Western Union

Money transferred through Western Union [from USA to India] gets cancelled on its own. But the e-mail notification says that "the transaction has been cancelled as per my request", which is totally absurd (looks like WU is scamming its customers). I tried 3 times to transfer money and all three times I get transaction confirmed and then transaction completed followed by a "your transaction has been cancelled as per your request."

On checking my bank account, I was seeing 3 transactions of money getting debited from my account and 3 transactions of money getting credited back (with the MTCN of each transaction). All six were in processing state. But the next morning when I checked my bank account, I'm seeing only one transaction of money getting debited (with the MTCN of the last transaction).

When the customer support was called, they are saying the amount was rejected by the receiving bank or by the Western Union Banking partner "IndusInd Bank". This same thing happened to 2 of my friends. All three of us sent money to different banks on the receiving end. So I'm guessing it is getting rejected by the Western Union Banking partner "IndusInd Bank". In this case how can I contact their banking partner?? It should be their (WU) responsibility to check with the banking partner and inform the customer properly.

This all looks like a scam to me. WU recently started giving better rates than all of its competitors and started charging $3 transaction fee. Its rates were so attractive that even with the fee sending money through WU was profitable on the receiving end and the money was getting received within 1 hr in the overseas bank. Now I'm caught in a mess and short of a lot of money for 7 business days. I will be ending up paying penalty fees for late payments in both the countries. And have put my friends also in a bad situation by referring them to Western Union.

So after the fact that the customer in front of me had to wait 50 minutes at least until the lady that was helping him told him that they can't reach the Head Office with a call, she told me I had to wait 30-60 minutes because her colleague is going in break. I kept calm. Everybody has to eat. That's not a problem. A woman in front of me complained about awful customer service because they've told her that she needs as well to wait 1 hour, which is a lot, regarding the fact that it's WESTERN UNION (fast money, right?).

Anyway, finally my turn is here. Everything went well until the lady told me that my transaction (receive money) has been canceled. Why? She obviously didn't knew. She gave me the number from WESTERN UNION-CUSTOMER SERVICE. After 10 minutes with a robot, a lady answered me. I've told her at what agency I am and that I need to receive money but my transaction had been canceled. She asked me for my (???) number. I asked 4 times what is that number because I didn't knew. She got angry and after that realised that I am a customer and only the members of WU had that number. Anyway she treated me like I was receiving money for drugs, alcohol and **, for safety reasons.

She told me the sender needs to call to WU because she can't do anything about it. Ok, the sender (my aunt) called. She was asked so many question. One of them "For what did you send the money?" She said that it is for my rent and other little things like food, clothes. They've replied that "other little things" is not a correct answer. (WHAAAT?) Now I have to explain to my landlord why I can't pay the rent.. because WUnion is a .. :) Very, very bad experience with WU. Awful customer service and not at all "fast money".

I am 61 years old and have used Western Union off and on for most of my adult life. I recently had an internet transaction where I wanted to send a relative $120 which got held up in Western Union's "Compliance Dept.". I phoned Western Union the following day and all the Customer Service Dept. rep. seemed to want to do was argue with me. I asked that the transaction be cancelled. Three and a half weeks later my credit card bill arrives in the mail and the credit card charges from Western Union are on the bill, so I phone Western Union's Customer Service Dept. about having the charges credited.

After the Western Union rep. confirms that the transaction has not been completed they begin the process of passing me from one person to another arguing with me and stonewalling about crediting my credit card account. Ultimately I contacted my credit card company and disputed the charges, even though this will likely take a little longer to get the issue resolved. What a lousy company with horrible customer service Western Union has evolved into. I will never use Western Union again for anything. I instead used "Moneygram" in Walmart for this transaction, and what a much more pleasant experience, and at a lower cost. I would describe my last experience with Western Union as theft by credit card.

Money was send to me two days ago... I went to the local agency and they told me that my account is under review which I do not understand. I emailed the offices in USA and they told me that I must just go and collect the money. I went Again and the same thing was said... I am not a criminal nor dealing with drugs or money laundry. This was send to me from my boyfriend whenever he is in the States... I just don't understand..

1 September 2016: I initiated a money transfer with Western Union, and sent them 200 British pounds (a lot of money to me), on that day, for transfer to my friend abroad. The next day they initially put the transaction on hold, then cancelled it, without giving a reason. It is now 15 September, and I am still awaiting the return of my money, and have had such little reassurance from them that I honestly believe they will just keep the money. It is like fraud. They did receive the money as a WU representative told me on the phone that they had received it. I have also done this transaction 4 or 5 times before and not had a problem until now. If I had known what was to happen with this transaction, I would never have used them to begin with. I have had to do all the running to try and get the money back, with no success. Various e-mails and phone calls were all met with varying explanations, and nobody took charge of the problem.

Every time I have phoned, I have had to speak to someone new, re-explain every time. In one call I was told the money was sent back to me, it must be your bank at fault. A few days later, another, different representative said, "The money will be in your account this afternoon or by tomorrow." Three days later I still have not received the money back. I spoke to my bank, who I trust, who said that WU could use an express transfer facility which would transfer the money in just hours, but they haven't. WU have given no information about why this money has not been returned, it is truly appalling. In years of doing a multitude of transactions online with different organisations, I have never had such an issue with anyone until this experience with WU. I have now read other people's experiences with them, and totally concur with their warnings. I strongly advise people to avoid using Western Union for any financial transactions.

I have used Western Union for a few years off and on. Always sending small amounts, fifty dollars to family and friends for funerals, gifts, etc. Recently Western Union, blocked my account. It was a fifty dollar transaction. They asked me who I was and requested my identity, etc. After gladly sending what they asked for, they closed my account. I tried to reason with them but you only speak to foreigners who can't speak good English and they give you no explanation. I don't recommend them at all. But I did come across with two companies, Sharemoney.com and Moneygram.com, both who were professional enough to ask for my identity and clarification and now I am free to send money to my loved ones. Overall their exchange rates are better as well. In conclusion, stay away from Western Union.

Hi All, I always do the money transfer with best possible conversion. This time I used Western Union and everything went smooth until I see my bank account which was charged $25 extra for money transfer. This all happened because the Western Union didn't disclose the process of ACH. It was said 3 to 4 business days for money transfer, If it is 3 to 4 business days no one will think of ACH. Even they gave more money per dollar at the end with bank charges $25 more it is loss and very less for me.

Never used Western Union again. NEVER. They declined for urgent send and put on hold, they said for their protection. The lady who ask me questions make it sound like I am committed crime and doing money laundering, she going to contact Federal Bureau to question me where the money come from. Ridiculous, they don't care. Really don't!!! Never ever used their service. NEVER!!! Disappointed!!

I always send money to my dad direct to bank. In 1 transaction, they did it for person instead of direct to bank. It was usual for me, so I didn't ask my dad, neither did he ask me if I sent it. I happened to view his passbook after a month and realize that money didn't come in. I didn't have the MTCN by then. I called them and they said I need to visit the agent location. The agent at the agent location said that they can't do anything. Anyhow, they called Western Union. WU said I'd receive a cheque. But, I'll get a call from them to confirm my address first. No call for 3 days.

I called them - no transaction/processing on file. The agent on call this time said she changed the receiver to me so I would get the refund on the same agent location. I went there. New faces now. They said, "We can't give you anything." They called customer service again and she said we processed. I asked for a reference number. No reference number is given. I've been chasing them for my money. They have asked to wait for 7 - 14 days. I have no idea still. Will never use them for money sending ever again. I strongly suggest no one does.

I tried to transfer money via Western Union, to help pay for funeral expenses, other than the cremation that we had already paid for. Western Union put a hold on the money, forced me to call and answer personal questions, such as, "What was the reason?" "Who had died?" "What was her relationship to me?" "What was the relationship to the person I was trying to send money to?" This was stupid. I was paying cash, no card. No one was trying to fraud anyone. We were trying to pay for obituaries in the papers. I WILL NEVER USE WESTERN UNION AGAIN!!! I HOPE THEY GO OUT OF BUSINESS, AND SOON!!!

Today, I experienced the dark side of WU. They quickly accepted my money, immediately put a "hold" on the funds and required me to call to verify "personal information" before release. During the 29-minute phone call, I was every possible unimportant question possible and was threatened to have my transaction remain on hold unless I continued to answer all their questions: Why are you sending the money? Who is the person who is receiving it? How will they spend the funds (and 'for expenses' is not an acceptable answer)? How long have you known this person? Where did you meet and how?" And the list goes on. It felt like being a suspect trying to get through immigration. And this was for one in-state transaction. Truth: I was taken hostage and forced to complete what was quite obvious a survey. Incidentally, the poor girl asking the questions is in the Philippines and being paid dimes on the dollar, no doubt.

Do not waste your time or money with Western Union. You are in for a world of grief. First off, ATM cards are set up for a low cash limit, and the people at WU don't know this. Second, if you plan on sending a substantial amount of money, you will have to verify transaction details. This means you will be spending at least an hour on the phone, "for security reasons" and for "your safety" because WU thinks you may be defrauded. They will ask you all kinds of questions. Some of them the same, some of them two or three times.

Then, what they will do next is decline to send your money. Again, for security reasons. And for security reasons, they cannot tell you why. If you can, like I said, avoid them. You're in for a ride if you can't. Particularly if the amount you're sending is large ($2,500). Oh, and for all that "speed and ease of sending money", expect to pay a substantial fee--I paid $176.00. Their advertising on $8.00 for $1,000 is false. Ended up with money orders, sent them down overnight. Cheaper. Less hassle.

Western Union will not send my money to my step daughter to go to school!! We used WU weekly and gladly paid the fees because it was the most convenient way to send. But this past weekend, just before my step daughter goes back to school, they decide to refund any transaction I try to send her. I called and was transferred to 3 departments and in the end, all I get is "business policy" crap. I send through my personal online banking account. You would think that would be even more secure and less likely to be suspected of suspicious activity as doing anything illegal would go against my banking guidelines.

I work for a worldwide bank so I know about fraud and anti money laundering. I'm trained to watch for it myself. I know they must be looking at our transaction frequency and thinking we are committing one or both. But we are not! We are simply trying to give our family money for food, to clothe themselves and get an education. And I know the consequences of committing fraud. I could lose my job, get fined and even jail time! We are not criminals! Thank God for WorldRemit. WorldRemit allows us to do cash transfers online to a local bank. I've noticed the exchange rate is higher than WU and the fees are lower. Win Win. So I guess I should say thank you WU. Thank you for not allowing me to send my step daughter money for life's essentials until we can get her paperwork done and bring her to Canada.

I made a transaction online, the MTCN number was not generated. I called Western Union as it was a significant amount of money and to cancel off the transaction. Although, it was there black and white in front of them they were unable to do so... This is an organisation that deals with people's hard earned cash, they were unreliable and it scared me. I had to call my bank to cancel off the transaction. When I spoke to the manager Maria, saying I will complain, she told me it was a free country and I can do what I like. Never before have I met with such rudeness and insolence, which makes me wonder how an organisation such as this is still flourishing with such absence of non existent customer services.

Absolutely ridiculous. If you have money to throw away, or don't need it for 10 days, or you have no emergency, and if you think it won't happen to you because you have used them before, or if you think you have given them all your IDs, you are SO SO WRONG. They can decline a transfer whenever they wish without any reason and leave you out of pocket for DAYS. Forget the emergency. DO NOT TRANSFER MONEY WITH WESTERN UNION. I TOLD YOU SO!

They don't care. They really don't. I had a crisis and they failed. So awful I had to share. My gas light is on. I have to get work. Had my mom tried the app and website and even called but they do not care. The rep in in another country English is not her first language. Hard to understand what she is saying. Hard to follow. Very stressful. My Grandmother is really sick and is stuck in bed. My mom is her caretaker. She cannot just leave her and send the money. My grandmother is 80 something. The rep talks to me and my mom like we are criminals. She did not care. Really awful experience.

On Aug 16 I sent a friend $50.00 because he was in need. When he went to pick it up he was denied, for security reasons. He was told to fax or email a photocopy of his ID and he should have it in 10 min. 1 hr later he was told he had to do it again because it came out blurry. He tried and was still refused! Now it was becoming suspicious. He was advised to call me, the sender and have me call their customer service. When I did they informed me his name was similar to a person who has used WU for criminal activities. Now they wanted the following info: his address, father's name, birthdays, my relationship to him, purpose of money. Needless to say I was livid considering half of this list is already on his ID! I asked to cancel this transaction they told me neither one of us could receive the money until we gave them all the info they wanted. I feel WU went too far! All this for 50.00?

I sent 2900 to Mexico on 8/19/2016. The person in Mexico could not pick it up because the Western Union agency could not pay more that 725 dollars per transaction. What? I called Western Union to give me my money back, went back to the store (today) and they did not have enough cash. What? Plus they would not give me the 30 dollars fee back. So, I think they are scammers. They should know the law, that nobody can send more than 725 dollars to Mexico. So I lost 30 dollars but I won't ever again use their service. Wire the money from a bank account to another bank account in Mexico. I will write a note on a newspaper in Mexico City to complain about the corrupt government that puts all these burdens on the poor.

I tried to send a relative money using a credit card transaction on the website. WU cancelled the transaction but didn't refund my money immediately. I had to call and it's been over 2 weeks and they still haven't given me a refund! If they cancel the transaction you should expect they will cancel and refund your money and not let it sit in their account collecting interest while you don't have use of your money!

I sent 400 dollars on June 17, 2016 at 2:15 pm MDT from Smiths in Price, Utah. I sent it to my brother Rowlley ** in Broomfield, N.M. He never was able to pick it up. I contacted Western Union 5 times. They keep telling me it was picked up. 2 of their reps. tell me I will get a refund within 2 to 3 days. It never happens. The lady in Broomfield that runs Western Union at The Farmers Market is Dora ** says it was there but cannot be picked up. Western Union reps say the investigation shows Dora ** saying it was picked up by my brother. We think she stole it.

Update: After a long talk with my bank and the Western Union looking through my statement. I wasn't charged twice I don't know how it works with the Western Union but it seems that even though i sent the money there's a delay in getting charged from your card. I went over and over for hours and everything is correct and matched up perfectly. I don't know why there's a delay in getting charged but it does, they told me it's the system but I really don't think they know why. Either way, it's good I didn't get charged twice but I would recommend they update their system or improve it. I'll still be using the online but I'll be more observation when I send the money and prevent any more problems. Took me a week but was able to get some results, hope many take warn when using the Western Union online. Check it twice and keep on checking.

I cancelled a transaction on July 17th because Western Union wouldn't accept the ID of the receiver, and today is August the 4th 2016 and I still haven't received my refund. I was told the refund would take 5 to 7 business days. On July 25th six days later I received a phone call from Western Union informing me that my money would be refunded back to my account the following day on Tuesday July 26th. Tuesday evening no refund, Wednesday evening no refund. I called Thursday evening July 28th and was transferred around, the "it's not my department" line, and when I was finally connected to the internet department I was told Western Union's third party payment processor is experiencing a service disruption.

I called Western Union every day and was told the same story and that my case was being sent to the main office, seems like all the customer services reps are offshore. Even when you ask to speak to a supervisor you just get transferred to another call center with someone else whose native language isn't English. Today I called the number listed as the US corporate office and still end up in a call center somewhere and was given the same story service disruption and that I have to wait for Western Union to call me. I even tried live chat (August the 4th at 2:15PM EST) and was told the same thing with one difference, my refund is being processed again. If there is a third party system disruption how can my refund be processed again. Here's the text from my conversation:

"I know it can be frustrating, the refund attempt was made today and we expect that the funds will be back in your account soon." "We are very sorry for the inconvenience. Western Union's third party payment processor is experiencing a service disruption which has caused a delay in processing the refund. We have processed the refund again and we expect it to be back in your account in the next 7 days." "I apologize for the inconvenience, Philip, but that's the information our payment processor provided. They have made another attempt and expect it to be back in your account in the next 7 business days."

I don't know how a multi-million dollar company depends on a third party company to issue refunds and that companies system is down for over 10 days, someone needs to be fired. If I do get my refund in 7 days that will be almost 4 weeks later. Unacceptable. I am calling my bank to see what they can do. The worst customer service and the worst online transaction I've ever had. Won't do business again and I've done a lot of business with Western Union for over 30 years.

I tried to send money to my niece today for my great niece's first birthday in Missouri. Paid $12 for the monies in minutes, yea right! Two hours later my niece calls me to let me know that the transaction is still being processed. I called WU only to be told the transaction had been declined due to previous transaction history. What history? I've never sent money by WU or any other service before!!?? I was told by the agent that couldn't speak English very clear that it would take 1-12 hours for me to receive a phone call from a different agent to let me know that my money is released for me to return to where I sent it from so I may pick it up!!!! Seriously is this a joke or what?! From what I'm reading on here I may never see that $100 again. I will never ever use this company again if I have to send money to anyone.

I have a stack of complaint letters with numerous cases of incompetence by Western Union. Moving call centers to the Philippines years ago was a huge mistake! I've been a customer of WU for years having sent thousands and constantly told I'm a loyal or valued customer. Please... you don't put on hold, escalate 4 levels, cancel and even send notifications saying the money is ready and then inform the customer that their transaction is being reviewed once again all the time saying how valued I am. I was told someone has the same name as me and they're banned from using WU. Guess what WU? I don't care because you have my driver's license & passport on file although you continually ask for it over and over again.

If there is really someone with the same name, simply check the documentation and not delay or cancel my transactions. I've never met such incompetence with patronizing ignorant requests or comments as what's coming out of WU in the Philippines. They read a script that they won't deviate from and unlike the U.S. where "the customer is always right", they treat you like you're doing them a favor. I've written to the headquarters in Colorado and they're just as incompetent and patronizing as the fools in the Philippines. I can't wait for another alternative to ditch these incompetent people. They do "nothing" to facilitate but everything possible to obstruct and delay. They have a lot to learn about customer service. Mostly, when they lose their customers, they will be out of business. Their service is deplorable and atrocious.

I tried to use WU Pay because it is the lowest fee to send money to a lithuanian person who had done some work for my grant. All my transaction attempts were declined - multiple times over two months. I was told that I could only send money by going in person to a store and providing cash. I was given a promotional discount, which reduced the fee, but the hassle of calling and calling and then having to go in person was very unpleasant. While I have excellent credit, this should be immaterial, since with WU Pay, I send Western Union money using my bank's online banking service, so western union can't possibly lose money on me.

I then went to moneygram to pay several other individuals in other countries and had no problems. Unfortunately the lithuanian wants western union. Western union operators were generally unhelpful, and spoke with such strong accents that they were difficult to understand. They muttered in a way similar to the kind of slurring that you get when a scammer calls and they slur the name of their company so you can't quite hear it. There were frequent hangups. I was given email addresses to write to for complaints.

A family friend transferred some money to me from China. I went to the agent in order to receive the money. He entered the details and it came up. I can view the screen from where I was standing. The agent proceeded to payout but an error pop-up saying my identity needs to be verified. I was told by the agent to wait for 10 to 15 minutes. After 20 minutes I was told by the agent that the transaction cannot be found again. I asked what that means. He said the MTCN no longer contains any transfer details, that I should contact the seller to go back to the same place where the transfer was initiated to complain about the issue. I did, he went back, and he was told that my name was blocked from receiving because it matches the name of another person who has been blocked. He cancelled the transfer and send via bank transfer. I received without headache.

I know Western Union does not care about any negative reviews here because they think they are doing what is right. I do not recommend anyone to use Western Union. Even if you use them for many years without problem, your day is coming. It's just like death, just expect the surprise, especially when you needed their service the most.

I sent a money transfer July 2016. Western Union stop my transfer asking me personal information and said they will refund my 310.00 dollars. I had to wait 5 business days - to get my refund call my card holder so I call my card holder. Western Union has sent nothing. They try to tell me my money already been refunded. Liars Lists. I get alerts on my credit card no 310.00 dollars never been return. Called many time. Operators lie each time barely speak proper English. Tell you the same thing sending it now. Always thought a honest business would never rob me. Boy I was wrong and disappointed. They are worse than a thief on the street stealing people money that trusted them. I work hard for my money and if I want to spend it no one has a right to tell me how to spend it. Sign a very angry customer.

On Saturday July 9, 2016 a friend of mine was pickpocketed in Panama City Panama. I attempted to send her $150 via Western Union's online services. I first used a credit card number but was then prompted to give a debit card so that I would not be charged "cash advance" charges. WU charged an additional fees of $15, so $165 total funds were pending on my debit account. Shortly after the online transaction, my transfer was placed on "hold" and I was requested to send a copy of my driver's license (which I did, and now regret). I then received an email stating: "As a result of reviewing MTCN **, Western Union cannot complete this transaction because the sender is not permitted to use Western Union to send and receive money. File Date (MM/DD/YY): JUL/09/2016. Sending Agent: **. Western Union has refunded the senders money and any fees."

I was asked to send various other documents to be "reinstated" with their services. I became quite skeptical and I googled "why was my transfer denied with Western Union?" I encountered thousands of people across the world complaining of the same scam. Western Union debits the transaction amount plus fees. Western Union tells you that you are blacklisted and does not provide any reason. Western Union never credits back the sum of the original transaction and steals your monies.

I used Moneygram less than 1 hour after encountering my denial from Western Union without any problem or a "blacklisting" scare tactic. I filed a complaint with my bank on July 11, 2016 and my bank denied the pending charge. Another transaction from Western Union in the amount $165.00 was transacted on July 18, and my bank suggested that I cancel my debit card and file a fraud complaint against the company. In an attempt rectify the situation and receive my credit so that I did not have to cancel my card, I called Western Union today 7/21/16 and was transferred 2 times to a final phone number of 1-877-989-3268 and spoke to Lizell extension ** and the managing supervisor Alice **. They both claim that only the initial transaction on 7/9/16 took place and deny a second charge on my card on 7/18/16.

When I asked why I have not received a refund in over 12 days, they both told me that "western union is experiencing a processor problem, and there has been a disruption of the service". Neither had access to email in order to send me a written confirmation on this problem. Alice said the problem COULD be rectified in 24 hours, but I have no proof of that. So, I'm writing here today to request that my case be escalated TODAY and my monies be returned by tomorrow 7/22/16 before I file a case with my bank and the local authorities and media. I shouldn't have to wait over 12 days for a refund of a monies that were never transacted. I am also writing to help or warn other people about Western Union's scam - DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR DEBIT CARD, driver's license, bank statement or any other personal information that they may ask for! Read the numerous complaints here and google Western Union!

Q&A Protected Funds - I am tired of WU taking advantage of the homeless and making excuses for the errors. I am a teacher and I sent $800 to help my disabled sister. WU allowed someone to steal the money. When I called they quoted me policy and just told me to seek jurisdiction and no refund.

Today I tried to wire my husband $ to Sao Tome, Africa with Western Union. I spoke with a customer service agent (the whole thing took about an hour). He not only entered my home address wrong (after I repeated the zip code multiple times - I had to call back to correct this) but then, he failed to enter the CORRECT country in Africa where the money should go! At one point he said to me "South Africa" and I corrected him. I repeatedly said, "it's Sao Tome, NOT South Africa." I asked whether he needed the address of the Western Union office in Sao Tome? His response: "No. It doesn't matter where in Africa - he can pick up the $ anywhere in Africa". And I said: "Really?? Anywhere? Africa is a continent with many countries and different currencies! I don't need to specify which one?" He said "No."

In the end, my money went to South Africa and my husband in Sao Tome was unable to get his money. This man has no business being a service agent transferring people's funds - he failed to understand basic information/world geography/and how Western Union funds are transferred. If this is who Western Union hires, I am amazed that they are still in business after all these years!?!