226 : Western Union sucks for sure
Had I known, I could not have spoiled my evening by going to western union online service... After provided control number and money taken from my bank account, I received a notification to call customer service. As everyone else, was appalled by the phone customer service representative, supervisor, and online system. Where are the brains of Western Union to have such poorly drafted questions? Walmart and other wire transfer services should push them out of business. I was asked many questions than what DMV, my banks, Uncle Sam, car dealer, real estate agent, and/or employer request from me. Buying a million dollar house does not generate such non-ending, time-consuming and frustrating verification questions. Wake up Western Union and smell the coffee. What is this questioning ABOUT? Uncle Sam on my tax preparation does not ask me all my past addresses, counties I HAVE lived, initials of people I have sent money in the past, security questions, social security numbers... Then what is left to prove for a mere $346 transaction? How are customers protected when Western Union employers have access to all personal information? And every time, I verified when the game is gonna end, only to be told the transaction will be cancelled. Stop intimidating customers.

They already took out the money from my bank account to earn some interest  

9 Dec 2006 @ 17:41 by mrs .linda ogechi owoh @213.255.201.52 : urgent anttention needed
i'm a member of the british council in nigeria and i love the passion for helping the poor woman especially.the widdow woman in my country who have too under go pains and sufferings?in other to make their childern go too school and so on .
so have take it up on my own too set up a non goverment organsiation.called helping the woman in need(h.w.n)and my loveing husband has being a good support in the project .but i still the some money to make the organsiaton a remakable one for all women of problems.
so the amount is 4,000 pounds to be send through the western union money transfer in the next two days from now location is nigeria and my name are mrs.linda ogechi owoh. ceo founder of helping the woman in need (h.w.n) thanks i await your responce to my request, kind regards .
(mrs.)linda o. owoh  

9 Dec 2006 @ 18:16 by ming : Nigerian Scam
Hm, I didn't expect to see Nigerian 419 scams here.  

15 Dec 2006 @ 01:02 by nicolette stepro @172.162.196.187 : western union refuses e-bay
Jesus frakking christ. paypal doesn't do rmb, bookmoneysomething or other doesn't mastercard or discover, bank transfer costs 49, and western union are bunch of apparant frak-ups! what is the frakking deal here?  

18 Dec 2006 @ 16:57 by Derrick @68.35.41.154 : Waiting for Refund
Hmmm, somewhat disheartening to see that I'm not the only one who's had problems with the BUMS at Western Union. I sent $100 on 12/7 to my mother using the website. Everything was fine until my mom called to say she lost her ID. I then had to cancel the website transaction and send her $100 in person so she could pick up via test question instead of using her ID. Well, they say that they canceled the transaction and processed a refund. According to both them and my bank that should result in me seeing the money back in my account (less the $20 fee of course :( ) in 1-3 business days. Well, here we are at 12/18 and I've still not seen SQUAT in terms of a refund. And multiple exhausting calls have produced absolutely NO results. This little incident has made it an absolute certainty that I will NEVER, EEEEEEVVVEEERRRRRR use Western Union again!  

18 Dec 2006 @ 18:57 by markus @66.244.207.114 : Western Union
Same story. Tries to send a few dollars to a friend overseas and western union agent said that I did not meet their secuirty requirements. WTF. I am harmless and have never broken the law before. Asked why, and got the third degree. They had the nerve to charge my card before I "didnt" pass their secuirty requirements which we are not allowed to know about. Is this legit. Please respond. Cheers!!  

22 Dec 2006 @ 19:37 by Terry @75.5.85.26 : Western Union has serious problems
Thanks everyone for your comments about Western Union. I agree they are not worth much when their primary business function is money handling and they screw it up. Makes you wonder how secure your account infromation is (including your CC number). For me, I will not send complaints to WU. This would give them an opportunity to attempt correction of their messed up system. Instead, I have chosen to use a different and possibly better service. I used "MoneyGram Intrernational" and was able to created an account and send an international transfer in less than 30 minutes. If you truely want WU out of business, then don't use them. They have lost my business permanently. Anyway, good luck to everyone in getting your transfers completed successfully. Happy Holidays, Terry  

6 Jan 2007 @ 15:46 by Souj @24.3.98.12 : Western Union Sucks
Today for the first time in my life I tried transferring some of my hard earned money to my brother in Dubai for his expenses.I was with the rep on phone for 45 mins and he took all kinds of info to say "Sorry" at the end.Giving no reason for the failure of the transaction.But to my shock I saw an immediate charge on my credit card.Called WU again, they say it would take 24-72 hrs to reverse this amount.Nor I can transfer again till this hold is reversed on my Card.How ridiculoous...
Thought of doing something in minutes,ended up in S.  

24 Jan 2007 @ 20:05 by josh @66.245.33.249 : Bull shit
Yeah i tried to send 50 bucks and didn't pass their fucking requirements. what a joke. 50 fucking bucks.  

12 Feb 2007 @ 21:27 by Katie @65.41.82.74 : Different point of view..
Someone stole my debit card number and tried to transfer $550 from my bank account to someone in Chile. I'm in the process of trying to clear the mess up now and when I spoke to Western Union they canceled the transaction because the person didn't answer the security correctly..so in my circumstances I am extremely grateful for this security feature!  

12 Feb 2007 @ 21:56 by francis @70.43.7.54 : More like 'Western Seperation"
Another one bites the dust, only this time I'm the victim ... Even ebay seems a "safer" place to do online transactions after the mess Western Union put me through. They are quick to debit slow to credit and have some weired security policy which no one seems to pass :-(

You're better off sending money using alternative means ...  

14 Feb 2007 @ 00:52 by ming : A nice day
My beef is not primarily with having a verification system, even a faulty one. If it were made quite clear that I might or might not be approved to make a transfer, and if I weren't charged before I was approved, the worst that can happen is that I waste some time. It is fraudulent to take somebody's money, which might well be all that I have, and which might be needed by a relative for a dire emergency, like, right now, today, and without any prior warning keeping them for a week or two, without providing any service. That is totally unnecessary and has nothing to do with protecting users from anything.

I'd guess that if somebody looked into it, it probably is illegal, or violates agreements with credit card companies. If I order a product online, the vendor can only charge my card on the day they're shipping it. They can not charge my card, then discover that they don't have the product and never will, or that they don't like me, and then take two weeks to pay me back. Imagine that. Who's given Western Union a license to borrow people's money under false pretenses?  

16 Feb 2007 @ 10:42 by Zino @81.199.41.148 : lessen dependence on the internet
Verification is cool, please burn a few gallons of fuel and send your money offline.  

16 Feb 2007 @ 19:53 by Not Happy @69.156.139.187 : Western Union Sucks
Went to WESTERN UNION to day to send money to Russia, to bring a Lady frind to Canada for a hollday. Wend I send the money ask for ID. The call came in, It was W.U. asking what the money was for, I was ok with that, but they did not stop there who is this Lady,and where do you know her from. I said you do not have the right to ask me this. Thay said we will give you a refund.Now if we do not play there game looks like we got a refund. How nice now you W. U. have stoped a hollday for some one. Well W. U. hope you are happy with this. W. U. have to many requirements from what I have read, what good are you. I think some one show start up another Money money transfer, But it turned out they are no good. W. U. Is B S  

17 Feb 2007 @ 06:28 by Priscilla @72.76.8.129 : western union SUCKS
I'v been trying to get a hold of western union for weeks now to request cashed copies of money orders I have sent. they have not responed and want to charge ME $36.00 for copies that I feel are rightfully mine in the first place. I will never use western union again. I don't trust them and nither should you. If you ever run into a problem they are not avalible to help.  

18 Feb 2007 @ 17:00 by Deceived and Unhappy @72.202.143.159 : Western Union, it's a kind of mafia
I had sent more than 2,000 USD on their website to about 6 different people and had passed their security test twice. During my last transation of just $300, I was told that I had never passed any security test, which was bullshit. When I said I had, I was treated as a liar. Can you believe that? treating a custommer as a liar for something that could easily be verified? All the same, I said I wanted to go ahead and take the test and you will not believe the type of questions I was asked this time: the type you cannot answer by YES nor NO and those where my only two options. I am still smiling because after never failing any test or exam in my life, here I had to fail one. When I called the next day to open a case, I was told I had a third option which was never given to me, then when the lady spoke to her supervisor and came back, her speach changed completely, she became as cold as the one I had had the previous day. Well, I think it's a type of mafia going on in Western Union. I have stopped sending money through their system and I have so far asked more than twenty of my friends to stop also. Not only is are these suckers expensive, but there is another company that does the same thing online for a smaller cost and I am now using them. Guys, think of MoneyGram, I discovered them because I was pissed off at western union. I'll stop using them also if they come to suck as Western Union

Never use Western Union, you might end up regretting, because it's the day you really want that money to go that you'll be fucked.  

20 Feb 2007 @ 04:11 by Dr Love @67.182.139.151 : westernunion
Fags  

23 Feb 2007 @ 22:06 by gernoth @132.204.180.47 : No Western Union
Listen to me seriously, i have been the victim of an identity fraud subsequent to a money retrieval. After three months of hell, this shitty company paid me my money back (1500 $) when i decided to sur them.
-NEVER CALL (1-800-235-0000) They will misguide and disinform you, you will get sick from calling there. If they say an investigation will be opened, IT IS A LIE to buy time in hope that you, like the majority of victims, will abandon and move on. So AVOID the customer service, just forget this option.
-What to do: Write to western Union a letter of Formal notice (mise en demeure), just follow the model on your country's official justice site, give them 15 days, but wait 20 days, i did just that and this time they started an investigation FOR REAL (they started 3 of them to tell you how much they lie), after 14 days i got my money back. If they don't answer back, meet with a greffier (don't know the word in english) and pay the fee to start a new file, and western union will be forced to make one of their hidden rats come and represent them. Here is the strategy: Make it so that they have to prove that it was you who picked up the money, or bought something, make them do all the work. That was the advice from an expensive attorney, but you get it for free so don't underestimate it. Very few situations went untikl courtroom, but the few often winned. In some cases, their representative did not show up during session. Western Union fructified on fraud, read its background history, after many complaints it built this pseudo-secure system of theirs. Conclusion: Go with the banks for money, you'll wait 24 hours more but it is better than months of western union bullshitting you.  

23 Feb 2007 @ 22:14 by gernoth @132.204.180.47 : To OHM
They do have a complaint department, it is called PIE desk (Payments In Error) and it is located in Costa Rica. I will try getting it back and post all the numbers Western Union don't want you to know. If you call Western Union, NEVER FORGET TO RECORD THE CALL because each time they tell you something different, that could be useful in courtroom, judges don't like this kind of  

24 Feb 2007 @ 14:43 by Zino @196.220.6.118 : New Electronic Money
Stop complaining about western union instant transfer. join the new world of online money. Here is my advise, first buy some e-gold online into your e-gold account then send it online through e-pay.vg. you have western union option there and there are no limits. If you love my advise thank me.
ZINO.  

28 Feb 2007 @ 16:23 by Kate @70.22.137.45 : Prohibited countries
I have been using Western Union for a year and a half to send money (not much) to a family of seven that I know personally in the West Bank. (Previously I had used bank transfers, until one got 'lost' and was neither given to the family nor returned to me.) Until the last time, Dec '06, WU sent the money to 'Israel' since that's what they considered the West Bank to be. Suddenly, two months ago, I was told it had to be sent to 'Palestine' instead. OK, so that went through all right. Now today I call up to send some more money and I am told that money cannot be sent to 'Palestine'. The operator says there are a lot of countries where money can no longer be sent. I ask her to list a few, and she gives me 'Brazil', 'Bulgaria', 'Israel'.... So I can't send the money to Israel either. Nice to leave a family with five children without the money they were counting on! Is this WU or the US gov't? Whoever is doing this should be ashamed. I don't know what to do now.  

3 Mar 2007 @ 16:48 by Janet @64.13.13.43 : Western Union Needs A Correct Database
I have legitimate business dealings with a company in China. I have transferred money to them via Western Union previously. Most recent transaction, I was "put through the test". Transferred to 2 different operators, cut off once, redialed to complete transaction, transferred to 2 more operators (was initially transferred to a Spanish-speaking operator and I only speak English). Anyway, I disclosed a lot of personal information and was asked about people I didn't even know. I responded honestly. Now I am afraid the information I provided may be used by one of these WU operators (who are by the way the rudest most unprofessional folks I have ever dealt with, and that goes for all the operators who have responded to this blog! Sorry, but true). WU has made my business suffer. I have even had difficulty getting an MTCN from WU to send money from my local WU office (they have indicated they cannot complete a transaction to my legitimate business contact)! This system should protect us from frauds, fakes, and the bad guys. I couldn't agree more with having a high level of security, but here's my comment to WU: USE A REAL DATABASE WITH REAL INFORMATION if you are going to keep someone on the phone for an HOUR, then disallow any future online transfers. What? What in the heck? I am a legitimate US citizen with valid credit information, available funds, and a legitimate overseas supplier. WU has made my business and business relationships suffer. I have complained to BBB. I will send a letter to the WU corporate office. I will post a blog on CraigsList. Thanks for listening...  

4 Mar 2007 @ 23:20 by Dale Maley @71.113.168.93 : Also screwed on 3/4/2007
I tried send $1,000 today from 1 site in Illinois to another site in Illinois...using my credit card. Sequence was 1)register online, make transaction, get failure notice 2)call web site, they say bank for credit card won't release money and to call credit card bank 3)call credit card bank, their fraud detection requires customer to call in and answer security questions 4) credit card bank says problem fixed and to call WU 5) call WU and tried their web site to do transaction 6)call credit card bank again, they have me stay online on WU's web site and try transactions until they see it. They saw it and said money had been moved to WU 7) call WU, informed I violated "their business practice guidelines and they would not allow me do any transaction. This is the first and last time I ever try Western Union.  

9 Mar 2007 @ 18:58 by Gilles @74.57.219.61 : more of the same
I sent $900 a first time and everything went ok. But a month later, I needed to send money fast and I used the online service again. At the end of the internet interview they said: "You do not pass our security requirements" It was a $875.canadian transfer to the Philippines. I thought it must be a mistake. So I used my wife's name who is on the same credit card as me. Same message error. Then I called them in the U.S. The attendant told me "No Prob" he will do it over the phone. He wrote my transfer in U.S. money and then finally answered he cannot make it through either.

Then I went to check my credit card statement on internet: $875 + 875 + 904 = $2654 were recorded as TEMP purchases!!!

I fought like crazy to get my money back since my bank removed the TEMP and sent the statement home as is! I had to fight for 6 days with at least 20 phone calls and 2 faxes to the bank and to Western Union. Gee those Credit Union employees are dry and arrogant!

ADVICE: Western Union is not ready for proper internet transactions. Go to a W.U. outlet, pay cash, get an MTCN transaction number and send it by SMS (text message). That's what I did and you know what? It was 3% cheaper this way!  

9 Mar 2007 @ 19:39 by Gilles @74.57.219.61 : Patty M Rowe you are disgusting!
On 13 Feb 2007 you wrote: "You don´t undestand how important is this verification process WU has" Nobody in this forum is merely reluctant to get through a fair verification process! We're talking about holding and keeping other people's money here. In my case, $2654 was a whole lot of money! I was sending to my sister-in-law, who is a farmer in the Philippines so that she could be able to buy piglets. A VERY SMALL piggery. She needed these pigglets to make her farm going. She missed the sale because of the failing W.U. money transfer so called verification process! (see my post up here). How will she feed her family without these piglets now ha?!! Well seated in your WU operator office, you feed yourself and your folks without pig shit obviously! I tell you: Western Union is worst than pig shit!!!  

9 Mar 2007 @ 22:25 by Enraged @209.143.112.201 : FUCK Western Union
I just spent 3 hours speaking to the total number of 11 FUCKING MORONS who consider themseves the employees of Western Union. Okay the fucking website doesn't work, not a big deal. I called. Okay, your being spawned by a retarded American education system, I don't expect you to be capable of spelling "Kostas", which is for your information a GREEK last name, Greece being perhaps the only country in the world that doesn't have ANY affairs with Arabic or otherwise muslim countries. Okay, you have that retarded 25 question quiz of yours, that any 3rd grader would figure out before you could form the first question of it in that pumpkin your morons call your head, I can even deal with that. What is beyond tolerance is that the decision whether or not my family receives the money depends on a FUCKING MORON who can't even count the states of his or her own country.  

10 Mar 2007 @ 14:05 by Gilles @74.57.219.61 : ADVICE
Well Daniel, we should all use another money transfer service! But in case it is impossible and if you absolutely need them, which is possible since, with time, they built a hell of a monopoly in wire networking , it's still feasible if done the way I mentioned earlier: "Go to a W.U. outlet, pay cash, get an MTCN transaction number and send it by SMS (text message)." Since you do local business, they will provide you with a valid MTCN transaction number and a so essential R E C E I P T. Then, the local dealer is accountable for it.  

14 Mar 2007 @ 20:40 by Fins @82.235.231.61 : Did not pass security requirements
same with me. I attempted to send money to China, via wu online service. AFter debiting my acct for the funds, they then tell me at the end my transfer was declined. Declined because it didn't mean the business requirements of WU. I asked "what are the business requirements". The operators response- " I cannot give out that information, because it is secure." Bullshit, and moneygram.com is the way to go. Supercheap prices and worldwide service. Screw Western Union...I hope somebody uncovers their scam to hold all this money in "Limbo". I'm sure they are investing in something themselves to make even more money. I HATE THEM ALL  

17 Mar 2007 @ 22:01 by ed @87.10.190.240 : They are loosing the point
Yeah.. i have some bad experience with WU, not mentioning that several times comes up that they cannot process my cc. I'm gonna make it short.. so: IF MY CC BANK SAY GO! .. THEY SHOULD JUST RETAIN THE SERVICE FEE AND PROCEED TO FINALIZE THE JOB. IT IS ALSO TRUE THAT SOME PPL DO FRAUDULENT TRANSFERS, BUT THAT'S WHY WE PAY THE POLICE 4. after all.. rude operators keep in mind, u need us.. we don't!  

21 Mar 2007 @ 12:44 by dave @24.210.121.200 : wu
as a westrn union rep we r not told y transfers are not aproved and i my self have tried to send with my own card and can not and we only make min wage so sorry to here you all complain  

30 Mar 2007 @ 15:05 by Curt @69.92.177.27 : with dave
i'm with dave. the $15 or however much they charge you... we storefront 'agents' get less then well... lets say WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY less then 10% and i mean "WAY" as in, almost zilch.

let's say i can make maybe $80 a month off of this. woo hoo, and i do over $80,000 of OTHER business (not WU) per month.  

11 Apr 2007 @ 19:22 by DJ @204.146.182.254 : I WORKED FOR THEM...AND THEY DO SUCK!!
I worked for Western Union for over 10 years and I can say that in my last couple years, it became the absolute WORST place you could work. So many changes were being made that the place was turned upside down. I feel sorry for all of you that used Western Union and had to go through such a hassle. I truly understand because I was an operator who had to listen to it everyday.

Not only did they become very strict with their transfer requirements, but they became extremely strict towards the employees. They pretty much did a housecleaning and got rid of everyone they felt were cancers to the company, in some form or another. They forced operators to stick to a very dry and robotic script. And if you didn't stick to the script, you were eventually fired.

And I wanted no part of the Credit Card department because I knew what the customers had to go through and I knew that calls would come in all day from angry customers wanting to know why their money was declined or held up, and I didn't blame them one bit. I chose not to follow their stupid, anal-retentive script and luckily found a much better, relaxing job before I was fired. I will never, ever endorse or use Western Union for anything. I'd really be surprised if they were still in business 5 years from now. The new management truly has no clue how to treat people.  

12 Apr 2007 @ 18:49 by LAMEDUCK @86.62.250.3 : TECH-SICK
I guest that im also a victim of WU menace, ive been a costumer of this company ever since im working. well to be honest i still prefer sometimes the old way of this company, telex or telegram they say! it takes a little bit of hassle but it will reach where it intends! i dont need to explain as everything has already mentioned, would it be caused by new technology or just crafted by the WU management! Im really too sick of what all this new tech has done. you have to be follow the improvement of this new tech at all times otherwise you will lost in the middle of nowhere! I had a very sad experience bout the WU recently, i sent money home to pay for my best friends operation, hell that hospital dont work till money has shown!! my friend already 6 feet below the ground still he dont get my help! i got too much bloody nonsense explanation from them for nothing(WU)...Again today (as what happens to me normally)I went for shopping and pay for my credit card, the machine declared to be "DECLINED" shit! i have to run for the nearest ATM machine to get cash from thesame card! and hell all the customers after me want to break my neck!! its not my fault but i know it wont be a good excuse but all because of these new technology we created!... NOW DONT TELL ME THAT YOU DONT EXPERIENCE THIS!!!  

12 Apr 2007 @ 21:14 by blahblah @208.116.136.5 : My Debit Card is Destroyed
I tried WU this morning for a payment to Peru. I foolishly used my debit card. And by the end of the circus of questions, my transaction was denied. I called WU to see why and they said my Bank had a fraud hold on the acct. I called my bank and they said they put the hold on because WU tried to charge my account 3 times in a row. I said okay, could they lift the hold and I would try again. I know, I'm an idiot. And I tried again. Again, my transaction was denied. At the same time I got an email from my bank saying there was "suspicious" activity on my online account. So I called my bank again; they put another hold on my account for trying to use WU again. They said WU has been associated with some company (but I forgot which one) that has had several breeches of security and that I should really get rid of the card I just used! They really stressed that my card had been comprimised and I should request a new one. So I did. Now I don't have access to my bank by ATM or debit card. And I got so freaked out by all the info I entered in WU database, that I went in and changed it all because there's no way to just cancel an account. Has anyone heard of WU having data leaks or security problems? I been trying to find info, but this is the only site I've found with any problems listed for WU. Bank of America was the bank that had me destroy my card after using WU.  

13 Apr 2007 @ 12:46 by ken macneily @142.161.95.104 : WESTERN UNION
Last month I picked up a money transfer for $4000 us funds.Told them I wanted $4000 us funds(the amount sent to me)Western union said they can only pay me in Canadian funds. Western union SETS THEIR OWN EXCHANGE rates.They paid me approx 4500 and the bank next door would have given me 4700.Whether LEGAL or not, they ROBBED me of 200  

27 Apr 2007 @ 21:59 by Ernesto @132.204.67.98 : Ripped off of 4200 $
everyone go and check a message posted by gernoth, i tried calling and it was exactly as he said. I'll try what he said and check back with you.  

4 May 2007 @ 14:13 by Tran @72.226.86.166 : WU canclelled my transfer
I setup a money transfer on Western Unions website. It said to call to complete the transfer and gave an 800# as well as the date and MTC number. I called the 800# and all was going well until the operator put me on hold to validate the transfer.

* I was sending money to Guam which is a US territory but after reading comments here, it could have been a contributing factor to why this operator cancelled my transfer for no good reason.

1st - Why did I have to be put on hold to validate the transfer?

2nd - I was on hold for well over 10 minutes. The line was silent. I was on a cell phone and thought we'd been disconnected or something. I hung up and called RIGHT BACK. I was then told the operator had cancelled the transfer!!!!

When I placed the transfer I printed a copy of the screen saying I needed to call to complete it. It clearly states I have 24 hours to complete the transfer!

I asked to speak to a supervisor and the woman was very rude and was playing the "it's your fault" game. She would not explain or comment on why the transfer was cancelled when I have 24 hours to confirm it.

She said the money is in my bank but it is not. They still have it. My bank account is still missing that money so I can't resend it.

How much of my money do they have ~$3080

Afterwards, the original operator had the nerve to call back to do an interview! Not about resolving the issue but to finish up her call. How insulting!


I filed a Rip off Report:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff246634.htm  

8 May 2007 @ 17:42 by Rick @76.183.74.147 : Idiots
On the contact us form it keeps saying i have to use english letters on and . and ,.

I cant even use a question mark. FUCKING MORONS!!!  

8 May 2007 @ 20:27 by Mike @166.3.66.84 : Western Union
I tried several times to use their online system to send money from New Mexico to Arizona. It kept bouncing back "transaction not available at this time.' What pisses me off is when you call Customer "DisService" to find out what the problem is all one gets is recordings. I think it's fast to tape money to a turtles ass.  

13 May 2007 @ 22:46 by Saul Good @68.12.224.15 : WESTERN UNION SUCKS!!!!!!!!!
They have the worst automated system on earth, it's just an absolute disgrace. I will NEVER use their system again. After waiting on the phone forever you get someone who barley speaks english. It seemed like I was on the phone with HP. LOL!! Thank God for paypal.WESTERN UNION SUCKS!!!  

14 May 2007 @ 13:19 by John @209.33.120.27 : Morons
yeah, they ask you security questions, know why? because western union lost a million dollars in just a few months from chargebacks because of people STEALING other people's credit card information and sending money. Then, the real card holder, probably some idiot who banks online, calls his card company and refuses to pay. hence, that money has to be paid for by western union. Also, it says right on the website that your bank may hold the money in pending status, if you are too retarded to see that, then that is your problem.

guess what, if those operators don't ask those security questions, they get fired. so their family has to go without food, just to make it easier for you to send your money to your phillipino wh*re.

if you are too lazy to answer questions about your previous information, like previous addresses, then get off your fat butt and go to an agent location and pay by cash! there aren't any security questions then, so you can stand in line a drool like the moron you truley are.

in closing, if you can't remember your previous addresses, then you might as well go behind your house and Shoot yourself in the head. rather you have Lived at your current residence for a year or fifty years, it shouldn't be a problem. I have moved more than anybody and I remember all my previous addresses. So, basically get a clue you dumb piece of garbage.  

16 May 2007 @ 05:33 by Debbie @208.127.14.70 : John
John,
I totally agree w/ you (just do not say we are WU customer svc employees and that the primary employment requirement is a 3rd grade education!) By the way, go back to night school, your grammar is awful!  

21 May 2007 @ 11:50 by TSK @136.172.253.189 : "Confirmation"
Oh yeah, Western Union. I wanted my payment of 2500$ (I am a contractor) from the US to Germany quicker, so I decided to try Western Union (The reason: It takes 5-7 business days to get the money from the US to Germany AND then again 3-5 days until my bank finally transfers it on my account. Both banks are using it for short-time investments. Really annoying). Lo and behold, the sender sent it and forwarded me the confirmation mail. I go to my WU transfer station (they are offering it just as a secondary service, so they don't have anything to do with WU service) and the money is denied. The service phones the WU agent and asks what is wrong. They are telling him the name of the sender is wrong. ?! I was so baffled that I thought it was a typo or that. No chance. I am going home and reading the confirmation mail I see THAT THE NAME I GAVE WAS RIGHT ! How do these bunch of $&%%&* confirm the name if not by the confirmation mail ? Now I cannot go back because it was too late, the station is closed. Fuming, I tried
to get an operator and she's telling me: "You cannot do anything, you must tell the sender!". Now the sender was denied the transfer because now WU realizes that it is "business". But as usual the money is already bound by WU.  

28 May 2007 @ 10:23 by P*ssed off Bride to be @83.105.41.251 : Western Union
Currently in dispute with Western Union over funds that they have 'lost' - basically a wedding present from Family in Brazil of a fair ammount of money that when I went to collect 'was not on the system' - called 'customer service ' to talk to some poor call centre drone who was not allowed to give me any information apart from it was paid to 'someone' 'somewhere' but she could not tell me where or when - odd as it clearly states the kind of ID that you need to collect funds in the UK....so someone somewhere is not doing there job and is acting at best negligently and at worst criminally. What I love is that Western Union is acting like its not their problem that they just lost £2k that they were paid to transfer 'safely and securly'....disheartened at the ammount of time that I see it can take to get problems resoved (over 1 year?? With Court Action???) Im getting married in just under 6 weeks..and if it dont get the money soon basically bang goes the wedding band, the photographer and its going to be a pretty awful wedding dinner. Thanks for potentially ruining my wedding Western Union!!!!  

14 Jun 2007 @ 21:29 by Aaron @198.170.193.164 : Ridiculous.
My story is the same. I tried to send and emergency 400 bucks today to help someone out. Did it online, then had to call to finish it. The lady then told me I didn't pass the verifications, but she wouldn't tell me what specifically. Then she got extremely rude, telling me that of the hundreds of thousands of dollars that they process daily, 400 is nothing... Fair enough - so give it back! I will never use WesternUnion again.  

14 Jun 2007 @ 23:26 by Victoria @81.156.127.119 : Exhausting& frustrating transaction!!!
Tried to make a transaction tonight, but become a nightmare for almost all night.registered for the first time and hoping to pay an international instant transaction.Unfortunetly it was the most difficult transaction i ever made.after registering, start my payment and all went ok and got MTNC (tracking no)(whatever)and however it appear to be needed a verification and to call the customer service, so here is the nightmare began...apparently it turn out that the card is not competible with the system.. blah blah blah..blah... i called my bank right away, lucky that they can reverse the money back to my credit card right away. so wait for another few hours i tried again . and same problem. i have another bright idea, my partner register and use her visa , hoping that this time the transaction goes well.what a surprised!!! it happaned again.. my partner call the customer sevices , she was told that her card is not verify ..blah ]blah blah... by the time all this happened, her bank has close for the day. Now we both have to wait for tomorrow to find out that if any money taken out from our visa and mastercard.

So good luck to others who use this stupid services..  

24 Jun 2007 @ 05:31 by Terry Powell @72.211.148.87 : Surreal Experience
Wished I had read this first before using WU! Tried to send $500. to my brother to help cover the cost of my sister's funeral. The rep was obviously Mexican with poor English skills. After a round of silly questions trying to verify my identity, I found myself desperatly searching for records that would show my adresses and telephone numbers from several years ago. Obviously thinking I was a fraud because I couldn't remeber my exact two previous addresses from over ten years ago and because the telephone number wasn't in my name at one loction, I eventually failed the "verification test." The real pisser was discovering that even though I failed the test, WU approved my debit card transfer so that I had my $500. locked up in the bank for the next 5 business days! As I was tight for money, I wound up even tighter and had to scramble together another $500. elswhere so that my sister could get cremated in a timely manner. WU sucks big time.  

9 Jul 2007 @ 09:43 by Niyas @124.180.53.45 : This service sucks
I sent money thru online service last month and this time I tried to login again to send money. the site says, the password is incorrect. i used the password help, entered my email address and data of birth, the site says the information i entered does nt match the records. i called up the toll free no and the guy who answered the phone says, there is no way to recover the password and i have to register again. i tried to register again, as part of the information i have to provide i entered my email address and once i submit the information the site says, this email is already existing in the sytem which is of course mine, and now i am being asked to use anothe email address.

I tried to send a note of concern to them thru their online contact us form, i filled in the concern/comments column, and once i submit it says your concern can only be in english characters.. am i typing in chinese..

This is the most ridiculous and the most unfriendly online service i have ever experienced. It was such painful task sending money online last time already and I can imagine any online service could be as bad as this.I will just use a bank to send money and i hope i never have to use westernunion again to send money.  

10 Jul 2007 @ 14:19 by Megan @72.84.52.77 : Western Union
I am an employee of Western Union and I'd like to make you privy to the fact that BECAUSE disgruntled customers feel the need to post information of this nature on the internet is EXACTLY why we have to beef up our security requirements. Every fraudster has access to the internet and believe it or not most of wire fraud occurs on the internet---infact 4 out of every 10 transfers online to proves to be fraudulent. As both a customer and employee of Western Union, I feel that the more verification procedures involved, the better. There are many times at work when I've called a cardholder at 3 am to tell them someone in Romania is attempting to use their card for 2,000.00 and they've been more than thankful for the security procedures involved.  

10 Jul 2007 @ 14:22 by Megan @72.84.52.77 : Western Union
Additonally, many of the policies customers are unhappy with stem from the Bank Secrecy Act as well as the US PATRIOT Act....and if customers would read the terms and conditions of use before sending that'd help a lot as well. Many of the things mentioned above are clearly stated.  

10 Jul 2007 @ 23:37 by ming : Western Union
You don't seem to understand, the problem is not security verifications, even though they obviously are very faulty - it is that you charge people's credit cards, and keep the money for a week, even when you refuse the transaction. Yes, that's you doing that, even if you usually try to blame it on the customer's bank. That's fraudulent, and should be considered a criminal act, if it somehow isn't already. It is in no way clearly stated when one orders a transfer. It isn't stated either in the confirmation one gets right away, which makes it appear like one's transaction is ok. It is a general rule for credit card transactions that you can not take somebody's money before you are ready to deliver the service. If you have no intention of delivering the service, that's called fraud. If you simply refused people's business, that would be annoying, but not fraudulent.  

11 Jul 2007 @ 21:38 by hukona @72.234.37.228 : Western Union
After a hellish morning with WU online, I was so glad to find these posts. I was trying to send a mere $300. to my daughter in another state for an emergency... got the "call to complete" message. Which I did. They called back with a series of questions which were totally unrelated to the information I'd provided. Of course I did not meet their requirements.... I was so worried that someone else had tried to use my identity, until I found these comments. Now I can see that the "questions" were probably related to my addresses in the past (It didn't help that the operator could not pronounce any of the streets or cities) also to my ex-husband's new wife who was maybe somehow linked to my old address??? WTF??? Went to an agent in town to get the funds to my daughter, but wasted an hour on line and on the phone first. Will NEVER use WU online again. I do appreciate the security measures but their attitude only made me feel LESS secure.  

12 Jul 2007 @ 03:48 by WUAgent @71.174.22.191 : Go to a store that offers WU services
I work at a service desk that offers WU. Some days we send $60,000 or more in transfers. I've been working there 6 years now with very few problems as far as transfering. And as far as the people not wanting to answer security questions read the terms and conditions. Nobody's forcing you to choose their service, if you do choose to use it though you must follow their guidelines. Apparently the online website has many problems. I would recommend going to an agent. It's much easier, theres someone there to help you, and just 1 or 2 forms of id (that hasn't expired) is required depending what your sending and to where.For some amounts your occupation is required.  

21 Jul 2007 @ 23:35 by mary @74.100.228.154 : Western Union takes money-no delivery
Western Union on the internet refused my effort to send money to Peru after giving them detailed information- so no transaction number etc. However, they had taken the money out of my VISA account. When I complained I was told that they always get authorization for the money from VISA before deciding whether to send it.

I apparently had been rejected by the computer because I had not used Western Union before. Obviously this could have been done before authorization of the VISA deduction. So Western Union gets to use my money for what I am told will be 15 days. My bank say it is their policy not to question Western Union charges- I guess they like getting interest on cash advances. Don't send money using Western Unions internet site - if you must use them go to an agent.  

24 Jul 2007 @ 15:54 by seriousleemad @69.138.239.250 : I smell BS oh its western union
NNNNNever send Western Union online. You would think I learned after the first time. Ihad no clue that they actually held my funds after trying to send. it didnt go through the first time so I tried again. when I called to ask why the air head costomer service girl didnt even know what I meant when I told her my funds had been put on hold in the bank x2.(as if she doesnt get these calls every day) so I told her to get off the phone so i could speak to some one with sense. she got the sup. that wasnt that much help either. she also pretended asif she didnt know what i was talkin about.Iwas sooo frustrated I told her a few choice words ten hung up.The only thing i was told was that the were not sure when my money would be realeased but that it would EVENTUALLY.Those were the exct words of the bongo heads. Any way try moneygram its cheaper and no hassle. its muchhh better.
Seriousleemad.  

3 Aug 2007 @ 15:34 by jme @72.43.255.246 : Their database is corrupt
WU erroneously sent a request for funds to my Credit Card (Bank) for $1,000. My bank approved ... but though this money has exited my account, WU "has no record." Thus I am out (with fees) $1,040, that has likely been credited to someone else's account. This could only happen if they are not locking the records at the DB or they have faulty Foreign key assignments or general concurrency issues. They are *impossible* to contact. The only available phone # disconnects. They will NOT return my emails. The https (after login) portion of the site exposes server side code all over the top of the browser page. They are a nightmare. I will give them until the end of August to refund the $1,040 at which point I will go to the NYS Attorney General and the FBI. They are already under investigation by the FBI according to blackhat.com.
After that, unless they refund, a class action suit will ensue.  

11 Aug 2007 @ 09:07 by Meg @67.172.29.82 : Learn to read
As someone who has worked for both WU and bank (BofA) customer service, I feel like I have a unique perspective on this. Lazy WU operators will tell you that the pending transaction will fall off in a few business days. Lazy bank operators will tell you that the company has the funds. If the transfer is cancelled or not completed, and funds still come out of your bank, YOUR BANK HAS THE FUNDS ON HOLD. Without authorization codes from both directions, no money ever changes hands. It's all still in your bank account. It has just been set aside. If your bank keeps it on hold for 7 business days, that sucks. Get a new bank. Bank of America is notorious for this.

As mentioned above, because WU is considered a semi-financial institution, almost all of its activities are covered under the Bank Secrecy Act and the USA PATRIOT Act. We are legally bound by the federal government to perform validation on transactions sent over the web or phone, and ther are stringent identification standards on large transfers. You WILL receive extra scrutiny if sending to a country that has high incidences of fraud. Everyone working for WU has stories about waking up real credit card holders in the middle of the night after trying to verify the identity of the sender. Every single day that I work, I have people calling who are obviously frauds, people complaining about fraud, police officers calling with subpeonas about fraudulent activity, etc. The security questions are stringent because easily answered questions leaves you open to fraud from the most likely source: your family.

Additionaly, if you send over the internet, especially, every single complaint on this board is covered in the terms and conditions. When you're dealing with a lot of money, read the fine print. You have to agree to those terms and conditions before you can send. If you dislike that your money transfer was cancelled because, of course, YOU know who you are, and the your bank has the funds on hold...well, you were warned. If you send money to Romania for a computer and never receive one, well, WU goes out of its way to tell you that we don't provide escrow or any guarantees other than if the transfer meets the business requirements and your receiver can verify the information on the transfer and has proper ID/ answer to test question, that they will be able to pick it up.

If you don't like the rules WU has to play by, write your congressperson and let them know about what parts of the BSA and Patriot Act upset you. Otherwise, take cash, get an ID, and stop complaining that big, bad Western Union would rather not be respoinsible for your money being stolen.  

17 Aug 2007 @ 16:13 by Missmgmnt @129.44.169.220 : I had the exact same experience!
I just tried to transfer $880.00 to my friend in Virginia using money in minutes of the western union site last night - same damn thing happened to me! I went through the process and then got a message that I needed to call western union to complete the transaction within 24 hours or it would be cancelled. So I called up and verified my info with the representative and then he told me he needed to ask 4 security questions. He proceeded to ask me to choose the best answer from the list including how much my monthly car payments are, what color is my car, which city on the list is the last city I lived in... questions that I considered invasive and irrelevant to be honest with you but I answered them anyway and then he told me I did not meet western unions security standards and the transfer would not go through. I demanded to speak with a supervisor and when I did I told her that those invasive security questions were a joke and the fact that I provided them with my card number, social security number, d.o.b and other pertinent and relevant information was all they needed to know to secure who I am and that my transfer was valid. I also stressed that it was important that this transfer go through, as the individual in Virginia needed this money! She refused to reconsider and also refused to tell me the particulars of their security standards... they tell me I am not meeting them and when I demand to know what these standards are they tell me they can't tell me that!?!? Anyone else confused? So finally I said, fine, cancel the transfer and I'll go online and resubmit and go through your stupid test again and maybe this time I'll pass. She informed me that this would not be a good idea, as the transfer is not so much "cancelled" as it is frozen! I was LIVID - so not only will they NOT send the money, but now I have to wait until the financial Gods release the funds back into my account??? When she asked if there was anything else she could do for me I told her to go f*ck herself and hung up. I felt bad about that but oh well.

Anyway, our story differs in that I called back the next day WITH A BANK REP ON THE PHONE! The bank rep informed the western union rep that the bank was allowing the funds to go through if western union would approve it, otherwise she needed verbal confirmation from the western union rep that they had cancelled the transfer so she could immediately place the funds back in my account. The western union rep said they had cancelled the transfer, and that they WOULD NOT approve any online transfers for me - that I had to go with cash in hand to a western union branch. So I clarified "you're telling me that even though I have a bank rep on the phone who is TELLING you my funds are approved on their end, you are not going to approve the transaction?" The western union rep said yes and then again elluded to those confidential security standards... funny thing, I didn't think about the arab name thing until I read this article - my last name by marriage is Buckus! Now I'm even more outraged!  

6 Sep 2007 @ 03:31 by mikey @141.149.140.92 : i got ripped off too
you fucking people suck.. my money order is lost and you assholes think i should send you $ 15.00 more to trace the fucking thing...I WILL NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH YOU AGAIN and i will tell my friends to boycott you pricks too

CUSTOMER SERVICE wrote: Hello Mike

Thank you for contacting Western Union. We are writing regarding your inquiry.

Unfortunately, your email did not include sufficient information and we are unable to determine what assistance you require. Please clarify and restate your question.

If you have any additional comments or questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at customerservice@westernunion.com

Sincerely
Louis G.
Customer Service Representative
www.westernunion.com  

7 Sep 2007 @ 04:04 by attorney @69.139.103.83 : WU
There are legal liabilities for WU here, if they are charging a fee that they aren't returning and are not willing to print their methods of how they establish whether you meet their business standards clearly, or they are actually using these funds in any way at all before they are returned that is criminal. Your credit card company can't take your payment each month for 2 weeks and invest it or let it gather interest, take risks with your money, then return it and charge you a late fee. Unless of course they disclose it and you agree to it prior to establishing an account. Very interesting, if everyone could stick together it could be a class action law suit. If anyone has any questions please briefly email me summergirlinva@hushmail.com

I'm so sorry  

9 Sep 2007 @ 21:52 by sp4nk @71.191.181.239 : Re: Patty M. Rowe
Yes. You could be even more secure by not sending any money at all, which seems to be the way things work at Western Union.  

24 Sep 2007 @ 23:10 by Kaeti @64.91.142.161 : WU is TEH THEIF!
A friend pointed me to this site, since I was having issues with WU, here is the thing though:
About a few days ago I noticed that my account was drained of funds (note that I am a poor college student and when 300$ is taken out of your account, you are broke beyond belief!) and it was done using a Western Union money transfer from a temporary check card that Bank of America (the worst bank on the PLANET it seems) gives you until you get your orginal card. My account was opend on the 17, on the 20th it was drained, and all Western Union could tell me that when it was done, and it was sent to ROMANIA of all places. The lady on the phone was nice, but NO HELP what so ever, said there was nothing they could do because the money was picked up.
So I call my bank, THEY can not do ANYTHING because it is "pending" which means I technically still "have the money", but can't use it which results in me being negitivly broke in the process.
So my broke ass has been calling WU and BoA since the 20th. Spending hours on the phone, racking up a hefty cell bill TRYING to get some answers. Western Union can't cancel the pending transaction...which has to be BS to the T, since it was picked up, Bank of America can't even claim fraud until it clears, so I'm stuck in some crap ass limbo with NO money, yet someone in Romania is enjoying a free ride on my paycheck.
WU excuse was "You probably responded to an e-mail on the internet", NO, HELLO I'M NOT SO DAFT TO GIVE MY ACCOUNT INFORMATION OUT, an account I had for 2 DAYS before this happend that didn't even HAVE TIME to register it with ANY SERVICE.
As of now I am still waiting for the 300$ charge to not be "pending", which after that I have to wait another day or so before I get my money back.
Also, the SAME EXACT thing happend to my coworker a week earlier, and apprently happend to someone else in our area too, so we are looking into pressing charges etc. With the correct personal.  

1 Oct 2007 @ 16:28 by Elizabeth Trimm @64.69.126.186 : Western Union Horror Stories
I send mony to needy extended family members sometimes. Last one was for an infant with no food- they live several hours away. They could not get it because the person who took my order didn't understand English and sent it to the wrong place.
Previous experiences include my nephew picking up $50 and western union charged me for the person who picked up their money next in line and I was charged over $100.00 for that person's pickup as well......
The service sucks and don't call them it is just a nightmare to get through their annoying process. If there was another way, I would use it.  

1 Oct 2007 @ 21:00 by Jean Philippe Jude Mednar @200.63.229.232 : do you see my Name as receiver
Sir,Madam,
do you see my name:Jean Philippe Jude Mednar or Juan Francisco,Address Ecuador as a receiver of US$ 3,000 from Brandon Thompson or Brandon O'Brien Address St Catherines House Al NG 3 Way WCZAZEB ?
 

2 Oct 2007 @ 19:18 by REB @70.165.110.234 : WU Horror Stories Continue
Here's a good one. I purchased a MONEY ORDER in the amount of $115.00 in the USA - being sent from Nebraska to Missouri. I put it in a birthday card and sent it to my son who is traveling back to Nebraska. He calls to tell me that the AUTHORIZED AGENT LOCATION in Missouri is charging him $30 to cash the money order! He goes to another local AUTHORIZED AGENT LOCATION and is told it will be $15 to cash it for him.?!?!?

Two things wrong here WU: 1) You represent fraudulism when you do not state ANYWHERE on the money order form that it will cost a substantial fee to cash in a paid money order. 2) If these are the types of AGENTS you employ - good riddance to you all.

Please know that Wal-Mart Stores offer money transfers outside the USA, moneygrams, and money orders for purchase. A money order at Wal-Mart costs 46 cents compared to Western Unions 55 cent charge; AND you get the complete amount on the money order when cashing it in at any WalMart, ANYWHERE.

I have also sent this complaint to the "consumer" email site on WU's website and as I never heard back, I also sent a letter to the Better Business Bureau so they are aware of what I would label "scam". How many people pay $15 to $30 or more for a $115.00 MONEY ORDER (or less) to be cashed in. I told my son to bring home the money order and we will cash it back in to the place I bought it.

SHAME ON YOU WU. I have sent out mass emails to as many people as possible asking them to send it on so that no-one has to lose money on a WU money order!  

16 Oct 2007 @ 17:16 by GREG BATES @68.211.80.131 : WESTERN UNION SUCKS!
I just had the most awesome time dealing with this stupid company. Yep, good sarcasm there. I was getting a wire for $450 from a friend in NY. I did not have my license with me, so I called the store. Amazingly the grocery store accepted my social card (The ONLY place that would), but again that was my fault for not having.

So, I go the store at about 6:00 am on a weekday. The manager looks at the form I fill out and says "I don't have enough cash to pay you now". That's the whole freakin idea of wiring money, to get it immediately, duh! Anyways, I didn't give the manager any grief because I would have to return later with my social security card as ID.

I called Western Union and asked them why it is so hard to get money. They are rude on the phone and not very smart to say the least. I told the rep that I was having a problem getting money and asked if she could assist me. She replied "No, I cannot help you with that". Unreal! This company sucks!

I'm going to write a letter to the VP of customer NON-service and tell him how much Western Union sucks. I've heard it helps to write the number 2 idiot in charge. Advice is not to use them if at all possible. At the most stressful time, you know, when you REALLY NEED MONEY? They give you crap instead...  

27 Oct 2007 @ 08:10 by ARNALDO S PINLAC @210.1.80.138 : money transfer control # 3443603784
..my wife send money to me via denizbank western union in turkey kusadasi and expecting that i could have the money as soon as possible because our 12months baby boy is sick and he needs to see the doctor right away,unfortunatelly i dont able to get it because the control number that was given to her by western union bank in turkey was WRONG and INVALID..how this happen...all i know is that the control number control every transaction!My wife had an official receipt and even the control number that was given to her! thats ridicilous!!i personally called the western union customer service hotline # and they told me that there was a mistakes in part of the control number telling that they will fixed it as soon as possible but its too late i was ashamed on myself insisting to the teller here in philippines that the number given by my wife is correct and also i was worried to my sick baby boy because he needs to see doctor! well its good that i have some friends that lend me money just to make sure that my baby could see the doctor right away..i feel so bad....western union should do something about this!this is serious...it is between life and death of somebodys life!!!western union do liable for this serious matter!!!!!!!!!  

11 Nov 2007 @ 22:58 by MONIQUE @69.124.153.10 : WESTERN UNION IS GARBAGE
I GOT A TASTE OF WHAT EVERYBODY ALSE HERE HAS TODAY!! TRIED TO SEND 150.00 TO MY MOM FOR HER RENT AND GOT F***** OVER!! SAID IT DIDN'T MEET REQUIREMENTS AND STUPID MANAGER SAID HE DIDN'T KNOW THEM!! HELLO?????? YOU A SUP. AND DON'T KNOW THE REQUIREMENTS? HOW STUPID!! NOW MY MONEY IS ON HOLD AND MY MOM IS WAITING!! I WILL BE CALL THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU!! AND ADVISE ALL TO DO THE SAME!!  

13 Nov 2007 @ 05:07 by mmh @24.206.207.75 : NOT OUR FAULT!!!
I am an opr working for WU. I do understand why everone gets upset and takes time to bitch about the service that you receive. I wish that people who use this service would understand that we do what we are told to do..it is our job. That does not mean that we agree with the ways that the systems are set up. At least 100 times, I have known that the person's transfer that I was cancelling was in fact, the real credit card holder. If I decide to "let it go" and snd this xfer I would get in trouble...on the other hand, I have a person yelling at me b/c I can't provide this service for them or tell them a real reason why. We would realese the info or snd the transfer if we could. About the pending holds on funds though, that is a different story. The bank does hold those funds. I would be mad if I wanted to snd money and was denied and found out later that my funds were on hold. I completely agree...but please don't take it out on people that are just doing their job. thank u  

13 Nov 2007 @ 22:37 by Gilles @74.59.210.196 : Find another job, loser!
Me? I found another way to send money. Well, if you like the bullsh*t given to you by your miserable company (including your asshole wage) and if you also like the sh*t of frustrated customers... it's a different story! If you can't find a better job, man, you're a loser! Keep working for them and you're an asshole indeed!!!  

15 Nov 2007 @ 14:52 by DJ @204.146.182.254 : THAT'S WHY I STOPPED WORKING FOR THEM
I worked as a customer service operator for 11 years with WU and the longer I stayed, the worse the job became. A few people here that try to defend WU's regulations have obviously been brainwashed and cannot see what is really going on with the company. Yes, there are some customers that don't read some of the stipulations involved with money wires and don't realize that WU has no control over some situations that occur, but overall, the company is nowhere what it was in the past. New management, outsourcing of jobs, lack of training, and overblown fees are the reasons why the company has somewhat taken a backseat to Moneygram.

I still keep in touch with many employees at Western Union, many good employees that have been there for years, and they still confirm to me how bad it has become. The few long-time operators that are left there are either trying to look for new employment or are eager to retire. The system is flawed and highly unorganized (ESPECIALLY credit card transfers) now and GOOD customers should be upset about the hassle of wiring money now. Yes, there is much more fraud to deal with these days, but at what price should it cost good, hardworking people to send money without having to be put on trial? I personally would never work for, nor send money through Western Union ever again. If you took a poll of the remaining operators at Western Union and asked if they were happy and secure with their work environment, 98% would probably say they were not. It was that way when I worked there and it is even worse now. I made the choice to leave before I was fired as part of a downsizing/outsourcing movement. Western Union is definitely not the company it once was and I would be highly surprised if it were still in business in the next 5 years or so. Good luck to those still working there and good luck to those who chose to use the service.  

20 Nov 2007 @ 00:18 by tha loser workin 4 western union @24.206.207.75 : DEAR GILLES
Thank you for calling me a loser, made me feel really good inside. Anyways, I am taking a break from college b/c I had some personal matters involving a close family member dying. I was just trying to make people realize that the people who you talk to on the phone are just doing their job and I also understand that getting yelled at comes along w/ the territory..I was just taking up for a few people who take it to heart...believe me, I don't. I live in a fairly small town so the wage isn't so bad...my fiance makes tons anyway so that isn't the issue there at all. I like my fellow employees and when you live in a town like I do, there aren't many other choices unless you are a Dr, Lawyer, or like flipping burgers. Neither are up my alley. I am going to be a Drug/Alcohol counselor as soon as I graudate (15 credits short right now) so please do not call me a loser just b/c I work at a place that you don't like for some reason or another. Personally, I think you are the asshole b/c you don't even know me nor have any reason to judge a young female trying to make it in this world and put up with idiots like you. Don't use Western Union..see if I care, less calls for me! I definately won't be there for more than 6 months so gee, that means, YESSSSSSSss i'm not stupid asshole right ???  

22 Nov 2007 @ 21:19 by gilles @74.59.210.196 : Reminds me of...
Tupac (another asshole), in one of his songs "Dear Mamma" cries his apology to his mother for not having been a better boy with her. But now he behaves with her: he kills other gangsta, deals drugs and pimps away prostitutes so that he can leave an envelope full of money in his mum's mail box. Nice guy ha!

No excuses can hide a morally bad behavior, even for a young female trying to make it in this world and put up with idiots! You know who you work for! You know you lie to customers. You know you cheat them! You know you sneakily just get rid of them with deceitful answers. You know you are part of a deceiving wheel of cons, accepting to trick people and support this company so that a few fuckers can keep showing a false image of reliability and get millions out of it!

You say that you're just doing your job. Your job is a piss and you don't have the dignity and the guts to give it up. You know that what you do is wrong! But, young lady, if your world is confined to your small town, just stay there and play your con artist show to those who had the courage to move where an honest job fit their endeavors. Cheers loser counsellor!

BTW: After what I just read, you're certainly more a stupid asshole than I thought you were...  

23 Nov 2007 @ 16:02 by Bert @74.59.210.196 : YOUR JOB? http://goddessofmanynames.blo
Back when I was a teenager (like thirteen or so) I had a copy of Penthouse magazine. After about a year I noticed there were stories in between the pictorals and read them. One was an account by the Mossad agent who had captured Adolf Eichmann in Argentina and brought him to Isreal to face trial for his role in the Holocaust. Eichmann was the architect of the Holocaust, he was the man who poured over building plans for the death camps and wanted the gas chambers made larger, the man who could stop a train carrying ammunition to German soldiers fighting the Russians so that a train of Jews might arrive at Treblinka in a more timely manner.

I remember the author describing Eichmann as a polite, friendly man with a sense of humor. Apparently Eichmann even told him that he had nothing personal against Jews at all. He was just doing his job. Yet we have memos from Eichmann complaining that the camps were not meeting their quotas (i.e. they were not exterminating men, women and children quickly enough). When Eichmann's superior, SS head Heinrich Himmler wanted to stop the gassing, Eichmann kept it going. He was a model of efficiency and purpose.

He was also the penultimate example of human evil.

I believe that even he can be redeemed, but not unless he acknowledges the evil of his actions. Men like this have a difficult time doing that. They have invested a tremendous emotional effort into justification and rationalization. In their minds they have drawn logical and definate reasons why they are exempt from the horror of their actions: I was just doing my job, if I didn't someone else would, I only did it to the (Jews, Gypsies, Witches, Christians, Muslims, fill in your favorite group here) and they are not really human, etc., etc.  

2 Dec 2007 @ 21:48 by Dearne @124.177.107.67 : Western Union
My only gripe about Western Union is the amount of time it takes to load a page - and I'm on high speed Internet connection. Would you believe it took me over 40 minutes to fill in the required details?!

Dad lost his wallet in the UK so mum and I, not knowing what Western Union even was (!!) had to send $900 via credit card to him a few days ago. No probs there. Same as today, I sent him $900 via debit card. No probs just a few questions such as my previous address (because I have not been at this one long) and my licence number. Overall I was fairly happy with it (got a bit lost at the rate the chick on the line was talking!!!) but all went quite smoothly. I'm from Australia, perhaps that makes a difference? Anyway was sorry to read all of these comments (I did so in the midst of my transaction - fearing the absolute worst) and sounds like WU really needs to pick up their act!!  

8 Dec 2007 @ 18:19 by Doesnt MAtter! @70.124.7.149 : Western UNions SUckssss BIg TIMe
SO I lost a money order I was supposed to mail out and automatically I filed and affidavit to stop payment. I had to send 15 dlls plus the certified letter to get there the next day.... and aftera week they told me sorry, they already cashed your money order. F*** them... Im like that's why I sent the freaking letter as per YOUR request. They told me that would stop it. WHo ended up losing almost 1,000 dlls.. ME!!! F*** them, I'm not having a Merry Xmas thanks to them. They did NOTHINGGGG when they couldve more.  

11 Dec 2007 @ 21:29 by ARod @72.225.191.114 : Another complaint...
I actually just tried using them too. And for some "undisclosed" security reason they could not process my transaction. I need to go to a location and do it from there. You know, after getting rejected, and also being fortunate to not have them hit my account I'll gonna go ahead and say f*ck it. I'll find another method to handle this payment..  

19 Dec 2007 @ 01:38 by MO @69.124.153.10 : PREVIOUS COMPLAINER
GOOOOOO TOOOO MONEYGRAM!! WESTERN UNION MESSED ME OVER FEW MONTHS AGE AND I'VE SINCE WENT TO MONEYGRAM!! IT'S GREAT!! ESP. THERE ONLINE SITE TO SEND MONEY!! MONEYGRAM #!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

4 Jan 2008 @ 00:11 by chester simpson @72.47.68.94 : hmmmm
If you could read the terms are on the website and you could very well see that you give up any rights when you send with WU so...... it's not WU fault when your transfer can not be put through....

WU rep  

5 Jan 2008 @ 02:28 by mparr @209.226.175.59 : they truly suck!!!
i fought with western union a lot of times....the latest was..i had to send money to the phils for my daughter's school expenses....she needed that money that very day...and guess what...i sent just 100$ but they only received 75. they said they will investigate it for me....they sent me a copy of the receipt of the money signed by my friend at home....and lo and behold truly 75$!!!! then they never said anything...i wrote back to them....so...what will you do about this when it clearly states here in the receipt that they only received 75???? we will investigate it further.....one year passed.....no results,.....no wetsern union!!!!  

10 Jan 2008 @ 07:35 by G Chan @99.237.148.94 : Yes .. no more WU
Wow, I wish I had found this before sending out money this time around. They left me on the phone for 30 minutes twice and one operator made a comment about me sending money to china for my other girlfriend and "he knows how the deal goes" which pissed me off. When I called again, I got the same guy so I asked to get another operator which ended up being 562. He was no better as he didn't even ask me many questions other then what kind of card I was using and basically tells me to goto the kiosks tomorrow. An hour wasted of my life.  

21 Jan 2008 @ 19:50 by gilles @74.59.210.196 : WHY POSTING ELSEWHERE?
This website here has been gathering precious complaints and infos since July 2006. To me, it would be a bad move and prejudice if people would start to post elsewhere. I feel like all the material will be split and scattered in such a way that those who want a powerful riveting stand off against Western Union will have to post twice or more.
Besides, I tried to register in the forum suggested in the above mentioned post (Jan 15th). It didn't work! I never received any e-mail so that it has been impossible to post (this one post here) Gilles or Mahal, never worked!
POST HERE! WE GOT THE POWER.

By the way, I have nothing to do with the one who started this website!  

27 Jan 2008 @ 04:49 by Andy @71.75.75.108 : When Do Held Funds Come Back???
I'm SO glad I stumbled upon this page. I tried sending money online via Western Union. I called the number for validation, answered a ton of credit history questions and had them call me at my home phone, and the transaction was denied. Now, the $300 is held up on my Visa. I'm in good shape financially, and I can live without the $300...but still!! I see from this page, that people are saying the funds will be back in my account in a few days. But my question is this: Has anyone else gone through my situation, and actually had the amount credited back? I'm so afraid I'll lose the $300 now! WILL the bank actually credit by Visa or do I need to do something else? I attempted to send the money on a Saturday, and it's only Sunday now...but I feel so paranoid and scared.

Andy

PS: I did (for some odd reason) decide to follow their suggestion, and transfer hard cash at a Western Union agent location. The money was easily sent, and it was picked up by the recipient...Success! But what about that money on hold??? Only time will tell.  

21 Feb 2008 @ 23:26 by Becky Sabo @141.161.136.89 : Western Union
I tried to send money to my boyfriend in Ecuador today using Western Union and after asking me a few questions on the phone like my date of birth, past addresses, the last four digits of my social security number, debit card, etc. the guy just hung up the phone without even saying anything!! I called back and was put on hold for half an hour until someone finally got on the phone and told me I had been declined because I "didn't meet the business requirements." I mean I was using a debit card connected to my checking account which has way more money in it than I was trying to send and its not like I have any credit problems anyway.. it's totally ridiculous  

22 Feb 2008 @ 01:00 by gilles @74.59.209.196 : RIDICULOUS, ...
INTRUSIVE , HARSH , HAUGHTY , SUPERCILIOUS and HAPHAZARD !  

25 Feb 2008 @ 07:49 by JAY @74.72.133.46 : sent money at location
I have been sending money for the past year through western union. I've read most of the peoples complaints on this site and see that a lot of them stem from online transaction. In my case I never made an online transaction I always sent cash money at western union location. At the western union location they usually have cameras up to record my face and they also take my drivers license information. Today I received a call stating that I have to call them for verification. I haven't called them yet but hopefully when i do everything works out. What could possibly be fraudulent about sending cash? I purchase items from china to sell locally. Are chinese people now a terrorist threat to the U.S.? I will post again after my conversation with western union  

1 Mar 2008 @ 01:33 by sam john @90.205.78.196 : to western union operator
hi western union operator,,
whilst i agree to some of the comments made by you regarding verification process,i do blv that there is a lot of fruad going on but can u explain as to why innocent people get declined ove rth phone and to be told that there transaction as been declined,what exactly are you looking for when you ask for public record etc etc,its not sufficient to be told that you do not pass our validation process,if people understand that then they woudnt have any issues
thanks  

1 Mar 2008 @ 05:27 by gilles @74.59.209.196 : OF COURSE WU SUCKS, YOU MORON!
Wow! Another omnipotent and prodigious WU Robin Hood! But who the hell asked you to protect me ha?! And what kind of f*ckin service do you provide if you end up treating most of your customers like shit? You admit being HARSH (and slap faces) in this site here, so why don't you state it openly on your front cover page too, in case anyone bothers to read it... No, you rather prefer sending a false image of reliability and courtesy. In fact you just don't want to admit that your screening process absolutely desavows any common sens.  

5 Mar 2008 @ 10:15 by Josh @71.186.200.239 : Western Union sucks
This company is HORRIBLE. Their website is constantly denying me. Now I have sent to my friend 3 times already, NO PROBLEM. Then all of a sudden they decide I don't meet their business requirements, whatever the hell that means. I thought the only business requirement is to make money.. These people are absolutely retarded. Furthermore, you realize when they charge your card they do so as a cash advance, which means there is no way in hell to dispute it. They are chargeback proof. Their procedures are rediculous. I love how when you ask then why they couldnt approve the transaction they say they cannot divulge such information. Fucking idiots.  

7 Mar 2008 @ 11:02 by David Wanyugu @82.12.241.90 : Western Union Untrustworthy
NEVER WILL USE WESTERN UNION AGAIN. THEY ARE DAY TIME RIPPERS. BETTER USE A SOMALI AGENT. SAFE, RELIABLE, GOOD COMPETITIVE RATE. BUT THE SERVICE IS ONLY FOR NAIROBIANS OR MOMBASANS.  

19 Mar 2008 @ 02:10 by daniel largent @24.32.158.30 : westernunion sucks big time!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had my mother send me some money today so I could buy my insulin.and the place that it was sent to wouldn't cash the 15 dollar money order that was Western union.What kind of stupid B.S is that?they can send it but not cash it?!!Even Wal-mart would not cash it.I mean, I needed my insulin and could not cash it.So,all I can say is that Western Union can stick it !!!!!!!  

31 Mar 2008 @ 03:39 by How the west won!!! @169.226.15.73 : what a sham!
I am appalled by WU "business requirements". But get this people, If you tried to send money again on another day with another card they would still decline your transaction. This is a personal affront to the lower income bracket people, people of arab descent, and other "sub-tiered" people. I am disgusted with Western Union. If you want to try to implement a new validation process, we should all write Mr. Carlton Francis at P.O Box 4430 Brigeton, MO 63044. I wonder if this affects your credit rating, being that WU is so intrusive.  

3 Apr 2008 @ 21:21 by Craig @208.247.100.130 : No Service
The Western Union operators that post here don't ever give you any info on how to get problems resloved. Western Union charges too much to send money, and they won't check out complaints. I just sent a paltry $200 to my wife in Costa Rica, but the agent wouldn't give it to her. She had my name and her ID, but didn't know how much I sent. Worse, the agent logged it as paid out. WEstrern Union would not call the agent or anything. Even if I do get my money back, I am going to take them to small claims for the $22.00 fee. Either they send a lawyer to court, or I get a judgement. Everyone makes mistakes, but their refusal to give a damn really chaps me. If small calims won't work I'll go to the attorny general of Utah. PS Why don't you agents post something helpful, by the way you don't deserve praise for every time you actually get the money through, you sure charge enough.  

4 Apr 2008 @ 17:18 by james @70.234.197.7 : western union
I work for them trust me its going to get worse their gonna shut down all us call centers. And the us call centers really do know how to help. So now you'll be dealing with Mexico who does not care and they can do whatever they want hang up on you steal your information. Its funny cause the company is going to go bankrupt!  

16 Apr 2008 @ 02:17 by heather @70.101.130.110 : know the facts b4 saying shit
FIRST OF ALL I WORK FOR WU AND THE SECURITY THING IS FOR YOUR PROTECTION, IF YOU GOT YOUR IDENITY STOLEN AND THEY TRANSFERED MONEY AND YOU COULDNT GET IT BACK YOU WOULD THANK US FOR IT, SECOND WHEN WE CXL A TRANSFER WU DOES NOT HAVE YOUR MONEY YOUR BANK DOES AND IF YOUR BANK WOULD ACCEPT A FAX FROM US WE COULD HELP GET YOUR MONEY BACK INTO YOUR ACCOUNT BUT THEY WANT ALL OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION SUCH AS YOUR CREDIT CARD NUMBER AND YOUR 3 DIGIT SECURITY CODE, AND **FOR YOUR PROTECTION WE WILL NOT RELEASE THAT INFORMATION** 3RD OF ALL AS AN OPERATOR I RUN INTO PROBLEMS SUCH AS YOU GUYS ARE SAYING AND WE DO TRY TO HELP AND WE DO FEEL BAD ABOUT NOT TRYING TO SEND YOUR FUNDS, I BET NONE OF YOU GUYS KNOW THAT ALL THE MONEY SENT TO AMERICA FOR THE SEPTEMBER 11 THING WAS SEND THROUGH WU SO IF YOUR NAME IS MAHOMMOD WE DO NOT JUDGE YOU WE JUST SIMPLY MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT SENDING FUNDS TO BLOW USA UP AGAIN, ABOUT 95% OF OUR CALLS A NIGHT IS FRAUD AND THATS WHY WE HAVE SO MUCH SECURITY, AND BY THE WAY IF YOU WOULD READ OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS ON THE WEBSITE YOU WILL FIND EVERYTHING WE ASK, WE AS OPERATORS DO NOT MAKE THE RULES WE JUST HAVE TO FOLLOW THEM, IF YOU BE COMPETLY HOEST ABOUT YOUR IDENITY IT WOULD MAKE THE WHOLE PROCESS FASTER, AND THE DEAL WITH NOT BEING ABLE TO DISCLOSE THE BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS IS PUT IN PLACE BECAUSE IF WE GAVE THEM OUT TO THE FRAUDSTERS WHEN WE CXL THEIR TRANSACTION BECAUSE WE KNW THEY JUST STOLE SOMEONES MONEY THEY WOULD STEAL EVERYONES INFO AND YOU WILL ALL BE SHIT OUT OF TROUBLE,... **SO TO ALL OF YOU FUCJKING IDIOTS THAT DO NOT THANK ABOUT SHIT YOUR THE ONES WHO ARE FUCKED UP,  

17 Apr 2008 @ 17:57 by Goody @24.90.176.14 : Heather
Why don't you stop writing in capital letters and come suck my modafucking dick bitch. Just by reading your stupid comment it is clear that you don't work there nor you are a professional. How the fuck do you even mention this " WE JUST SIMPLY MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT SENDING FUNDS TO BLOW USA UP AGAIN, ABOUT 95% OF OUR CALLS A NIGHT IS FRAUD"
I hope your house gets blown and you fucking die !!!
W/U sucks big dick and all the ones who try to back it up saying they have a good service should just fucking die !

WESTERNUNION should have a big BIG red announcement saying " Do not send money via our website, most likely we will hold your fucking money for 3 days until you get it back on your account, so please close your account because we don't deal with anyone, we think everyone is a terrorist and or fraud."

So fuck you Heather, fuck you western union and fuck all the the people I talk to over the phone at customer service.  

26 Apr 2008 @ 18:01 by john @72.227.46.124 : Same problem here.
Same problem here. I totally agree, Western Union's "security measures" are ridiculous at the best! There isn't any real security behind it. All they excel at is annoying and turning down the customers. Fot the money chargeed per-transfer, I think they owe us, the customers, a lot more of consideration. But alas, WU for all practical purposes the money-transfer monopoly meaning they can do whatever they want: charge any percentages, turning down any transaction for any or no reason, hassle you over the phone, hide their contacts from public. The question is, what are YOU gonna do about it? What CAN you do except for moaning and cursing? WU get their profits anyway, and try to dispute or challenge that! Until better alternative comes, we're all at their mercy. By the way, false claim about a service is false advertisement, which by all means is a fraud. Just like any other fraud it should be punished not only by some "corporate fines", which are eventually taken out of the customers' pockets, but by criminal sentencing of PARTICULAR individuals. And then, see how quickly they improve!  

29 Apr 2008 @ 19:30 by That Guy @74.197.148.217 : To address some issues mentioned here:
Now listen, I have been sitting here for an hour reading all (or at least most) of the comments left on this page. And before you even ask I don't know Heather and I agree her outburst was entirely unprofessional.

I am a Western Union CSR and I work in the validation department that you all seem to have problems with. I am one of the People that you must call when sending money from WesternUnion.com. We are for one purpose, and one purpose only, and that is to try our best to protect you from fraud. You may think you are an iritance but I ask you, have you ever had your identity stolen? Another responsibility that I have is to report fraudulent usages of peoples credit card information. I get no less than 20-30 calls a day in my 8 hour shift from people complaining that their bank account was drained and they have no idea who did it and where the money went. You may think that what we do is pointless now, but try being in that situation once and see how your opinion changes!

Please people, try to protect yourself! The information that we ask for is information that you should know and keep track of. You should keep records of all your potentially important information. And I don't mean to keep it all in a box in the corner of your bedroom, that is just irresponsible and the easiest way for anyone to steal your identity. Keep all your records in a safe place such as a locking filing cabinet or safe deposit box. In the world we live in today identity theft is a HUGE problem and it is your responsibility to protect yourself and keep your own records. And PLEASE, if you get notification that you just won the lottery in Jamaica when you have never been there OR entered a lottery in Jamaica, please DO NOT send them $5000 to pay off the taxes. That is not how any lottery works and you will receive NOTHING in return. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is!

The process we use to validate transfers is NOT perfect, we know this, but it is the best method that we have to try to protect you from fraud. If you feel that you know a better way to do it or you have any suggestions then please, let us know. We would love to have your input on the matter. Please write to our company with any of your concerns. Just remember that with thousands of transfers being sent on the phone and over the website and having 200,000 agent locations world wide, we cannot make major changes to our process at to drop of a hat.

As for your money being in holding, this is a bank procedure and Western Union does not have your money. We do not hold your money to make interest on it and we don't try to steal it. Western Union is not the only company that has to follow these procedures from the bank, ALL merchants have to follow these same procedures when using a credit card issued by your bank. And to the customers of banks such as Bank of America, Wachovia, and Wells Fargo, these banks as well as a few others WILL NOT ACCEPT a request from Western Union to remove the hold and put the funds back into your account. They want to speak with you, the credit card holder, personally to get the request to remove the hold. Now, for Bank of America, this is quite difficult and most of the time they wont give you any option except for waiting the 5-10 business days for the hold to expire. Please take this up with the bank, don't call me and yell at me for your banks policy. And if we changed it so that you must be validated before we get authorization from the bank, then you would complain that "I answered all those questions they had for me and when I thought I was done, they said my bank declined it!!"

There is a lot of talk on this page about business requirements. If Western Union openly told everyone that asked everything about what we require to send transfers through, then whats the point of them being there? Knowing what we require will get your money to where it needs to be, yes. But it would also let your spiteful neighbor and the scheming fraudsters from the next town over get a transfer through on your credit card. The people who try to steal money through Western Union are very good at what they do. We get calls all the time where people are phishing for any information they can get to use to steal peoples money.

Please people, try to think of the situation from a business perspective and see all the hoops that we have to jump through as well, before you complain. Fraud prevention is not an easy task and we are doing what we have found to be the most effective means of preventing fraud that we have found.

Last but certainly not least, READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS ON THE WESTERN UNION WEBSITE! Everything listed in all the complaints on this page as well as all the questions I have to deal with on a daily basis are answered right there if you would take the time to read it. This is advise that you should not limit to dealing with Western Union, you should read every single agreement that you agree to before you agree. This would save you a lot of time and a lot of hassle.


I do work as a CSR for Western Union but I am writing this on my own time and without Western Unions knowledge or approval. The views and opinions I have expressed here are my own and not Western Union's. I have not been paid or directed by Western Union to write this, I have chosen to do so on my own.
This my friends is a disclaimer, this is an example of how you PROTECT YOURSELF!  

1 May 2008 @ 13:14 by A former customer service professional @208.252.48.158 : 95% of calls a night are fraud?!
Really Heather? 95% of the calls WU receives a night are frauds? By whose definition? The rediculous security measures that have seen so many people wrong denied and, by implication, accused of being terrorists? Just because you define something a certain way, doesn't make it a fact. I could say that the world's population is actually a lot less than reported, because by my definition, left-handed people aren't human and there for shouldn't be counted. That wouldn't make it a fact, though. Claiming that you receive so much fraud is why you have such strict verification measures when it appears that the alleged fraud level is being caused by those security measures is a circular and intellectually disenguious arguement.

I see at least one new posting a week here for the past 21 months. And that's just people who have found this site, which I am sure is only a small fraction of people who have legitimately tried to use WU's services only to be denied. A good and pro-active company would look into such a fiasco and try to implement changes that would be beneficial to the customer without compromising security. Instead, I see purported employees blaming the customer for everything. What I do not see is any justification for charging fees and placing holds on people's account before the transaction is approved and then delaying the rreturn of those funds after it has been denied. That sounds fraudulent to me.

Some of these people were in emergency situations when they tried to use your services when they were denied. What is it going to take to get WU's attention? A class action law suit? Someone to die because they couldn't pay for medical treatment/medicine because a transaction was denied and funds were still tied up?

If you think you have a PR problem now, just wait until there's a television news story with a grieving family and footage of a child's funeral.  

2 May 2008 @ 23:42 by Kibosanchez @66.153.123.114 : WU SCAMS US CUSTOMERS
WU is not complicit? OF COURSE THEY ARE! Here's the evidence for your blog!!!: I sent a $500 money transfer to a friend in Mexico on 03/08/08 through Western Union's website. The transfer was approved by a Western Union rep via telephone and the funds were made immediately available. 4 hours later I instructed my friend to go pick up the funds. The individual went to a WU location in Nogales, Sonora Mexico and they told him the funds had already been paid out. I called WU and advised them of the problem, and they stated that the money had already been picked up. I relayed to the rep that the money transfer control number (MTCN) was never given to the reciever, my friend. They rep said that the MTCN was not needed to pick up money in Mexico, and that it had already been paid out to someone who had identified himself as my friend. WU said I would have to file a claim to get the money back. I filed a claim and on 03/13/08 I spoke to a WU fraud dept. rep who researched the claim and (mistakenly I think) informed me that the person to whom the funds were paid never presented a photo ID, did not have the MTCN or sender's information (my name), and was listed on the US Government's watch list, but for some reason the money was paid out to him anyway. On 03/21/08 I was sent a letter stating that the transaction was paid out correctly and I would not be recieving a refund. Since that time I have had multiple conversations (03/21, 4/07, 4/25, 05/2) the WU Int'l department, who has continually stated that they requested a manager to investigate the claim, but that they keep denying the claim. At this point it appears that WU is conspiring to cover up evidence of collusion and corruption involving the agent located in Nogales Sonora, as well as possible violations of US Federal law concerning individuals on the Gov't. watch list. It is appears that WU's internal policies and procedures were not followed either and they have neglected to advise or warn customers that they do not utilize the MTCN as a security measure when paying out in Mexico, leading US consumer to believe they are protected and giving them a false sense of security related to this procedure. WU reps had every opportunity both on their website and during the telephone conversation confirmation call to warn me of their lack of security concerning MTCNs' when paying out in Mexico, BUT DID NOT DO SO. They paid out MY MONEY to the WRONG person (or the agent pocketed it or split it with the thief) and the REFUSE to take responsibility for it!?$#@^%$# It was classifies by them as "PAID OUT CORRECTLY"!! Not only did I not get a refund, but now my only recourse is to file a report with the Mexican authorities, or "federales". I'm sure they'll get right on it. Western Union SCAMS and DEFRAUDS U.S. customers, profits from it, and blatantly misrepresents the security concerning their service.  

11 May 2008 @ 18:54 by PeterS @99.232.28.75 : Western Union Sucks
Here’s my experience with Western Union:

I'd sent money to a recipient in Russia via Western Union. I’d sent money to Russia via Western Union before, to different recipient, without a problem.

Western Union phoned me 5 (yes FIVE) days later to inform me they could not deliver the money.

The reason they gave was that my recipient has a 'suspicious' name.

The reason they gave for the five day delay was that they had to conduct an 'investigation'.

They also said I had to provide an address for the recipient.

There was no space for recipients address on the form I had to fill out when I sent the money originally. The agent that took the money to be sent, including a substantial Western Union fee never asked me for an address, or informed me that such a problem might arise.

What irked me most was firstly the FIVE DAY delay (yes, FIVE DAYS for something billed as an 'instant' service to tell you they decided not to put it through, but to run an 'investigation' instead) and secondly how their agents who phoned me and the supervisor I managed to talk to made it out to be normal and somehow MY fault for not providing the address. I repeat, there is no space for recipients address on 'send money' form, nor was I informed by the agent that such information even MIGHT be necessary. I would have happily provided the address.

As for a suspicious name, my recipient has one of the most common names in Russia, not that it should be in any way relevant.

So it seems the whole Western Union company is a scam. Beware

Now a little girls birthday has passed, I am embarrassed to the nth degree, all because Western Union decided it was somehow their function to hold MY MONEY for FIVE DAYS and to ‘run an investigation’ (in the words of their extremely rude employees) instead of either sending my money ‘in minutes’ as promised in their advertisements or at least phoning me the next day, maybe two days after to tell me they had a problem with providing the service they already CHARGED THEIR FEE FOR.  

14 May 2008 @ 04:07 by JulianF @68.3.220.66 : Western Union Doesn't deserve my busines
I've sent thousands of dollars over the last decade to family in Honduras. I'm a missionary and my wife and I have sent $ to help needy people in our church there. The last transaction was for $70, and that was too much I guess. Money laundering? Funding terrorism? HA! With $70??? Give me a break PLEASE...!!! So they tell me that FOREVER we will NEVER be able to use their service again. Too bad we and those in our church (350 people) will NEVER use WU again.  

20 May 2008 @ 13:54 by Trent Brown @64.236.240.190 : Western Union, never again!!
I had to make a car payment and the only way they would except it is Western Union quick collect. I did everything online, verified all of my information and was made to call a number. I was told I gave them an incorrect address and they blocked the money order. My mony ($800) has been tied up for 5 days now including the weekend. Never again....this is ridiculous...  

20 May 2008 @ 19:15 by protectfromwhat @208.253.100.119 : Good thing this never happens.
{link:http://www.ic3.gov/crimeschemes.aspx|http://www.ic3.gov/crimeschemes.aspx}  

20 May 2008 @ 19:22 by protectfromwhat @208.253.100.119 : or this...
{link:http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/11/fraud_and_weste.html|http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/11/fraud_and_weste.html}  

20 May 2008 @ 19:24 by protectfromwhat @208.253.100.119 : Sued for too much security???
{link:http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/248537_scams16.html|http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/248537_scams16.html}  

6 Jun 2008 @ 18:23 by Karlee @76.27.31.219 : Western Union sucks
I have had a western union account forever, and I hated using it in the first place. the fees are completely ridiculous and expensive already. Well, they proceeded to tell me (after I had to call because it would not just send it) that I have never used it before, which was a lie, and went away for 5 minutes to check out all my information, and came back and asked me about my driving records from october 2003 about having to go to court, and other such various gay things like counties and addresses and total crap! I guess I did not fit "into their business model (of scams)" and to all of the WU workers YOU SUCK AND YOU ALL KNOW YOU ARE SCAMMING. DON'T GIVE ME ANY OF THIS " WE ARE JUST HELPING YOU CRAP!!!!! YOU GUYS GET PAID REGARDLESS FROM THE "PRETEND TRANSFER", SO YOU ARE NOT OUT OF ANY MONEY AT ALL! Hmmm... nice scam. YOU GUYS ALSO DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO LOOK UP AND QUESTION ME ON MY PERSONAL INFORMATION. GO TO HELL!!!!! I hope that people figure it out and stop using western union to put them out of business. I should actually thank western union, so that I know never to use them, and figure out that none of us should pay your ridiculous fees. The security there is total crap and so completely unecessary. It is easier to go through TSA at the airport after all of the 9/11 safety precautions than it is to send money through WU. ALL OF THE WU WORKERS, STOP WRITING ON HERE TRYING TO CONVINCE US THAT YOU ARE SO INNOCENT. NONE OF US LIKE YOU AND YOU ARE JUST STEPPING OUT INTO THE LINE OF FIRE!!! (sigh) idiots.....  

2 Jul 2008 @ 23:47 by Gruntled @75.107.23.232 : DONE WITH western union
i own a business that provided amoung other services Western Union but because of their TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE i am cancelling my contract and will no longer offer or recommend them. Basically they deducted a $3000.00 transaction from my business account Twice, even though i was assured by their rep one transction had been cancelled. When i call their "customer service" their reps are RUDE, UNHELPFUL AND INCOMPETENT! I am a very resonable person, but they hung up on me for no reason, I was blind transferred numerous times, one bitch answered in Spanish when i told her I'd like to speak to an English rep please her response was very rude "I speak English" but then could not understand anything I said. "8", "8", "8" she said, "A", "A" "A" then put me on hold and someone else answered who had no idea what I had been previously explaining, so I had to start all over again. NOT ONE OF THE REPS EXPRESSED ANY EMPATHY FOR MY PLIGHT (my bank account was wiped out because of THEIR MISTAKE!) AND NONE OF THEM EXPRESSED ANY URGENCY TO FIX IT. i contacted my bank and filed a claim on the extra $3,000.00 debit and they immediately credited it back. Once Western Union finally had me issue my own refund check to myself (which could have been done very easily in less then five minutes on the first call if any of their agents knew what they were doing and could speak like intelligent grown ups...!) Now after dealing with them for almost a week and numerous calls, i think it is finally over and I get a call from some MEGA BITCH at their company accused me of placing a stop payment (which i never did) ??? and absolutely threatening me to call my bank to remove it. When i told her i've already been through a lot with Western Union in the last week, she said "she had no record of any previous conversations" I LOST IT! I REFUSE TO BE VICTIMIZED BY THOSE FUCKING RETARDS. The face of a company is the people you talk to on the phone, Western Union clearly has no priorities whatsover around customer service, so as a customer i am filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and will never use them again. With such horrible customer service Western Union has no place in the Fortune 500 (they're in the high 400's) let's know them out! Their CEO: Christina Gold PO Box 6992 G Greenwood Village Colorada 80155-6992  

9 Jul 2008 @ 00:22 by gilles @74.59.205.179 : "We at Western Union...
`...we just want to protect you!" he he he You can see my horror story somewhere above and those of others too. Then, let's wait coz incompetency leads straight to bankruptsy, sooner or later. Just a question of time...  

9 Jul 2008 @ 02:24 by gilles @74.59.205.179 : RE-POSTED just for the hell of it
22 Nov 2007 @ 21:19 by gilles @74.59.210.196 : Reminds me of...
Tupac (another asshole), in one of his songs "Dear Mamma" cries his apology to his mother for not having been a better boy with her. But now he behaves with her: he kills other gangsta, deals drugs and pimps away prostitutes so that he can leave an envelope full of money in his mum's mail box. Nice guy ha!

No excuses can hide a morally bad behavior, even for a young female trying to make it in this world and put up with idiots! You know who you work for! You know you lie to customers. You know you cheat them! You know you sneakily just get rid of them with deceitful answers. You know you are part of a deceiving wheel of cons, accepting to trick people and support this company so that a few fuckers can keep showing a false image of reliability and get millions out of it!

You say that you're just doing your job. Your job is a piss and you don't have the dignity and the guts to give it up. You know that what you do is wrong! But, young lady, if your world is confined to your small town, just stay there and play your con artist show to those who had the courage to move where an honest job fit their endeavors. Cheers loser counsellor!

BTW: After what I just read, you're certainly more a stupid asshole than I thought you were...  

9 Jul 2008 @ 02:31 by gilles @74.59.205.179 : That was for you DAVE!
OH OH I LIKE CHOCOLATE ALMOND BARS

Are you shure this is not another of your WU bulshit bar?!  

22 Jul 2008 @ 12:27 by Dark Lord @24.74.60.188 : I just got screwed by western union!@!!
Yep, like the other 200+ folks on this blog, I just got totally screwed AFTER they took the money out of my checking account with an approval!!! The questions were stupid, I answered them correctly, and now I'm out $100 for 3-4 days and my friends are stranded out of state with no gas money. Does anyone know of a class action or any other movement to stop western union's abuse of the public????  

1 Aug 2008 @ 17:21 by David @71.6.14.2 : it is rude to authorize the full amount
I generally have had positive experiences with 'Money in Minutes' having received a number of transfers and having sent a number of transfers from the USA to Australia without any significant problems. I did get asked to call in for authorization a couple of times but never had any problems getting authorized.

However I think it is fundamentally rude--even if allowed by the fine print--for WU to authorize the full amount of the transfer with the credit card company even before giving its own approval. The usual practice in such cases--which all other merchants besides WU seem to employ--is to authorize just one dollar ($1.00) early in the transaction to verify that there is someone with a bona fide credit card ready to do business. Then once everything is approved and ready to go, an authorization for the full amount is obtained. This minimizes the risk (for WU) of wasting time with a customer without a valid credit card--but also ensures that the customer's credit doesn't get tied up if WU won't let the transaction go through.

It is simply rude to tie someone's credit up for several days if WU has no intention of doing business with them. I don't think, though, that WU is actually gaining financially via the float. When an authorization on a credit card is obtained but ultimately is cancelled and never posts, once it does cancel it is as though the transaction never happened. No interest or fees are charged to the credit card and no money ever changes hands. Hard to see where WU is making money with this practice--but it is still fundamentally rude to tie up someone's credit for a few days, especially given that WU must know that the reason people are willing to pay their very high fees is because they are facing an emergency and cannot afford to tie up their credit for even a few days.

So no I don't think that WU is making money via this practice--it just strikes me as the kind of arrogant but ultimately foolish and self-defeating policy that older companies that may have seen better days are prone to.

I am sympathetic to the fraud concerns but what WU should do is (a) not authorize more than $1.00 until the fraud screening is complete and (b) provide an option for finishing a transaction in person that was started online without complete satisfaction.

I've actually had trouble dealing with WU in person lately. This week I wanted to use WU's SwiftPay / Prepaid Services transfer capability (advertised cost: $3.95) to send money to top off my debit card. I tried dealing with three different agents in person, all referred to me via WU's website as providing this service. The first agent was primarily a music store which did have a WU sign in their window but absolutely refused, without a reason, to transact my WU business. The second agent was a 7-Eleven store which turned out to be a customer-operate V-com terminal--but when I called in via the phone provided WU said they didn't provide the service I wanted via V-com (even though their website said that 7-Eleven provided full agent service for WU). The third agent was primarily a liquor store which wasn't open when the WU website said they would be.

The bottom line--both in person and online--is of a company somewhat in decline and less than enthusiastic about realing doing business with people.  

6 Aug 2008 @ 12:28 by Fred @121.222.173.158 : Western Union No More
I used to like WU cause its convenient and quick, online?? woo hoo. until now.... trying to send money to Indonesia, being asked my driver licence number and operator said thank you very much mister.....opppss,....sorry we cant proceed with your transaction cause theres no authorization code from your credit card issuing bank? wtf? called my bank and they said nothing wrong with my card as matter of fact WU never tried to put through the transaction. Am I going crazy here???????????  

7 Aug 2008 @ 02:11 by AR @76.173.120.234 : Won't let me send money
Very odd, just tried to send $100 online to New Zealand. Called in to complete transaction. They only asked me my name - no security questions - and then after several minutes said my transaction does not meet their security standards! My credit card was not declined - I simply don't meet security standards that they would not explain to me.  

13 Aug 2008 @ 16:39 by Carol @75.41.213.113 : You're screwed from now on.....
FYI - Now that Western Union has closed their US call center, the only people you will deal with are those that speak english as a second language. Their call center in Costa Rica pays $2 per hour, so the turnover will be crazy!! And the temptation for those employees to steal your credit/debitcard info is HUGE!!! The other call centers are Canada and Mexico. Not sure what the operators in Canada make, but Mexico is $2.75/hr. WOW!! And they are trusting them with your creditcard info?  

18 Aug 2008 @ 17:49 by Toronto @69.159.198.61 : I wish I Knew all of this before!
Wow!

I wish I read this site before I used WU online.

This was the worst online purchasing experience EVER! The phone number provided in the email to "complete your order" didn't work!! When I call the customer service I got shuffled to 5 WU operators before the final representative told me I was declined. In one day my credit card was *authorized the amount,, now its 2 weeks later and my credit card had not been credited.

Easily the worst company I have used on the internet!

Please be cautious!  

26 Aug 2008 @ 23:24 by Travis @189.216.146.248 : To all of you stupid customers
We hate your complains, really; we do. Most of you have horrible telephones to start off with then your crappy voices, your nasty attitudes.We try our best to help you but it's not our fault you give us either fake information or you have bad credit. No wonder why we decline your transfers.
:)  

28 Aug 2008 @ 01:39 by gilles @74.59.205.179 : WHAT A TROLL!
Man...do you really think we are that stupid, hun?!

http://www.dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=102396&dict=CALD  

28 Aug 2008 @ 01:41 by gilles @74.59.205.179 : C'MON, IGNORANT, click on the link here:
http://www.dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=102396&dict=CALD  

6 Sep 2008 @ 12:27 by Carol @71.157.175.243 : Reply to Travis, the illiterate wu rep
LOL See what I mean people....you will be dealing with people like good ol' Travis. hahaha What a gem!! USE PAYPAL OR MONEYGRAM!!!!  

9 Sep 2008 @ 07:13 by nick @71.184.67.232 : western union
I HAVE SAME STORY AS 99 PERCENT ON THIS.YOU USE WU TO SEND MONEY RIGHT AWAY,BUT TO
THEM IT DOES NOT MATTER,IF YOUR SON IS VERY SICK AND YOUR WIFE CALLED SO SHE CAN TAKE HIM TO DOCTORS NO WHEN COMPANY MAKES 9 BILLIONS,COMMON PERSON WHO HAS TO DO
THIS,AND GETS TREATED LIKE YOU ARE AT WRONG BY SENDING MONEY AT 12AM BECAUSE NOTHING IS OPEN,YOU HAVE DONE THIS MORE THAN YOU CAN COUNT,SO YOU GET THIS PERSON WHO HAS NEVER PASSED 5 GRADE ON THE PHONE WHO DOES NOT CARE ABOUT WHAT YOU TRYING TO TELL HIM,SO HE GIVES YOU THIS BABBLE YOUR WRONG,SO TRY AGAIN,BUT MAYBE YOU ARE STUPID AND ERROR SHOWS UP AGAIN SO THIS TIME YOU THINK LET ME CALL BACK,SO YOU GET M,I,T GRAD WHO ANSWERS SO YOU GET PICTURE BUT SOME ONE WATING ON THE OTHER SIDE YOUR WIFE WITH YOUR SICK SON,SO YOU ARE GETTING WORRIED ABOUT HIM ,AT SAME TIME TRING TO MAKE SENCE WHY THIS HAPPENING SO TRYING BUT YOU GET SAME ANSWER ,AND THEY TAKE MONEY FROM YOUR A COUNT,THEY CANT
SEND IT.........SO CANT GO ANY WARE AT 2,00 AM .YOU CALL AGAIN YOU GET PERKY GIRL WHO AT 19 WAS MAKING CARRER OF THIS TO PUT ALL THE LOVE SHE HAS FOR WORK,HANG UP ON YOU.YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YOU ARE SPENDING 9 BILLION,WHILE MY SON WATING FOR MONEY  

12 Sep 2008 @ 01:38 by Toronto @72.141.25.115 : 38 days later
I was declined a money order but my credit card was charged. This was not an authorization it was a charge*. I had to get my credit card company involved, dispute officers and finally 38 days later (with the wonderful help of my credit card company) the Western Union charge has been removed.

38 days is unacceptable. I'm not here to complain about the Western Union representatives, yeah sure they were nice enough. Its just all the inaccurate information that was provided to me... they kept on saying wait 5 days it will be reversed. Good thing i gave up on WU and let my credit company step in.

Again just please be cautious.  

12 Sep 2008 @ 15:13 by Australia @58.165.174.6 : western union australia
i dont even know where to start with my experiences with western union.Their operators arnt pleasant and helpful,their austrlian webpage takes forever to load,they have a box which apparently if you tick is meant to store the recipients information so next time you dont have to fill it out but this box never works,they appear unwilling to see where they need to make changes,they expect you to do there job-like ring my bank and find out the banks fax number and then ring them and provide it to them when they have made a mistake and you were meant to receive an refund-for the amount they charge for their fees/services they could at least be helpful and make things better for their customers.I asked to speak to supervisor so i could complain and was told there was no supervisor i could speak to?-i supposed because it was evening but even if it is evening i find it strange or unlikely that there would be no supervisor?i send to a charity,i wish there was another online company/method that i could use but Western union is the only one in Australia that im aware of unfortunately.All services from other companies that i use are usually good but I definately dont recommend using western union to anyone if you have another option
Thankyou  

16 Sep 2008 @ 16:46 by Cindy @130.191.7.117 : I HATE WU
I should have found this website before clicking the 'submit' button... WORST online service... I'LL NEVER USE IT AGAIN! I hope I get my money back if WU does not approve the transaction....  

8 Oct 2008 @ 16:08 by Jack L Walker @74.34.107.170 : Blacklisted bu WU
Like many others I had been sending money to the Philippines. Then One time they told me that there was a problem verifying my phone number. I got a new phone number, different email address , Differeent visa card and number, Same name. And re-applied. Same thing. I think our government has clamped down on money going t the philippines for any and all reasons. At least on the internet. You can still take cash to an agent and send it that way. I guess the logic is tha t the agent can check to see if you are wearing a towell on your head. The CEO of Western Union Is Christina Gold, she was CEO of Avon before this. If anyone knows how to email her please send a copy of these complaints to her. Jack  

8 Oct 2008 @ 22:26 by Roy @70.146.6.166 : experience with WU
Much the same as above. Attempted to send cash and the transaction was denied. When I inquired as to why? I was told they could not provide that information? So lets see, you ask me for information so that we can complete a transaction, I provide all that you ask for, then you say the transaction can't be completed? Sounds like some sort of game??? Clearly, WU is one, if not the, worst company with whom I've attempted to transact business. It was my first and last time.  

16 Oct 2008 @ 02:38 by Arman @63.249.53.22 : Western Union Sucks, BE AWARE
I needed to send money today, so I decided to do in "In Minutes", guess what? Now I have to wait for 3 days before my bank releases my funds. My transfer got declined becuase I don't have a land line. what a BS. I told them I have a cell phone. No money is frozen. I will bener use WU. Stay away from it. Customer service sucks, each of them tells you different stories....  

19 Oct 2008 @ 17:52 by Ace @24.210.119.13 : WESTERN UNION ROCKS
Western Union...is glorious  

20 Oct 2008 @ 18:10 by Victor Martinez @75.211.68.94 : stay away from western union
Stay away from Western Union. They overcharge and provide a terrible customer service. They suck!  

22 Oct 2008 @ 21:37 by Pamela Rae @12.43.48.194 : Awful
Hey, WU, suck it! F*ckers have sent my money to the wrong city/country three times and overcharged me on the service fees. Ass*oles! B*tches! B*stards! Butt Monkeys! I don't know if the deficiencies the agents suffer from are organic or genetic, but take a f*cking vitamin if it's organic and please, for the love of god, stop breeding your stupid spawn! McDonalds needs more employees, but I'd say 99.9% of the WU agents are not qualified to pick up french fries off the floor.  

26 Oct 2008 @ 22:11 by scammedbywesternunion @151.47.190.17 : western union must die
Western Union stole 1000 pounds from my girlfriend. I have solid evidence that they set up things so that they can pocket senders' money and put the blame on some "Nigerian Mafia" - gimme a break, guys.

Western Union, my mission from now on is to wreck your reputation worldwide.  

27 Nov 2008 @ 20:57 by Harry @81.235.139.71 : Swedish style WU
So, I was in a hurry to send my daughter some money, she is in her birth country, Russia. No, I speak read and write 6 languages, and I am word blind in all of them (my wife will clean this up for me). I send off $100 and leave home for a while, I come home and my foster son tells me that WU had called but wouldnt give him the security number, which is fair enough, so I called them. No here's where is gets fun, the rep asks if I have spelt Irina's name correctly as Erina doesn look right, so I say thanks, can you change it. The answer was no she couldn't, so I asked what now? "Well, now you scan you national ID card and send it to me then I can" I asked how a copy of my ID card would help and she replied "then I know it's you talking" I asked how she would know and she said "Well, because I would have you ID in my hand" At this point I pointed out that a father sending his daughter money is hardly a big time crook and all she needed to do was change and E to and I. At this point seeing the stupidity of needing a copy of my ID to change the one letter she chaged her tone and wasicaly barked "If you dont send it I wont put the transfer through." At this point I said "Okay, no problem, I will use Money-gram so you can send the mony back to my account" and guess what, once again she said "yes, that will be fine, once you have sent me a copy of your ID" I almost fell off my chair laughing at this point and pointed out she would be repaying into the account from which it came, but no, she was so sure I had to provide her with a copy of my ID. As she was now a bit nasty I asked her upon which law she based her request as the law which covers it, Consumer Services does not allow for t and I have read their own rules of use and it wasnt there either, at which point she drew her trump, "Ha, we are registered in Ireland and Austria and it is those laws that count". Not to be outdone I pointed out that no, as the transaction was performed on a Swedish Visa card transfered to an on-shore Swedish account it was Swedish law that counts no matter how you write on your homepage, and I pointed all this out in German and then repeated it in Swedish, but all to no avail, she was not going to repay untill I sent a copy of my ID. So, today I went to my back and asked how I stood, they said no problems, WU was in my debt and the could fix it, I asked them to hold off, I called Visa and asked them, the lady their said give me an hour, I love this stuff,, I asked her to hold off, I went to the National debt collection agency (we have one in Sweden, government run even) and filled in the forms and called WU and asked if they weren't ready to reconcider, the answer was a resounding NO! So I nodded to the lady behind the dest who stamped the form and took my $25 I then told the rep on the phone that I had put in a debt collection requestwhich had been acknoledged and processed. My $100 was now $150 (the payee also pays $25)to them and lets see where it goes. Three minutes after the lady from Visa was on the phone and I said please, go ahead. Two minutes later WU were on the phone, okay, they would refund my $100, "Sorry" I said, but now my costs are $125 plus $75 for my time, the guy laughed and said forget it, so I said, "thanks for you call, bye....." Thirty minutes later the Lady from Visa called and said, "Well, I spoke to them and an suddenly some one in the back ground said to pay $200 into my account and they would settle with the national debt agency. SoWU may be big and threaten, but when push comes to shove thay back off when they know they are onto a loss. Stand up to the A**holes.  

26 Dec 2008 @ 20:56 by samina @90.194.255.206 : Western union are b**ches i swear
I filled out the western union form to send the money online as my mother really needed the money to pay her cancer treatment bills urgently. They refused the transaction and took the money out my visa card.. I highly warn people never to use western union ever. There are other ways to send money to other countries. SO F**K YOU WESTERN UNION MOTHER F***ERS.  

22 Jan 2009 @ 02:12 by WakyofCalifornia @70.6.213.254 : Western Union is a legal Theft
U sent money to the Philippines twice with the same amount and western Union charge me $45.00 to send each transaction and Western Union took out $110 to two transactions in the Philippines without my authorization.

WATCH OUT! Western Union is taking your money without authorization and their customer service lied many times taht they are investigating. But there was no results the did not give mt money back.  

31 Jan 2009 @ 21:34 by Eric @189.217.53.93 : SERIOUSLY READ THIS
I work there, i have for like 6 months and i've learned a lot, first of all WE, Western Union we don't keep YOUR money, the one that is keeping YOUR money is YOUR bank, they put the money on hold because on their side it showed that it was approved but in our site it was cancelled, so to make things easier and stop this stupid stupid drama you can call us back and get us to call your bank to tell them that we never took your money and DUH problem resolved, seriously... all that drama over something that CAN be fixed?.

If people were less serious about things that do not matter the world would be a better place, seriously we do our best [ or at least i do] to help the customer, but when you start to scream like a furious monkey i feel like i stopped caring about your call and move on with my scripting, i am not asking you to be on our shoes because all of us have our jobs and problems but we are only doing our job, YOU yelling at us won't make your money appear all of a sudden.

Please keep this in mind.  

3 Feb 2009 @ 02:01 by gilles @74.59.209.26 : NEVER
THIS CANNOT BE FIXED! I called many times your phone attendants and I talked to them very nicely, very politely. They all got a way to get rid of me and my problems with WU. Drama?! Fuck you man! You just don't know who you work for/with. PERIOD! So naïve! See what you can say after 6 months of loyal service with them : "I stopped caring about your call and move on with my scripting" Your scripting is exactly what we are complaining about here, shit head!  

5 Feb 2009 @ 05:14 by TOM @65.94.35.250 : BAD SERVICE
DONT EVER GO TO BATON ROUGE IN MONTREAL ON MOUNTAIN STREET SERVICE SUCKS WAY TO BAD ITS LIKE NO ONE IS HAPPY WORKING THERE MIND YOU OTHER BATON ROUGES LIVE UP TO THERE NAME FOR GREAT SERVICE THEY ACTUALLY GAVE ME A GLASS OF WATER WITH A RIPPED UP PIECE OF PAPER STUCK TO THE IN SIDE OF THE GLASS DISGUSTING!!!  

5 Feb 2009 @ 20:31 by gilles @74.59.209.26 : TOM you're a Jerk!
This forum is about Western Union! Did you smoke this piece of paper stuck to the side of your glass?  

16 Feb 2009 @ 10:50 by MAd@WU @67.141.134.203 : Holding of Funds for days
3 days ago I tried to send a Valentines day gift of some money through the WU online site. Once the online portion was done, I get an e-mail saying that needed to call a 1-800 number for security reasons. I called the number and answered a few simple questions about my address, phone number, date of birth..ect. After a min or two on hold the CSR told me the transaction was denied, and that she could not tell me the reason as to why. However, my bank account was hit with a hold that the lady explained would be released in 24 hours....well, it's been 3 days now and my funds are still frozen.

Why cant they simply wait until they find out if the security check will allow the transaction, before they place the hold on a persons bank account? Sounds to me like -someone-, and I dont know if it's WU or not, is making some nice interest on these "limbo" funds while they are held for several days like my funds are. This smells fishy at best.  

19 Feb 2009 @ 11:48 by HateWU @69.151.9.87 : Contact # for Call Cntr Corporate Execs
Ok...I hate Western Union as much as all of you. You complain about speaking to the retarded call center operators...well, I have a phone number for you. It is located in St.Charles, MO, and the executives all work there. This is a number for a woman named Chris Duke (she is a nobody!!) but it will get you in the door. 636-866-0703. The people you want to speak with are either Tom Lysinger, VP of Operations for all of WU, or Monica Anderson, VP of bullshit (oops, also ops). They are the ones in charge of the call centers and all of the employees. Maybe if you all start bugging them incesently, you can get some answers. Good Luck!!!!

You can also try 866-455-9007 and dial their names. Lysinger or Anderson  

20 Feb 2009 @ 04:17 by formerworker @71.11.248.149 : Wu procedures
I am a former worker with Western Union. You all are losing sight of what is really going on. If you are who you say you are, then we simply have to verify some information that only you would know. Anyone could find your credit or debit card and call to send a transfer. Believe me people try it all the time. This is why the security procedures are taken. We have many calls from police departments across the country of people who have been robbed and even murdered and the perps tried to get money by sending Western Union. I worked the compliance department and there were many names in there besides Mohammad. They have since changed many of those rules but some still apply. The bottom line is if you value your identity and funds then you would not be upset with a company verifying your identity. When you write a check and id is asked, are you upset? Are you mad when your credit card isn't signed and the cashier asks for i.d. You shouldn't be. You also shouldn't be mad with Western Union  

20 Feb 2009 @ 04:26 by westernunionfiredusaworkers for indians @71.11.248.149 : Western Union slave labor
The reasoning behind authorizing said amounts is that if the funds aren't available, it's a huge waste of time and effort on their part. They have services that they have to pay for each time they run your card and get the personal info. Basically if you don't have the dough, there's no need for them to pay for the services then get to the end and the funds aren't there. Makes business sense to me.  

21 Feb 2009 @ 18:52 by gilles @74.59.209.26 : to formerdullard
We do not complain about security checks here! (even if the so-called procedures are performed by awkward and pathetic puppets) WE COMPLAIN ABOUT THE WITHOLDING OF THE CUSTOMERS' MONEY! And don't you fucking tell me that it is the banks that do this trick! I checked it all to find that at last, you don't know yourself, you WU lower rank employees, what happens in your own company.  

19 Mar 2009 @ 22:46 by liz @24.56.115.128 : don't touch WU money orders!
I got a WU money order from someone in Idaho. I am in central Virginia. Every WU agent I went to told me that they will issue money orders but will not cash them, unless they (that location) had issued it!!!!

Postal Money Orders and Walmart Money Orders are cheaper and very reliable. You can cash it at any Post office (if it is postal) or Walmart (if it is walmart) for free!

I called WU customer service which is is joke!  

19 Mar 2009 @ 23:47 by Cali @76.222.118.113 : YES, WESTER UNION REALLY REALLY SUCKS!!!
Western Union has the worst customer service, most stupid, unprofessional, discourteous & inconsiderate staff and the most horrible & inefficient system in the world, not to mention their sky rocketing, unreasonable fees. I've had the displeasure of dealing with them a number of times (and that was just bec. I had no other choice since they're the only money transfer co. I know which i can (supposed to) conveniently use to transfer money to Macau, from the US. Well, there is e-moneygram, w/c has far better rates but they want you to privide your SSN when you sign-up and w/c I do not feel comfortable doing bec. of security reasons). And in all those instances, not one was made very smoothly w/o any problem. Most recently was the one I made 2 days ago for my sister in Macau. I made the transaction over the phone. Everything went through perfectly (or so I thought). I received a confirmation email that the transfer was processed and was sent to my sister in Macau. But when she was trying to pick it up, the guys from the station refused to dispense the funds saying the control no. was either incorrect or was sent to a different location. (There is about a 16-hr diff bet. Macau & California) The following day I called W.U. and they said it was sent to Maca, CA and not to Macau, the Asian country....HELLOOOOOOOOOOO............where in the hell is Macau, CA? I am not so good in geography but I know for a fact that there is no Macau in CA. And besides when you pull out their lists of destinations in their Web, there is no such city in CA. And that transfer was really urgent bec. it was supposed to buy my sister an airline ticket for an emergency errand. But all these people could tell me is that they cannot reroute the transfer. All they could do it cancel it. And cancelling it means taking bet 3-4 bus. days. In the meanwhile my money was already taken frommy account. To make the very long story short, I've called them up several times on the same day and finally was able to speak to somebody decent and made arrangements w/ my bank to refund the money instantly, w/c they did, so I was able to resend it. I thought everything was fine. The following day, I got a notice from my bank for an overdraft charge. Apparently, even the refunded back the funds, they did not cancel the transaction, so it still went through, meaning 2 transfers posted on my account. Again I called them up, was transferred to a supervisor, after almost an hour of hold and arguments, the supervisor said they won't be able to do anything but just wait for 3-4 bus. days. They weren't even apologetic and never even offered a compensation, the least is to at least offer me a free one-time service w/c I already volunteered. They said they cannot do it. Assholes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hope this company goes bankrupt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

9 Apr 2009 @ 06:56 by frustrated! @97.116.177.32 : Customer service sucks
Make a money transfer through western union. Received a copy of email receipt. Found out that my address was spelled wrongly. ( I sent money using WU every month and same problem with the spelling of my address every month). Called them back, someone spoke with very thick accent, I have tried to be patient trying to capture what is he trying to tell me. Explained myself and my problem, he doesn't get what I sd, so I asked for a supervisor, supervisor transfered me to a validation dept. Same thing happen again, she doesn't understand what is the issue I am facing. Kept on explaining to her that the receipt with MTCN after all process have been done, that was emailed to me came with a wrong typo of my address. Asked if that is vital because it happened every month and I am frustrated having to call back to make corrections. She have no idea what I am talking about. I asked for supervisor again, this time , I asked him if he is US based, because I am having trouble with communication. Honestly I could not understand that clear the accent spoken. Told me that the call center is in US, what my problem was not understanding their accent. ( I could promise that it sounded like Indian accent, except that they used westernized names). Explained to him again my situation, told me that no on will be able to change the info in my email receipt. Asked me a question why is it so important that I must have my address corrected since it is only an email copy. explained to him , it's like my ID, I dont want my ID to be mispelled, how would people like it when their names are mispelled. Finally, sounds like he is harassing me with my obsession for wanting a correct version of adress spelling. Told him good nite and hang up the phone. Called another number again, some lady answered. I explained to her that I am seriously having a hard time understanding Indian accent and if she is based in US. I need to get everyting rectify. She then sarcasticly told me, I know you are calling from China why are you complaining about Indian accent. I told her I wasn't complaininga bout Indian accent, I just couldn't understand well enough to have a better communication. I told her I am calling from US, she sd that American accent don't sound like that and I am a fraud. told her I am from Minnesota, she then asked so do you speak English???? I just hang up. Sorry if this post sounds like disriminating people with accents, and seriously I am not. I just have a hard time explaining to them and to make them understand what my problem was. Is that too hard? I remember last year those customer service people are very much more pleasant and very competent. I can promise that seems like a two different world answering calls now.I am very frustrated...( sorry for wrong ypo and wrong grammar), I am just too upset to checked the grammar and spelling again....Bye to you rude peopel who works for Western Union, you guys are giving WU a bad image)...  

14 Apr 2009 @ 19:48 by MIngs Minions @67.159.26.65 : How to MoneyGram
I read through all the comments and suffered also at the hands of the Evil Doer Western Union. I thought I would sign up for MoneyGram as several people have indicated it here. Well for the money in minutes you enter your information, bank account, etc and then....w a i t for it, they ask you questions based on your credit report. The questions are online and very basic, you either know them or you do not. It is not like Western Union where you have to call and they ask you w a i t for it. In my case I was asked Nothing. Thats right, they asked my name, dob, and last 4 of my ssn, and then said I didn't meet their business model. I think that Western Union deliberately just picks people out of the blue to fuck over for what ever reason. Western Union needs to get busy and RIPOFF the business model of MoneyGram, because they have it right, because what they are doing to people now is SICK and EVIL, and they have in fact become the terrorists that they claim to protect us from. Kiss my ass Western Union and have a nice day.  

15 Apr 2009 @ 12:01 by aaronleland @64.135.237.59 : Unapologetic Operator
As a Western Union operator I would say that my favorite part of the job is denying transfers and then hearing customers bitch about it. "Waaahhhh. My son just got mugged and needs money." Wah! Send money for karate lessons next time. "Wah. I could have sent this through my bank for cheaper." Then why the f*** are we talking right now? " I don't wanna give the last 4 of my social. How do I know this is WU?" Who the f*** called who? " But I HAVE to send this on my credit card." Why the hell are you sending nonexistent money to somebody else without money? " Now I'm overdrawn on my account because the funds are on hold." Why the hell are you sending the last 100 dollars in your account to somebody? The reason us operators do what we do is because we have jobs. If your mooching relatives got that concept you wouldn't be sending them money.  

16 Apr 2009 @ 02:28 by gilles @74.59.209.26 : Strangely, I feel you're one of them!
Yes yes yes... I can smell your shit, man! More: I can smell you, shit man! The way you think : the exact WU style! Weirdly, your foaming drool went overboard and flowed its way down to this website here. I'm impressed! Good show! Your only problem is that you pathetically think you have a job...  

14 May 2009 @ 17:45 by MOHIT SHARMA @129.88.254.83 : Western Union is a damn blasted Liar !!!
I urgently needed to transfer money to my mother to surprise her on Mother's Day.My transaction was declined for not having a landline and my zip code was incorrect.Do they know my zip code better than me. WHAT the fuck man...
Who needs a fucking landline these days...What a BS
Western Union sucks man..I spoke to operator who could barely speak English.
BS man.... last but not least I wish I could have slapped this idiot mother fucker "aaronleland" for putting unsympathetic comments.  

17 May 2009 @ 05:00 by Ronald Simonet @68.192.100.178 : Western Union SUCKS BIG TIME!!!!
After trying to send money via Western Union online and over the phone, I now have vivid dreams of strangling Western Union employees. I don't know how they stay in business.

Don't get exasperated with a Wesern Union operator's ineptness and say a curse word, because they will immediately hang up on you.

The website seems to have been designed by a retarded baboon. I put in my username and password several times, but it doesn't accept it. So I figure maybe I got the password wrong so I click on "forgot my password". I put in the password that it was rejecting as my new password and it tells me I can't use my old password as my new password, so my password was right all along but was being rejected anyway.

Now I choose a new password and it says that it accepted my new password. When I enter the new password, it rejects it. And I wasn't mistyping it, I copied and pasted it. It was right.

So I call Western Union and tell the idiot that answers that I need help with the website. He tells me that he will transfer me to someone who can help with the website. I ask him if he is really going to transfer me to someone who can help with the website, because I've been through this before, and he assures me that yes he will transfer me to someone in that department.

So I'm on hold for a good 5 minutes listening to Western Union lies about their service and low and behold, the person that finally answers cannot help me with the website, but assures me that they will transfer me to someone who does.

I explain that I've already been assured of being connected with someone who can help me with the website, but you can't. So she tells me that she will stay on the line until someone that can help me with the website answers. Another seven minutes go by and finally someone from that department answers, but they can't help me either. Now I'm waiting for a callback from someone who supposedly can help me, but that call should have come by now and hasn't.
Western Union SUCKS more than my ability to express it!  

3 Jul 2009 @ 12:12 by finnw @86.54.242.194 : You've been scammed!
The funniest thing about the comments on this page is that half the posters have clearly fallen for "romance" or "advance fee" scams and still do not know it, and WU have saved them from losing money. But judging by these posts WU must have a policy of not saying "sorry but we think you're being scammed." to the irate customer. Why not? This might actually reduce some of the fraud.  

4 Jul 2009 @ 00:58 by Use Moneygram not WU @173.33.243.71 : Use Moneygram!!
My Western Union experience was a 2 month headache! (2 months to get my visa credited back after they denied me a transfer).

Use Moneygram! best experience ever!  

5 Aug 2009 @ 21:47 by Corey Miller @68.0.165.204 : Western Union is a rip off
I had to pay an important bill yesterday as well I went and gave them the correct information on the sheet and the woman who entered it into the system put it in wrong so now the money was in limbo.
They said they would issue a refund but they need to split the 092.00 that I gave them into 3 payment because of Arizona state law only allows anyone to receive up to 450.00 dollars a day from western union.

Now I can see if that was the case but this is not obviuosly I sent the money the day prior and now they messed up the transfer and now they wont even refund my money. Go with Moneygram I never have problems witht them...  

14 Aug 2009 @ 18:56 by craig bennettnnett @208.54.5.51 : Wester Union Horrible
DON'T USE WESTERN UNION FOR ANYTHING!!!!!!!!  

16 Aug 2009 @ 20:00 by Ev @99.192.60.240 : Canada Western Union sucks
I also made the mistake of using Western Union's website to transfer money to family in India. Instant transfer was my perception. Then a few hours later I noticed email saying I must call 800 number to verification. Don't remember seeing that on website. Western Union sucks. I called person and he'd ask a question, and then pause for a minute or 2. Frustration started building when he again asked for my date of birth (which I put on website). The last straw was when I was asked for my credit card limit. This is absolutely no one's business. It was like speaking with an annoying telemarketer for some scam. I canceled the transaction. I sent a email to Western Union with suggestion on how they can do better. No response other than thank you, and this will be sent to management.
6 days later I checked my credit card statement. Money was taken off my credit card immediately, but no refund. Again I had to call Western Union. I was told it takes 30 days to return money to Canadian credit card holder. Ah ... NO .. it might take 1 or 2 days.
I'm calling my credit card company and will insist on them canceling original transaction.
If you are Canadian avoid Western Union. Use Canada Post money transfer.
WESTERN UNION SUCKS  

19 Aug 2009 @ 21:37 by Lee S @24.8.140.127 : Western Union sucks
I had the same thing happen to me with their security question BS. And Money in Minutes is such a scam. When it costs $10 to send $40 you shouldn't have to wait till the next day, at that price it should be in minutes anyway. They take the money out of my account in 2 seconds I don't see why it takes 24 hours after that.  

19 Aug 2009 @ 21:42 by Lee S. @24.8.140.127 : And another thing!
What the hell do they care who's getting the money, who I am, or how well I remember pointless trivia about my past zip codes? If I had a wire transfer service the motto would be "no questions asked". I mean, SOMEBODY's gotta fund terrorists, right?  

25 Aug 2009 @ 19:37 by gilles @74.59.209.64 : SAME DISCO BALL!
Hey Gretchen, your request for help is as significantly intelligent as the Western Union Fraud Screening Procedure. :p  

25 Aug 2009 @ 19:43 by gilles @74.59.209.64 : I bet your name is not Gretchen
...and I know you're not from Syria!

Entered City : Sharif
Entered City Google Map : Wide Angle and Close In
Entered City Latitude : 31.7110°N
Entered City Longitude : 49.1193°E
Entered City Postal Code: N-A
Entered City Region : 15 - Khuzestan
Entered Country Capital : Tehran
Entered Country Code : IR
Entered Country Currency: Iranian Rial
Entered Country Flag : See Large Flag - Show ALL Country Flags
Entered Country Name : Iran, Islamic Republic of
Entered Country Region : Middle East - Asia
Entered Hostname : unresolveable
Entered IP Address : 081.031.161.142  

30 Aug 2009 @ 03:02 by gilles @74.59.209.64 : Stop spamming please!
This forum is about Western Union. Stop hiding behind an "IP converter". Gretchen and Baird are the same person, speaking the same bad English and lying about the country of origin.

Entered City : Philipsburg
Entered City Google Map : Wide Angle and Close In
Entered City Latitude : 18.0167°N
Entered City Longitude : 63.0333°W
Entered City Postal Code: N-A
Entered City Region : 00
Entered Country Capital : Willemstad
Entered Country Code : AN
Entered Country Currency: Netherlands Antillean guilder
Entered Country Flag : See Large Flag - Show ALL Country Flags
Entered Country Name : Netherlands Antilles
Entered Country Region : Central America and the Caribbean - South America
Entered Hostname : unresolveable
Entered IP Address : 200.007.043.142

Now you can change your IP again but please go spam elsewhere. Use Google.com instead. Thanks  

22 Sep 2009 @ 18:03 by Mortimir @71.236.58.247 : Get the authorities involved!
I recently too got the run around with Western Union. What a shit company! I'm amazed this has been tolerated for so long. I have not yet checked if they are holding the money I tried to transfer via debit or what. When I do check, if they have a hold on it or whatever, and they refuse to remove it immediately, I will get local law enforcement involved on the grounds that they are holding my money for a service they have not provided and have no intention of providing. The charges are theft and fraud. FUCK Western Union!  

29 Sep 2009 @ 09:37 by yam @221.221.26.62 : yep . . .
Reading all this anger has helped me feel better. When I was sent money in Taiwan and the sender didn't include my middle name, they just told me not to write my middle name on the forms. But now, in China, the agent I went to says she absolutely can't give me the money because my middle name is in my passport and the sender didn't write it. Also, she wasn't polite about this, and when I asked for a clean set of forms she refused to give them to me. Not only this, but when I had a problem here in China before I called both of their "customer service" lines many times during business hours and nobody ever answered the phone, nor was there a way for me to leave a message. So I sent an email of complaint to the Western Union customer service in Asia over a week ago, and they still haven't answered it. Now I have to email my parents so they can call Western Union in the US, I guess back home there's at least somebody to answer the phone and talk to you. I have to find another way to transfer money, Western Union is abominable.  

30 Sep 2009 @ 08:20 by Philip Ewen @58.168.5.105 : WESTERN UNION ROBBERS
This company may as well be a pack of crooks. Firstly they charge double what the bank charges to TT money. Secondly they give you a lousy exchange rate and thirdly if they dont like the sound of you the transaction gets cancelled and your money is locked up for up to 72 hours. Keep away from them...  

9 Oct 2009 @ 18:22 by David @68.209.237.232 : Westernunion sucks
I try to do a tranaction online, like I did numberous time before to my brother who die wife, normally it go thru with no problems, but yesterday Thur. oct 8, they told me to call to make this tranaction complete. I call and I felt like a jackazz, they ask me how do I know Sharon, where she live,remind u, Sharon and I have the same last name??? then they ask me for my tag number and I told them I'm not going outside to read no tag, I have did this numberous time for the pass 3 months since my brother die what the problem? I been sending money online for atleast 15 years now, what the problem?? then they ask could they do a credit check and I told them to cancel, it would have to be a cold day in hell before they make money off of me again. How is moneygram? is there any other ways to send money online?  

9 Oct 2009 @ 21:07 by gilles @74.59.209.64 : Certainly not online
David,
I guess Moneygram works better. But it depends what and where. I personally never used it. For instance, in my case, I have to send an allowance to my mother-in-law, once a month, in remote village in the Philippines. Western Union has an outlet even there! My mother-in-law is 78 and she doesn't have much help to pick up the money. I reluctantly decided years ago, even if I got fucked up by WU, to keep using their services, but I don't do it online. Let me re-post what I typed in here on March 10, 2007: "We should all use another money transfer service! But in case it is impossible and if you absolutely need them, which is possible since, with time, they built a hell of a monopoly in wire networking , it's still feasible if done the way I mentioned earlier: "Go to a W.U. outlet, pay cash, get an MTCN transaction number and send it by SMS (text message)." Since you do local business, they will provide you with a valid MTCN transaction number and a so essential R E C E I P T. Then, the local dealer is accountable for it."  

11 Oct 2009 @ 00:40 by mike @24.184.127.113 : western union is comedy
try to send money to my brother went thru all the security question and answer all the question right and then they say you have been declined and i was like why and the wu operator said you phone is unpublished what is that i was like ok here is my number call me back they could not doit so iwas like ok heres my cell number and still no go wow frustrating  

18 Oct 2009 @ 00:15 by Mr Dickson @204.14.45.82 : Mtcn Wanted
if you send money to your love one you can send me the Mtcn to verify it i am the Manager of Western Union all over the world  

19 Nov 2009 @ 17:13 by Alex Correa @174.48.239.114 : Westerunion riped me off
They wasted 45 minutes of my time for nothing. They are telling me that since I dont have a land line I can't do transfers over the phone. This must be new because I have sent money like this many times. They not only cancelled my transfer but now the money is on hold $277 US Dollars. This really sucks teir web-site should be taken down. I will never give them a mnute of my time or money.  

23 Nov 2009 @ 20:06 by chris @174.131.190.125 : same thing happened to me
i always pay my child support via western union. have done it for past 5 years. did again this time. they said i need to call. i called to answer teh security questions. i was on hold 30 min lady came on said im sorry i can not generate any security questions for you. your transfer is declined. but ofcourse my card was done charged.

24-48 hrs to get your money back yea right. im still waiting and its been 5 dyas. my bank said in 3 more it will automatically reverse. in the mean time my ex is pissed at me  

5 Dec 2009 @ 18:59 by Sharoon @130.88.51.66 : Western Union is real crap
I am never going to use their service.
All crap. I hate being questioned for sending 50 pounds!

It seems my address doesnt match some shit they have  

18 Dec 2009 @ 03:26 by Jeff Gleason @67.247.184.89 : PAIN IN MY A$$
It is almost always a royal pain to send money through Western Union - drives me up a frickin wall!!!!!!!!!!! Who else should I use to wire money to the Philippines? Suggestions?????  

6 Jan 2010 @ 02:34 by janet lane @217.44.230.2 : giving your cash to someone else.
What do you do when you go to collect your cash in person and they tell you that somebody has already collected it? This is what happend to a friend of mine a few weeks ago. His girlfriend transfered £1200 to him, London to London and within the hour somebody else collected it. He was told there was nothing they could do about it. Is it an inside scam?  

9 Jan 2010 @ 22:07 by >:-( @96.11.71.89 : worthless union
Wow...so many similar complaints...kinda funny, I was only trying to send $20 to someone an hour south of my location at the time, so they could have gas to come and visit me (on my birthday xD). They refused it because I couldn't answer some of the questions that based on my credit report. You see, these questions were impossible for me to answer. In 2007, my ex-wife bought a car in my name. Since then, she has consistently missed payments. The questions were regarding that loan. Which bank...."I don't have a clue."...folowed by "I'm sorry, if you won't answer these questions correctly, then there is nothing we can do." I answered the question to the "best" of my abilities. The next question..."How many months was the loan taken out for?" "How is this fair?!? I cannot answer this question. This question is impossible to answer."

all for $20 xD  

16 Jan 2010 @ 02:04 by FUCK THESE CLOWNS @68.58.239.82 : NIGGAS
FUCK THESE CLOWNS USE WALMART NIGGAS  

21 Jan 2010 @ 18:44 by Nancy @174.101.189.33 : Western Union is a scamm!!!!!!!!!!!!
I sent a friend 750.00 in the U.K.(plus fees of course.) Due to a clerical error on their part my money was picked up by a fraudulent person. Not only did they have myself as the receiver of the money but,the test question was never asked.Plus,the person in the U.K. was never given the control #.(I guess that's the policy in the U.K....person must have proper I.D. and have the control #)Lord only knows where my money went.I have called Western Union several times and faxed them proof that all the info was entered into their system wrong and that the transaction should have never gone through.Now they keep giving me the run around and I am out an amount of money I could not afford to lose. If you think on it....then you will see that it was an inside job and that Western Union is a BIG SCAM!!!!!  

22 Jan 2010 @ 20:00 by ken @201.227.193.76 : These people are horrible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
first off i live in panama and try to find a western union is almost impossible as they continually open up shops then close them and say nothing to anyone and leave their signs up outside.
Second, when trying to use their online system it is totally useless as the system kicks you out and says talk to someone live, which u do and then they do not let you send funds even though the credit card in use has been verified.
third what they want u to do is use their phone system which is the most expensive system. So after running through this crap for one hour i have nothing good to say about this company except they are crooks in the highest form.  

25 Jan 2010 @ 10:06 by nush @94.196.243.188 : western union fuckin sucks
western union is the shittest company i have ever come across they have put my money in a security list they have asked me for all sorts of information ,which i have been providing by fax over and over again .im just getting so pissed off with them is there any help we can get when in thios situation cos when i ring customer services they tell me its not in their hands its in the hands of the head office in america ,,,bull shit i would advice ppl never 2 use this shit service FAST, RELIABLE, QUICKEST ,MY FUCKIN ASS.my money has been stuck in the security system for 3 weeks now  

9 Feb 2010 @ 17:22 by Frustrated by Western Union @66.165.177.6 : Horrible Horrible Experience
I can not begin to express my frustration with Western Union and their incompetent customer service staff. My transaction was declined while I was investigated by a Nazi customer service rep. They treated me like a criminal and pretty much told me ... "sorry ... tough luck". They couldn't give me any explanations as to why the transaction had been declined but mentioned that I had failed to provide verifiable data. This after I gave them all the information they requested ... including last 4 digits of SS#, date of birth, home address, work address, favorite day of the week, blood type , hair color, etc et etc. When I tried processing the transaction I was asked again to call and they told me that I needed a land line and that the work number I had provided was not verifiable. I work for a governmental agency ... what number couldn't they verify? This all seemed surreal to me. I would never process another transaction with Western Union. Ever!  

9 Feb 2010 @ 17:49 by max @75.68.36.231 : western union suck lost another customer
western union really suck gave me the third degree then canceled my transaction.Been sending money the pass 10 yrs with them.  

20 Feb 2010 @ 04:04 by Shwn Rebero @116.72.236.53 : WESTERN UNION
You Fuckersssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss western union u piece of junk, my friend almost lost the most important day in his life because of ur stupid verification, u bastards!!!!1  

24 Feb 2010 @ 18:48 by Deep Kwatra @75.87.190.165 : You r the biggest suckers
The company is the worst.......for someone it was a matter of life and death and because of their messed up verification system......on top of that they took the money out of my account and now they say they cant put it back for 7 to 10 days....bullshit1  

8 Mar 2010 @ 18:36 by Thomas @70.154.12.64 : WESTERN UNION RIP OFF
I tried to send money to a friends bank account online. I had to register with WU, after registering I triede to send the money and got a message that I had to call in and confirm some information. When I called in, my transfer request was refused because my phone did'nt match the records they were checking against. When I questioned what records, they appoligized and said thats all we can tell you.

Later in the day I went online to check my bank account and found the money had been withdrawn for the money transfer. When I called WU about it they said the money was withdrawn before they decide to approve/dissapprove so they know the money is available, and "I" would have to contact my bank to have them contact WU to have the money put back in my account. I WENT SPASSSSS...

Not only were they telling me it was my responsiblilty to get the money back, but they never even let me know they took it.
Had I not checked my account they would still have my money...

I threw such a fit, that a supervisor from WU called my bank and had the money returned. When questioned about there practices of doing business this way, they said oh well, thats our policy...  

30 Mar 2010 @ 15:16 by Joe Blow @68.125.217.103 : Western Union ....?? FAIL !!
Western Union .....not what they used to be. Yellow telegrams delivered promptly.

Someone sent me a W.U. Money order instead of the asked for U.S. Postal Money order. Went to what I thought was a W.U. office inside a big chain supermaket. BIG sign says "WESTERN UNION". College graduate behind the window claimed they were W.U. $3 for cashing a $28 m.o. ? Huh ??? Found out they were NOT W.U. and all the 350,000 W.U. offices are nothing but franchiseees/independents.

lots of other ways to skin this cat.....

US Postal M. O. ..they dont charge to cash.
Wire transferr for larger amounts....bank to bank.  

10 Apr 2010 @ 02:58 by Bill @63.164.47.2 : Nothings changed
Wow. I had a problem today sending $200 to my son 400 miles away. they asked me 15 questions then told me they could not verify. After they charged the $233 to my credit card. I know lets charge someone for a pair a shoes then check and see if we have their size!! It seems they have had thois policy for over 4 years, Who is running that company??  

16 Apr 2010 @ 10:23 by ben @67.171.128.96 : grrrr
This just happened to me also. they said because my name isnt on the phone bill they cant verify. Now they have my only money on hold and my gf is starving with no food. Isnt this a fraud charge by them?  

16 Apr 2010 @ 22:38 by jordan @204.237.100.11 : fees??? lol lol lol
I sent $175.00 US but apparently western union is charging a fee for picking up money now??? the receiver went to that store to get the money transfer and they gave her $154 US when i sent $175 US. They say that now there is a receiving fee as well??? i called into customer service 3 times and complained and nothing was done. i have also had money locked up like the rest of you. I AM NEVER USING WESTERN UNION AGAIN!!!! btw my friend almost died of starvation because they rejected my payment because of stupid verification shit. I also know the online service is a JOKE!! I have the gold member status and they told me that that means i dont have to verify the send money order anymore but guess what?? i do?? huh? lol what a joke!! so much for that convience.. maybe its for them to collect innocent peoples info and use that to their advantage.. hmm?? WESTERN UNION SUCKS!  

23 Jun 2010 @ 22:21 by Jim @174.20.170.223 : Such Crap
I sent $50 to a friend who was visiting africa from a western union office paying cash. I texted the MTCN # to my friend and the next day recieved a response from my friend stating that western union told her the money was not available. I called western union and they told me they had no record of the transaction even though I had the receipt in my hand. I am still fighting with WU to get my money back but they are telling me it will take at least 20 days to straighten it out. I HAVE ALREADY BEEN WAITING A MONTH!!!!!! Enough is enough! I will never use them again, Moneygram will be getting my business from now on.  

29 Jun 2010 @ 23:15 by Leo @141.160.5.251 : never use westernunion again
Add e to the list, I just got off from estern Union Customer Service, that refused to approve money that I have send through their horrible web interface,
apparently I have to own a cell phone in order to use their online service, so basically I spent 30 minutes for a "convenience to send" money fast, well guess what, moneygram.com I used it before and its way better than Western Union, at least you do not have to call them for verification every-time you send money online.  

30 Jun 2010 @ 13:14 by Joseph @206.201.224.99 : It's gonna get even worse!
Let me tell you guys. I heard from my cousing who wors at western union that the service is going to suck much more. They have outsource many departments to Costa Rica and Mexico and those people do not know what the hell the business is all about. If you need to send some money try using xoom is much better and really fast.  

6 Jul 2010 @ 02:53 by gilles @74.59.209.64 : of course...
WU sucks! But I'll still be using it coz my mother-in-law is 82 and she lives in a small village in the Philippines where she needs the monthly allowance I send from Montréal Canada.With time, I said it before, these fuckers developped a huge network of outlets around the world. It happens that if I make a money transfer from an outlet here, I get can throu no problems. I told bad internet transfer stories here a few years ago though.  

12 Jul 2010 @ 21:57 by WU smokes pole @68.43.150.141 : money orders
I tried cashing a WU money order (not a wire transfer) that was over 10 years old. After rearching that money orders dont have an expiration date, I was still refused to cash the MO.  

19 Jul 2010 @ 18:35 by Michael Belkin @174.22.195.166 : Western union keeps my money
I sent money my girfriend she is stuck in Nigeria and they sendt the money back to me put but a hold on and they are keeping it $600 and not claim it was picked up and signed for and then I get a letter saying my money will be refuned then an email sayng the money was picked up and signed for. Western Union are nothing more than crooks and they should not be laowed on business.  

9 Aug 2010 @ 23:04 by David Ash @66.194.65.197 : don't count on online service
Let me start by saying a couple of things in defense of WU. The online 'Money in Minutes' service does work a significant percentage of the time and it can be very convenient when it does work. You just type in your details and the person at the other end can, indeed, get their money in minutes. Also I don't agree with the specific criticism that they have blacklisted people with an Arab-sounding name. Some of my more successful experiences with WU have been in receiving funds from someone with a very Arab name--this occurred around the same time that others in this thread seemed to have problems. Those transactions went through fine for me. But having said those things in WU's defense, it must also be said that they are VERY flaky. I tried to send money again with them recently. First of all, I had an established account with WU, but when I tried to log in, it seems they had deleted all my account information. I know of no other online merchant that wouldn't welcome back a returning customer with open arms--but instead WU treated me as a stranger. So I first created a new account and then tried to send funds. After a phone call to WU, it seems they denied my transfer because they couldn't verify my phone number. Now I have various problems with this. One is that they shouldn't have deleted my account information in the first place, and if they'd kept my account open, I could have just provided new contact info online. The second issue is that, as many others have noted on this page, they obtain an authorization against your credit card for the full amount of the transfer, and then deny the transfer. They DO cancel the transaction when they deny it (so it authorizes but never posts) but you are then at the mercy of your bank's policies as to when you get access to the funds again. Most reputable online merchants will first authorize a nominal $1 (to ensure that the card is valid) and won't authorize the full amount until they know the transaction is good to go. Tying up someone's funds for an unspecified period--even if the transaction is ultimately cancelled and they don't keep the funds--is an unnecessarily rude way to treat customers. Another issue is that, even if they needed to verify me, they became very fixated on the phone number. There are many other ways to verify someone's identity and, frankly, I think that WU's fees are high enough that they should be willing to do a little heavy lifting once in a while to ensure that good customers don't get turned away. The bottom line is that when it works, the online 'Money in Minutes' service is convenient (but expensive), but you shouldn't use it unless you have a backup plan and can afford to have your funds tied up for awhile if there is a problem. I do understand that there are security issues involved when you can use a credit card to send cash online, but I think that most companies have done a better way of providing secure, but good, customer service in the online world. I would recommend that people look at other options for sending money. Bank wire transfers, sending a postal money order, ACH transfers, Paypal, xoom, or MoneyGram are all options that are worth looking at.  

13 Aug 2010 @ 11:22 by Neil H @92.16.213.126 : Western Union Money Disappearance
I am beset by a bizarre problem with a money transfer from Poland to me in the UK via an agent. Their online tracking system shows that the money is available for collection; their computer system cannot find any trace of the transaction. This is crazy! I have spoken to their UK customer services and they cannot explain how this can happen. This is thje 3rd day of the problem. I have to await the Polish couple's reply after they have interrogated the agent they sent the money from.  

15 Aug 2010 @ 21:49 by ben @71.163.188.98 : Always have trouble with these guys
So my car got repossessed Thursday night. I was gonna get paid on Friday and I had enough money to get my car back, so I figured I'd pay it Friday morning online and that would be that. So I actually get paid on Thursday, but I don't have direct deposit yet, so I put my check in the bank Thursday, it clears and I can use the money Friday a.m. So sure enough Friday morning comes around, my check goes through and it's enough to cover my car payments. So since I have to work early Friday, I decide to pay it online and get it over with. So I went on to Western Union, gave them all of my info for the quick collect, and sure enough it was declined. So I called them and they said it was declined since my phone number address and my credit card address did not match (they did). So I said, ok, I'll go in person and try it again. Well, I went to check my bank account and sure enough even though they canceled the transfer, the money was still out of my account. So now I have to wait God knows how long to get my money back from my bank and try to make a car payment before the crazy repo guy ships my truck to who knows where. I keep trying to stall everyone and explain what happened, hopefully the car company and mr. repo man believe me, and cut me some slack. Yes, I know I should have paid my bill on time and that there's no one to blame but me...but still, I have the money, I want to pay my bill. You'd think it would be a little easier to do so! I'll keep everyone posted!  

24 Aug 2010 @ 22:11 by JK @68.13.252.197 : Verification
Western Union SUCKS!!!! They couldn't cerify the phone or address or anything... one of them spit out the city on the phone was supposed to be Jenks as per their source which is the school district we are in but not the address... Even though I changed the address to JENKS, then they had other reasons they couldn't verify my address or phone numbers... Why? they couldn't disclose... What a joke this company is!!!!  

3 Sep 2010 @ 19:21 by Dave @66.192.216.138 : Western Union sucks
Seems like this has happened to a lot of people. I was trying to send money to my ex, thru Western Union online......LIKE I HAVE DONE DOZENS OF TIMES BEFORE.....and NOW, they say they cannot verify my phone number. Same number I have had, and used with them, for YEARS!! So, they denied the transfer. Which, in itself, is not all that bad. The bad news is, they already had the money held on my bankcard BEFORE they denied the transfer. So, the transfer is cancelled and I am short $400 in my account. No way to make another transfer with another company because I don't have access to the money now. AND, I have no idea how long it's going to be before the bank reverses the charge on my card. So, my ex is screwed which.....screws me as well! Pretty shitty setup as far as I am concerned  

10 Oct 2010 @ 23:18 by Adrian @121.216.161.216 : Western Union Rip Off
Sent money to Cameroon using WU but money was claimed fraudulently by someone else before I gave the genuine claimer the so called secret question/answer. My problem was multiplied by WU not wanting to help. I will list my complaints as follows:
BAD COSTOMER SERVICE WHEN THINGS GO WRONG
NEVER PHONE BACK WHEN THEY SAY THEY WILL
NOT AT ALL HELPFUL
HIGH FEES
INACCURATE EXCHANGE RATES THAT FAVOUR WESTERN UNION
WESTERN UNION FAVOURED BY RIP OFF'S AND SCAMMERS BECAUSE IT IS NOT SAFE
WESTERN UNION FAVOURED BY RIP OFF'S AND SCAMMERS BECAUSE IT SUITS THEIR NEEDS
WESTERN UNION IS THE EASIEST TO USE BY CORRUPT PEOPLE
WESTERN UNION OFFICES AND AGENCIES ARE CORRUPT
WESTERN UNION DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY FAULT ON THEIR PART

DON'T USE WESRERN UNION  

23 Nov 2010 @ 23:01 by Vicki @74.167.132.152 : Western union Sucks!
I was trying to send money to India for my mother's major surger. I went to three different agent location. First agent location, seemed she hated her job and was hardly able to help and seemed like she was half asleep didn't know what she was doing. Drove down 30 miles to another locations, a young girl very helpful she put my information in the computer but it couldn't go through. She called customer service, they told her that I have to split the amount in 3 transaction then only they could proceed. Which means for each transactions western union could charge $20 which is total of $60. Instead of getting $30 only in one transaction they wanted to make $60 by splitting the amount. These money suckers needs to be shut down. It was a nightmare running down from one location to another. I wish there were some easy way to send money, without being overcharged and on top of that being told different self made rules for their own benefit. Western Union truly suck!  

15 Jan 2011 @ 01:14 by disapointed one @99.195.193.159 : Incompetency
I call customer care because I can't remember my pass code and I have to send some money. They ask the usual questions and then "what was the last date, amount and to whom you sent money". I told her I have been going into stores since last Dec 2010. Their sign in has locked me out each time. Here I am again, their way to fix it is close the account and open a new one. I get all the information, send the email to messaging@westernunion.com requeting the DEACTIVATION and lord and behold some one from customer service sends back the instructions to deactivate the account! I reply back with all the information and wait hours. So I email the corporation execuitives and forward all the customer service emails. Well guess what it all began at 8:30 AM and 4:45 still was not resolved so I could set up a new account. After all that now at 7:00PM I remember the pass code and the account states to many attempts; that is what it was doing in the beginning to me for one year. First attempt and then boom, to many attempts account locked and call customer service which is right where I started this morning. I feel like I am in a disgrunted employee's loop for lifting their spirits. I am a college graduate and would never thought of this type of abuse as to loaf while working.  

27 Jan 2011 @ 04:18 by Mohammed Khan @86.17.195.231 : A quick question please.
Wow it seems WU really do suck hard!

I went to local agent in the UK two days ago to send 750usd to someone in Ohio US. He said he's just gone to pick up the funds but the agent there told him that I need to call WU before they give him the money. Can I go back to the agent or do I need to call the morons at the call center?

Are these problems only when sending online or is it the same sending from an agent?

Also I used hard cash. Did I make a mistake?  

27 Jan 2011 @ 23:15 by ming : Western Union
Most likely they'd want to ask you those silly security questions, and they might not have had a way of contacting you. For some odd reason they can't just tell you that up front, but they pretend that it is something they figure out afterwards. Even though, in my experience, they do it every single time, so it shouldn't be hard for them to predict. But then their scam wouldn't work, of charging people's cards up front, and then denying your transfer afterwards for failing to agree with one of the phone numbers they think you had 12 years ago.

The upside of haven given them cash is that if they deny the transfer because of those security questions, they can't pretend they don't owe you money. What they otherwise do is to pretend that it has nothing to do with them that you don't get credited before a week later. If you gave them cash, they'll have to give you some cash back.  

18 Mar 2011 @ 02:42 by Marilee Wells @71.164.252.68 : Same Crap Here
I just had the exact same thing happen to me. Now $1,084.00 is tied up from my account and I have to wait for the credit to clear before I can even try to send money to my family again. They said they can't verify my phone number...OR my home number which is the one I was calling them from. I insisted on speaking with a supervisor and his english was WORSE than the first guy I talked to and I could barely understand him. He went through the same crap about my money coming back into my account eventually. I hope those sadists rot in hell. I will NEVER use them again.  

8 Apr 2011 @ 19:40 by Pratik Dhuvad @129.32.8.94 : WU is a crap..
I was to receive money via WU. I went to three WU agents with code, they had issues like they didnt had cash, one didnt had form and such... it was just fucking 240 bucks... I will never make any transactions with WU.. it sucks...  

16 Apr 2011 @ 04:19 by Rainer @120.21.33.142 : Scammers ease use of Western Union flaws
Now figure this" You can only enter the first and last name.
Cut a long story short. I received e-mail information after researching for import prices with the use of a Web Page that brings Businesses of sellers and byers together. I did enquire with various Web Pages that wehre listed. I also received many other offers along with the ones i made enquiries to.
I was intersted in one of them. Checked their Web Page and all seemed ok.
I replied to this e-mail sender who claims to be from this Company as to what details i need to make money transfer?
I was given a first anme and a last name. I found this odd but thought that this must all tie up with other details already registered with Western Union. I there for went ahead to do the transfer. the next day i got thinking. I needed more to verify this e-mail and the person having made the offer on behalf of this Company. Who is He/She? I called Western Union to ask them to verify the other details I had as far as only having the first and last name that is only required to be entered with Western unions for an online transfer. They could not confirm the other information from the Business as they do not have them. At that point it became clear that Western union has a BIG flaw in their service. I explained to the Customer Service of Wstern union that anyone can just come along and register with Western Union and pretend to be a Representative with some Web Page Company! I asked for her to cancel my transfer to this person. The lesson here is> Wstern Union needs to be able to verify ALL details a Customer has on hand to make sure that Moneys are being tranferred to the correct and legitimate receiver. I suggest to stay away from Western union. I also make sure that i verify all details received via e-mail including the most importnat being the e-mail received. is it the same as the one from the Web page. Does your e-mail include a Phone number for you to check against a Web Page?
Good luck!  

11 May 2011 @ 17:43 by Martin Fletcher @112.203.50.231 : Stolen Money by Western Union
From: Martin Fletcher
President
International Cycle of Investment Inc.
Email: martin.fletcher707@gmail.com
Mobile Phone: +639497300948

Subject: Request the urgent return of my money from Western Union in Togo.

Dear Ma'am Ola,

I come to you because my bad experience can affect the country particularly in Gold export. You know as well as i do most of the miners like cash business so foreigners are at the mercy of a gold deal. This system make me lost $33Million of which $5Million is now with Western Union in Togo with Dr.Justice Kwiti Manager of Western Union.
That money was place there for me just before my buying agent Kelvin Gideon got arrested as a money launderer which is not true,I send him to buy gold for me when he could not handle the situation he place the money at Western Union in the amount of $5Million for me and send a message for me to collect the money and the other balance of my money is taken by the police.

1.) Let's start with what grounds does Western Union have to freeze my money and have it in a Sun Dry account and i cannot get it?

2.) This money came in to your country to buy gold and export and why is your country making things difficult for me?

3.) My business face bankruptcy because i cannot get my money. I calling you as the highest official of the land in mining to investigate this matter and have my money send to me to benefit my family in the Philippines. I want this matter to be resolve in the shortest possible time.

Thank you for your kind,attention and cooperation on this matter.

God Bless You.

Best Regards,
Martin Fletcher  

13 May 2011 @ 11:33 by extremely OD'd @99.255.180.74 : extremely OD'd
I just have to vent...I tried to send $700 USD to my supplier in China today. I have been sending him money through previous means but have decided to use WU today bc of online convenience. after the transaction, I received a message to contact a 1-800 number to validate and complete the process. The call-center person I spoke with asked me some basic questions about my location and the amount I am sending, then proceeded to validate my phone number - to which he responded that I "Failed" the test bc the "3rd-party system" they use has a different phone number registered so they cannot complete the transaction via CC....HOWEVER I can complete it by cash or debit and he will give me 50% off the fees....WTF??

I told him I've had the same phone number for over 10 years and this is the number registered with the bank...so whatever validation system you are using is incorrect- OR you just trying to avoid CC fees with this transaction...I spoke with a supervisor and asked for the name of the 3rd-party system so that I can "correct" my phone number with them and she basically said that she cannot give that information out. they obviously do NOT have any 3rd-party validation tool and are just trying to avoid the CC fees. I know for a fact that I have no other phone number registered - I did explain that it may be blocked bc I am on the Do Not Call List but they didn't care and kept repeating that I did not pass validation.

There must be some "law" that entitles consumers information about the searches and validation process so that we can ensure our info is correct. She basically said to call corporate office- and to look up the # online...I was like WTF? I am on the phone with you right now and you can't give it to me?

WU SUCKS---

Has anyone ever PASSED the validation process???  

2 Jun 2011 @ 03:17 by tashiery @58.161.129.164 : validation
I just tried sending 260 bucks to china, and I had to go through a long international call, most of which was me being on hold..only to have to answer a ton of personal questions, which right now im not sure if i did the right thing by disclosing all that info! (drivers licence no, address, birthday, previous address)
and after all that, i failed the validation!
what else could i possibly be doing with just 200 bucks?!

after reading all this, im going to monitor all my bills and make sure i didnt get charged for that total waste of time.  

30 Jun 2011 @ 14:13 by Sumann Matta @76.116.178.112 : An alternative!
There are better services available in the market, just because WU spends money on advertisement doesnt mean you shouldnt keep your eyes open!
I use www.moneydart.com for online transfers. you fax your identification documents over to them once, and are given a username and password to transfer money to your hearts content wihtout having to go thru verifications repeatedly. (Good exchange rates too!)
Just sharing some wisdom here! :D Cheers!!
byse  

4 Aug 2011 @ 20:03 by alona @66.223.136.21 : Fraud
yup....it is! because i sent money (1100) for my Son tuition fee, my Son did not receive the money because western union Naga Branch has been released my money to someone. Everytime I called western union to follow upmy money they just put me on hold or hang up.  

11 Oct 2011 @ 14:22 by Josh Catalano @202.45.97.148 : Scammed by Western Union too!!!
I also got stung by Western Union in Australia. Tried sending $300 to my fiancee in the Philippines for her to close out our bills before she moves here to Australia and they absconded with money from my account and even though they say they have faxed the bank to release the hold they haven't really released the funds.

My father is in end stage kidney failure and my mother is going blind and my fiancee needs to move house tomorrow. I moved to Australia in advance of her a few weeks ago and have received my first paycheck and don't get paid again until the day before she leaves the Philippines.

I have contacted the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission *and* I work in the media with friends who are major well known people on TV news in the Philippines, Australia and the United States, such as ABS-CBN, GMA7, TV5, MSNBC, CBS, ABC and Channels 7, 9, 10 and ABC Australia.

It's time someone did something about this and I am going to fight them on behalf of everyone who has been ripped off. I will approach members of Congress in the United States and Ministers of Parliament in Australia and fight to see this scam from Western Union halted and the company forced to make ammends.

Yes Western Union, you have messed with the wrong guy. Someone who has a hell of a lot more influence than your CEO's. You're going down!!!  

3 Jan 2012 @ 20:08 by Janet @82.23.8.35 : WU BOSSES SHOULD FACE FRAUD CHARGES
@ Josh Catalano
I hope you are getting somewhere / got somewhere with your stand against WU's bad practices - they really need to be challenged until they are forced to change. Please post if you have any updates, that would be helpful.

In my instance dealing with them online, it wasn't a large sum that got tied up, but it robbed me of hours of time (and the recipient) as well as double the money when I had to process it again through a local agent.

When I realised the transaction wouldn't be processed 'in minutes' as promised, and had been put on hold as they needed up to 48 hours to authenticate my ID, (even though the website clearly stated that I could process up to two transactions online without ID verification (outright deception)) I phoned customer services to cancel the transaction. They said a lot of customers were complaining that this situation was not made clear and said I wouldn't be charged anything including fees.

But of course, they lie. They hold on to your money for up to five days, or even more (I don't have a refund yet), and it makes no sense to blame it on the bank when THEY put the transaction on hold - the bank has already paid it out to them.

All this nonsense about the bank holding your money is just that - nonsense. WU could process a cancellation instantly if they wanted to - they just choose to sit on your money and it IS FRAUD. I know they had my money as I was on the phone to the bank when it went through (the anti-fraud dept) as it initially was declined and the bank called me to verify it as genuine.

My case was not about not passing security grilling, but how can WU reps say they are trying to protect you from fraud when they still go ahead and charge your bank anyway??? What if you weren't who you said you are? They just let the 'fraudster' go ahead and rob you - even for a day, week, whatever? Nothing should be processed from your bank if they think it is not genuine. Instead, as said by so many, WU are the thief! We know how account verification works - £1 pinged and instantly credited back! Not thousands of pounds etc illegally 'borrowed' and returned at will.

IT'S GOT TO STOP. WESTERN UNION, YOU ARE FRAUDULENT.

Finally, what's this with no MTCN being required by the receiver? I was conned by some fraudulent 'loan' company last year and I didn't give the full MTCN but they were still able to draw out the money. After all the so-called 'security' and concern for the customer - anyone can still apparently walk in to an agent say your name and an amount and walk off with your money? COME ON. AT LEAST PLAY BY YOUR OWN RULES. YOU MUST AT LEAST INSIST ON AN MTCN BEFORE PAYING OUT PEOPLE'S HARD EARNED CASH.

Western Union, is not a well-run organisation, and though the service is in great demand, many people have suffered loss because of it. Customer service staff shouldn't be sacked, but the bosses should face trial and possible jail for fraud!  

16 Jan 2012 @ 12:04 by Rick @84.25.178.205 : Big fat NON service this Western Union
Message from Netherlands.
I am also totally fed up with western union.
So much i don't even wanna write their name with capitals, fuck them!
I hate them.
Last week i tried to send only 50 Euro! to an Asian country.
They (an agency) refused to send it, new rules since 1-1-12.
I had to prove to them where the 50 Euro came from...??
Also i had to prove them what the receiver was gonna do with the money??
I think both answers is non of their fucking business.
Even though the payment was needed urgent they didn't want to process.
Later i called their help desk and was connected to half Dutch speaking foreigners who didn't know shit about western union and the systems behind it.
Even trying to file a complain was not possible.!
Never met such a useless shit company as this w.u..
After this happening i tried to find other companies delivering money transfer but could only find similar or even worse then w.u....

I was told all this crap was necessary to stop terrorism and laundering etc.
It all makes me so aggressive that i could almost get understanding for terrorism.
Those leaders from countries who make all these crap rules have never heard of how real terrorists support their activities apparently.
Never heard of Hawala banking??
They instead prefer bothering normal people to a great extent.
Does anybody know how to get money transferred in a human way?


 

30 Jan 2012 @ 16:48 by Jeff @220.93.187.167 : payment
I live in South Korea and have to make student loan payments. I tried to make one earlier today via their telephone system, and lo and behold the operator was about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. Fortunately, the agency to whom I was making the payment was much more helpful and told me that they would track the payment via the transfer control number. Hoping that the online remittance would go better that the telephone payment, I was challenged multiple times with "identity verification questions." When I tried to get help with those questions, the only thing I got from Western Union was an incredibly humorous "we'll send you what information we feel like sending you in four to eight business days" and "well, you live outside of the us, and that sucks. deal with it" response. Because of these pieces of unhelpful trash, I will now need to send a traveller's check to the agency and wait six business days for the payment to arrive. In the meantime, my credit score will be negatively impacted due to these worthless douchebags and their antiquated security measures. Never, ever, ever again will I trust these maggots.  

21 Mar 2012 @ 05:11 by Sheri @24.94.9.58 : Oh my gosh!!!
I just went through the same exact thing. They couldn't verify my phone number with their 3rd party verification process. Huh? I've had the same number for 14 years. I don't have another number for the 3rd party verification process. I asked to talk to someone in the united states. Nope. They have no call centers in the united states I was told. How do I send money online, I asked. Unfortunately, he said, reading the script, your transaction has been canceled. Ok. Guess I can't use western union. That was my first and last attempt. I'm not sure if my $ is tied up. Better check.  

27 May 2012 @ 23:24 by Holli H @69.20.134.125 : Western Union SUCKS!!!
I will never, ever use Western Union again if I can possibly avoid it.

This morning I attempted to send $1,000 to a family member via Western Union online. After they had taken the money from my bank account, they asked me to upload a scanned copy of my drivers license. So I did that, except their file server returned an error (something was broken on their end), upon which they canceled the transaction.

THAT would be well and good, except now the money won't be returned to my account for up to 10 days. Seriously? It took 5 seconds to take my money and 10 days to return it? I checked online and whadayaknow .... there is a long list of people who've had exactly this experience.

Western Union sucks!  

5 Jun 2012 @ 01:48 by Gabby @74.67.123.234 : FUCK YOU WESTERN UNION BURN IN HELL
So, I try to send my boyfriend in England some money via Western Union online so that he could pay for a plane ticket to come see me for two weeks (which by the way will not happen again until Winter because of our busy schedules). Also, I have not seen him in 6 fucking months. SOOOOOOO, I send $400 and wait 3 days for them to tell me that IIIIIIIII cancelled the order. WTF?!!?! I didn't cancel jack shit! They could have told me that THEY cancelled it. ANYWAYS, I check my account and $420 are missing and I was told that I would have to pay a service fee. FOR WHAT?? BEING IDIOTS? SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, now I have to fucking wait for a refund that was supposed to happen days ago even though I need to make vacation reservations RIGHT NOW. Will I ever see my money again? Will I be able to take a long awaited vacation with my bf I haven't seen in 6 months? Oh wait! That isn't the end of it. I called 1000000 reps that all told me somthing different. One told me the money has already been paid to someone LIE, one told me that someone would be calling me LIE, and another transfered me to a "manager." Yea right, I was put on hold FORFUCKINGEVER for the line to magically go silent. Bunch of ignorant stupid fucks. After calling several times, I finally got a rep who indicated that they were working on a refund for me (as the E-mail I recieved indicated) and it would take 72 hours. MY ASS! We will see if I even get it. So, I digress, FUCK YOU WESTERN UNION BURN IN HELL FOR MAKING ME FEEL PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY ILL OVER THIS WHOLE SITUATION.  

3 Oct 2012 @ 16:46 by Jerry S Watkins @24.252.91.6 : Keeping fees & not sending the money
Western Union is NOT in the business of transferring money anymore, but rather stealing people's money.

I was supposed to receive money in New Orleans, Louisiana back in July. They sent it to the city of Orleans, France instead, and after 2 hours on the phone with several managers, they finally sent it to me in New Orleans, LA. This was in July. Now, in October, I was once again supposed to receive money, same place, New Orleans, Louisiana. This time they sent it to a little town called Louisiana, Illinois. After two hours on the phone, this time they would not budge. My relative (the sender) had to cancel the transaction, and but Western Union withheld the $37 fee.
When I lived in Washington, DC (District of Columbia), they used to send the money "by mistake" to Bogota, Colombia, instead of Washington, DC. I cannot imagine that anyone can be that stupid - they must either do this on purpose, or they must be really high on crystal meth.  

10 Dec 2012 @ 07:36 by Eagan Fitness Center @112.206.55.125 : Eagan Fitness Center
I completely agree with you. I really like this article. It contains a lot of useful information. I can set up my new idea from this post. It gives in depth information. Thanks for this valuable information.  

19 Dec 2012 @ 00:27 by Extasy Jones @71.204.225.114 : F##K Western Union
I had a Western Union check from a Publix store, so I took it to a Western Union at a Publix Store. They would not cash it.
Fuck Western Union, Fuck Publix.  

29 Dec 2012 @ 05:55 by T.K. @75.80.198.235 : You Have Got to Be Kidding Me!
After going through WU compliance once already, Over the holidays I had to go through them again because I had sent money to family in Tonga. Which I have been doing throughout the year. So they place a hold on my last transaction that is need before the New Year. When I finally get a call back from the "comp liane" department who called at 5:20AM, I speak to this idiot operator who interrogates me about who I am sending the money too. So I'm like HELLO! don't you see the last names are the SAME! Like I said before, its my brother in law, mother in law, and God forbid, I had to send to my Sister in law one time too. But ITS FAMILY. Then she starts asking me where I get my income from... and I say "Work"... she then asks be "so from a savings or checking account?" See this is the problem with outsourcing! If I just said WORK, how can it be anything else. And why the hell would I put my money from WORK into a checking or savings account only to take it out again to send via WU? What IDIOTS! Then not only that, but she starts asking me why I sent money to myself, which I didn't, because WU screwed my transaction up and I had to get a refund and resend the same thing again. And after 15 minutes of wasted time she places me on hold and later comes back with "I need documentation of all the reasons why you send money." ARE YOU SHITTING ME?! I send money for FAMILY SUPPORT, I'm related to about half the island, and she wants documents of all the death certificates, weddings, birthdays and any other family functions. Oh, but the guy from Pakistan that I bought some t-shirts from over the internet is fine. What idiots these operators are. Not to mention that when I told her that I don't get this kinds of problems at Money Gram, and her response was, that I should go and use Money Gram then... and of course I said , "Fine, refund my money and FUCK YOU GUYS!" and hung up. I would rather pay more at Money Gram, get an emailed confirmation of when my money is picked up at the other end, and have a lot more better customer service with people who are willing to take the time to notice that not everyone is a terrorist. And that people still care for and support family members outside the USA. (BTW-Thanks for posting this blog because as you can see its been 6 years and Western Union still SUCKS!)  

28 Apr 2013 @ 06:41 by Mr Martin Zipa @86.66.203.126 : AYUDA FINANCIERA en su puerta pasos
Hola.
 
       Ofrecemos préstamos a particulares, empresas y organismos que cooperen en la tasa de interés del 3%, tanto con y sin garantía, sin verificación de crédito up.We dar a préstamo de la gama de 5000 - 50 millones de Rands, dólares, libras esterlinas, euros. Si está interesado, contáctenos: creditpage@mail.com
 
Saludos,
Zipa de Martin  

3 Jul 2013 @ 03:22 by Madame Defarge @108.185.171.18 : FUCK OFF WU SHITSACKS
"Dear Valued Western Union® Customer,

"You are invited to give Western Union your feedback on some changes that the company is making to better serve its customers.

"You have been selected because our records show you have used Western Union money transfer more than 12 months ago.

"The feedback experience will take about 20 minutes. You will receive a $15 gift card, as a token of our appreciation"

I had to waste my time to answer a bunch of questions, after which I was disqualified; ineligible for the gift card.

WU sucks anyway. Its too expensive and Xoom is a much better service.

Fuck off WU and Nielsen sacks! Wasting peoples time giving with one hand and taking double with the other. Typical greedy corporate American fuck-wads, with their bullshit surveys and starched, button-down attitude. Robbing the poor and keeping it. There will come a time when we tire of your oppression. There are way more of us than of you. I must return to the wine shop now, to finish my quilt.
Mme Defarge  

11 Oct 2013 @ 01:14 by pk @108.196.82.60 : Disputes claim
WU is suck company. I have prepaid card was un authorized money transferred out of my card with out reason. I claimed dispute and was took forever finally they forgot about it.
Watch out if your account was hacked or transfer you money out from your account with out reason .WU have no security to protect your account what so ever.They not even honor your disputed claim and try to pull your leg around. It is SUCK company ti do financial business. A company should burn in hell. SUCK WESTERN UNION " DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH WU YOU WILL BE SORRY. "  

24 Nov 2014 @ 23:41 by Wayne Helsel @199.166.228.201 : declined transactions
It seams that all the people that I have been sending moneys to are blocked from receiving they won't say why.Started out I was helping put a kid threw school in Philippines just starting out second year when western union decided that I could no long send to that person The kid emailed me to say there aunt in New Zeeland also was denined send to them also receiver is blocked from anyone sending to them now the kid is out of school.My friend that I help out in manila was blocked last night while I was on phone with them asking why they block everyone in my account they would not say while talking with them I tried to send to another to prove a point to them blocked also.Something needs to be done money in minutes they need to be sued for false advertising  

17 Dec 2014 @ 03:13 by Tim Smith @120.29.68.46 : Cancelled - then no refund
I have had a similar problem to many of the problems mentioned above. I had been sending money to my girlfriend in the Philippines on a regular basis, when suddenly they (WU) decided to block and cancel a transaction. After several frustrating phone calls to WU (including a request to speak with a manager) I still haven't received the refund after 2 weeks! What was even more aggravating was they flatly refused to say why the transaction was blocked, or when the block would be removed. The reason was "WU does not disclose it's security matters". This is so f'n ridiculous, how can you expect people to use your service if you can't even provide this basic information. I am left in a situation where I cannot use WU again, because there is no way of knowing if it will be cancelled again. WU can go sit on a barbed wire pole and spin - I will never use this evil thieving company again.  

24 Dec 2014 @ 20:29 by Michelle Blackmon @24.19.203.198 : Western Union Sucks
I tried to send money using Western Union online WU Pay from my bank account. The transaction was initiated in the US and was going to someone in the US. They declined the transaction, will not give me any information and have not refunded my money in the time frame that they promised. I spoke to my bank and they have no idea why Western Union would have declined the transaction.

But people, PLEASE DO NOT SUFFER ALONE AND IN SILENCE!

1. Go online to the Attorney General's Office for your state, territory, country and file a complaint! Tell them you want them to file a class action lawsuit against Western Union on our behalf and send them the link to this website.

2. Post your complaint on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, everywhere you can think of! Make a video about it. LET THE WORLD KNOW!

3. Send a letter directly to the Western Union corporate office:
Hikmet Ersek, President & CEO
Western Union
2500 E. Belford Ave.
Englewood, CO 80112
720-332-1000

TELL WESTERN UNION WE DEMAND THEY RESPOND!!!!

Thank you and remember there is power in numbers. We are not helpless in this.  

24 Feb 2015 @ 23:49 by Hikmet @97.125.83.49 : Why we put holds on the money
I'm very sorry to have inconvenienced any of our many Western Union customers but I will explain our hold policy as simply as I can:

1. All funds submitted for transfer are pooled into one of several holding accounts;

2. Those holding account are interest bearing and the interest amount accrues to Western Union not the submitter;

3. The longer we keep your transfer in our pool accounts the more interest we make on your submitted funds.

We try to keep your transfer funds as long as possible to maximize our return on a free loan of funds from you the customer. Even though it takes only milliseconds to transfer funds anywhere in the world, most consumers don't understand the actual time it takes and will accept 3 to 5 days for processing. Our customer studies have shown that 3 days is the most acceptable and 5 days is the maximum time that will still bring the customer back to reuse our transfer service.

The money we make on the interest from funds transfers is very important to our profits and pays for my yearly bonus and for thousands of other senior executives and upper level employees.

I apologize again if our current business practices have inconvenienced any of our many Western Union customers, but we are in business to make a profit and your money transfers are an important part of that profit stream.

Regards,

Hikmet  

13 Mar 2015 @ 10:54 by Edison Fidelis @50.117.34.23 : Western Union Agent
Hello Good citizens.

I am here to inform you that all your problems of sending money for days is gone because i

Edison Fidelis is here to help you with any kind of transfer you need all around the world.

If interested, contact me today at efidelis9@accountant.com so that we can help you with your

needs today.

Good day.
Edison Fidelis.  

12 Oct 2016 @ 09:33 by hackempire @154.66.53.115 : hacker
Technology has empowered everybody..its really as big as you can make it and goes as far as you can take it..People are getting in contact with hackers to help them predict the stock market,clear student loans,expunge criminal records,bank accounts and other debts,fix credit ratings,double your tax return and help hack business competitors..contact hackempire007@gmail.com You need a savvy hacker though,one who would be able to carry out and successfully execute hacks on your behalf while keeping it all discrete and under the radar.  

Other stories in
2012-05-03 00:04: An evolving path
2012-01-02 13:52: 2011 Accomplishments and 2012 Aims
2011-11-17 02:20: Your inner piece
2011-02-01 00:05: Slow Mo Flow
2011-01-22 18:40: Recognition
2010-08-23 00:36: Where's Ming?
2010-07-20 14:24: Getting other people to do stuff
2010-06-22 00:27: Inventory
2010-06-19 23:10: Conversations
2009-10-28 12:31: Then a miracle occurs


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