Western Union is a fraudulent and incompetent company, and I deeply regret using their service for the first time. Yesterday, I urgently needed to send $1,469.00 CAD to my brother in Ottawa, Canada. I chose the "cash pickup in minutes" option using my debit card -- which cost more because it promised instant delivery. That's the only reason I used it: urgency. But more than 36 hours later, my brother has still not received the money. He visited over five Western Union locations in Ottawa, and none of them had the funds available. We are not talking about a remote village -- this is the capital city of Canada, and the amount is not even large. This is outrageous. I called Western Union's so-called "customer service," and spoke to two incompetent reps who could barely communicate and gave confusing, scripted responses. After demanding a supervisor and being on hold for 30 minutes, someone else came on -- barely more helpful -- and told me that no location in Ottawa has enough cash to complete the transfer. His "solution"? He said they would split the transfer into multiple MTCNs and that my brother would have to go around Ontario to pick up money in pieces. What kind of scam is this? This is false advertising, misleading, and outrageously irresponsible. They charge for "cash in minutes" but deliver nothing, waste my time, and put my family in distress. I then requested a refund, and the agent said it was "processed," yet I received no email confirmation, no receipt, and no guarantee. When I asked about it, he just repeated: "You're supposed to receive the email," and claimed the refund will take 5-7 business days. I have zero trust in Western Union at this point. This is a scam business model -- they take people's money and then fail to deliver it, leaving the sender and receiver helpless. Accountability for this blatant misrepresentation of services. Western Union should be investigated and penalized for these fraudulent practices. They should not be allowed to operate like this, especially when people rely on them in urgent situations. read more

SCAM...SCAM The worst and most racist people I had to deal with transferring my money for cancelling you could just take the number and confirm the name ON THE ID and the name of the receiver read more

Literally the best! I have never had a problem. I know I can always count on Western Union to transfer and send Monet FAST!!

They don't have 2-factor auth. One can stole your money and they won't refund it. Never store credit/debit card or band information on their website. read more

PEOPLE Needs to STOP using Western Union, This company is a scam and has been for the past few years. I requested a refund on my $1000 money order last month and every other day I am told a different story. They keep telling me stories like " We have not heard any updates from your refund ma'am we are still waiting for your request to process, I would call again in less than an hour and I will be told that your check was sent last Friday please allow 7-14 business days. This does not make sense at all and the people who answer the phone barely speak any english. The authorities needs to look into Western Union they might be running the biggest PONZI Scam right under their nose. I can guarantee that there is no check coming for me on the mail anytime soon, this is just another one of their fraudulent games. read more

I inform Western Union to stop a money order transaction and refund back my money by completing a form and sending a service fee for payment. A month has passed and they never contacted me to issue my refund. I called them after a month and they told me my refund was on the way. I never received the money . Later I found out someone stole my money, when Western Union sent me verification. Western Union had enough time to stop the transaction before allowing someone to steal my money. I will consider using Venmo before using Western Union again. read more

Money never deliver, sender or receiver never notified 2 years later receiver claims never received the money, sender files a claim and it gets a sustainable amount deducted, they are stilling from poor people, find another way to send money ; customers service will stone wall you , it such a dishonest company. read more

The worst, I got an money order for an apartment that didn't fall through, The store would not cash it back in due to their machine was down. So i decided to do it the easy way so i thought!!!. I went online requested an refund sent an picture of my id, the front of the money order and attached receipt. Well that was on 08/21/2024. I moved and contacted them 3 times to update my address where to send my payment. Welp they never put it through! The payment was mailed 09/13/2024 and it was mailed to the wrong address. i had to wait 15 days then call if i didn't get the payment. I contacted them when i was ask is there anyone at my old address that can get my mail!!!! What, i relocated 45 minutes away. this is after 10 calls made to western union. They then stated they would expedited my situation and will have an response in 24 to 48 hours. That was on 10 /3/2024 today is 10/07/2024. I called back and was informed i have to wait an additional 5 business days. I could understand if i was a few dollars, but it is not, Due to the wrong information they keep putting in and giving me the run around about my money, my car is on the verge of being repo, Rent is now due. This has placed me in the worse situation ever. I strongly advise ANYONE whom is looking to get a Money order to through your bank or Walmart where you can have a person you can speak with face to face and the issue could be resolved easier. I am at the point where i do not believe Western Union wants to give me my money. I have sent in valid identification, The receipts showing i purchased it, it has not been cashed and they are still giving me the run around. Every time i call the situation and information changes. I am now wondering if i should get an class action attorney. Attached it the call history, i have been on the phone with them for over a month, and the amount of time spent SMH read more

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I have been in the process of trying to get a refund for my money order for two weeks now. First they told me it would be 5 days, 5 days passes and i call them they tell me it will be the next monday, I call monday they tell me tuesday, I called tuesday they told me the end of the day or wednesday. I called today and they told me the tracking number has already been sent and that they need to put in a expedited request that could take 24 to 72 hours. I feel like they are going to steal my money from me $1,200 down the drain... read more

This company has gone downhill! I had an online account in good standing for years. I'd made numerous transfers without problems. I just tried to make a transfer and was stymied and obligated to fill out a questionnaire. I uploaded several documents ID, Bank statements, Schedule C and a letter from my bank tying my debit card to my checking account. Without explanation their compliance department rejected reinstating my account. I spoke to their customer service department and they had no answers as to why. Of course for a much higher commission I can go to a store and make all the transfers I want. If you're offering online services set a minimum or charge higher fees but don't waste my time playing games. It's absurd! I used money gram and without a hitch the transfer went smoothly and for lesser fees and a better exchange rate! read more

This company commits THEFT of your money. I made the mistake of purchasing a money order to deposit into my account with USAA. But they MISLEAD customers with their deceptive business practices. as USAA does not have a branch to deposit your cash- I purchased a money order instead to deposit. IT SAYS MOBILE DEPOSIT PROHIBITED. So forth- I've tried to cash it- well it was not readable to cash the check either. so I had to submit my receipt from the store, my money order and my money order receipt 5X- I've been calling them everyday since September 27th- TAKE YOUR BUSINESS elsewhere or you'll be the same boat as a purchaser waiting for your refund. This company is beyond awful! read more

Western Union (web) has to have the WORST website for money transfers ! Slow, constantly loading, unable to advance to payment details..W/E is an absolute failure, in this regard !!! Customer Service (LOL) is a total joke. Some outsourced clown who responds with, "our website is problems" ! I have used W/E for approx. 3 years, and this is the worst I have ever seen it. Shopping for a new money transfer service. read more

I think Western Union's a piece of s*** You send him an email you get a response and then you can't send him another email because they don't take it. What the hell is corporate doing up there? Not a g****** thing, and you're supposed to be helping the customer read more

I sent a large sum of money to a potential landlord . He called it off, so i contacted WU for a refund. They told me it was already picked up, to my surprise. The landlord , a world famous artist, wealthy with integrity did not pick it up, as it was cancelled by me. The person who they claim picked it up had to have my ID, info, and look just like me. Yeah , right. WU stole my money and would never act to get the videotape of whomever picked it up at a West hollywood grocer. Vons management refused to cooperate in any way. LAPD refused to even take a report from me. The customer service manager said he would start an investigation and get back to me. 4 months later, i learned that it was never referred to the fraud department, and no investigation was conducted. They just stole it. In the meantime, I was evicted from my apartment, even though i was a crippled widow, a sr. citizen, and was simply robbed. I don't have kids or living realatives, so I had no where to go, and no one to help me. I almost died in the streets of Detroit until a stranger took me in wheelchair and all. I don't want triple damages? I want their business shut down. read more

Western Union - Another Death in Detroit? Thanks Western Union! - Banks & Credit Unions Near Me - San Francisco, California

Terrible. Western Union is no longer reliable for money transfers. New tenant wired $ to our local WU and they put a hold on it. After driving 30 mi. we did not get the rent, and $ is being refunded to new tenant. It has made a long distance transaction impossible. This is a professional moving into our area that is trying to rent our apartment. WTH! I will never use WU ever again. Not sure how they have stayed in business this long. If you have a similiar request find a different source. They transfer you to a Secialist, and the call magically gets dropped! Way to go WU!!!! read more

I'm trying to send money and they say I have to approve it. I'm using the app. I'm sending it to the Philippines to my wife. Who needs the money desperately? I've been waiting three hours on a call back to approve this This is a bunch of bullcrap from now on I will use moneygram read more

Is crap, says I can send up to $4999, I try to send $3000, then it says it's too much and I need to send below $2999, So then try to send $2998, still transfer fails because they say it's too much, but now they don't give any maximum amount, so then I tried $200 it pass, they charge me and now it's says it is cancelled. What the fck kind of game are you playing? You just like to make people loose their time and money or what? Awful first experience will never use this app again. Stop spending in advertising and better improve your services. read more

Heaven forbid you need to send money through WesternUnion multiple times. Not only will you not be able to they decide for you if you can or cannot send money to Friend's family and loved ones whether they are living in a different country or on vacation because of their card being denied while on vacation. So they reach out for help asking to provide some cash while they resolve their bank card. Western Union has a very poor customer service when they call to verify if you are trying to send money ask a couple of questions and determine if that money will be sent or not once they've determined it's been denied. They advise your transaction has been denied and hang up immediately. They never give the opportunity for you to speak or ask a question as to why it was denied. Their email is very vague on providing information or details as to why it was denied. I'd like to say thank you but I can't because you never provided a service. Doesn't matter which location branch you go to the outcome is the same. read more

just like all these reviews - same thing. they take my money. i sent my moey to my husband. it was never delivered. were waiting and waiting and waiting. so i ask for it to be refunded. it been months now. they say they refunded it. well i dont have it. so they keep giving me the run around. i send them proof they say they need the proof again. i dont think im ever going to get my 300$ back after seeing these reviews. i thought western union was a legitimate business? are they going bankrupt? i will contact the better business bureau and trash them on every social media platform that i can so that people dont use them anymore. this is insanity. read more

I have recieved a refund and couldnt cash it any where... I went to multiple institutions and they all gave me the same answer "sorry you may have to contact W.U" I tried calling customer service no one picks up. i couldnt get into contact with W.U directly and I feel like if you receive a refund I should be able to cash it and that I could not do. So do not ask for a refund that is a check because they will not help you and they'll take your money happily. never again read more

I have had issues sending money overseas to family. In the beginning when I first sent a money transfer I understood the need for a person receiving validation, but to be asked for a validation for a second time for sending money to the same person is unacceptable. I've been on the phone with them for over 1 hour and 20 min and still no operator has answered. All for getting cleared to send money because they think I need the protection. Will not be sending money through western union again. read more

They are not well trained and deal with people with disrespect and impoliteness. Even if you try to file a complaint, you will waste your time and discover another level of ignorance. Sometimes you have to go several times to claim your own money as the system is regularly down or there are no sufficient funds. I don't recommend it to anyone. read more

I tried to send money to my girlfriend in Jamaica. Western Union added a process to the procedure. They needed to talk to me personally to verify my identity. That's fine, but I had to wait on hold for two hours. They should not add extra steps if they are not staffed to handle processing them. They suck. read more

This will definitely be the last time I use western union unless i have no other options on earth. Almost every time I send money, my transfer is delayed because some moron at western union decides people are too stupid to send money without intervention. It is none of western unions business who I send money to, their relation to me, or reason why the money is being sent. This is my business. Western Union's business is to transfer the money. Sending $10000.00 to Russia, sure. $100 in state.. no. Only a moron would think this is true. You need to fix your broken system. read more

Western Union (WU)has some real problems in making money transfers safe and efficient. I had an emergency situation because my grandmother had passed away at 99 years young, and I needed to travel from California to Georgia to help with burial and funeral preparations. So since I had just paid my mortgage, I didn't have the kind of money needed for a flight with my family to Georgia. My aunt attempted to send me money, and even though it was over $2,000, that is no excuse for poor customer service in an emergency situation. The first problem was that most pickup places did not have that amount of money on hand. But this makes no sense if you're a business knowing that people can send all kinds of amounts of money to be picked up. So any business working with WU should be able to handle most reasonable amounts. The second problem I ran into was that after I first attempted to pick up the funds, my CA ID was not good enough. All of a sudden another requirement popped on the screen requesting my social security card? Normally, that would not have been a problem, but this time I had long ago misplaced my social security card. That's purely my fault, but before I went to pick up funds a second time, WU should have informed me that an additional ID requirement was needed. A Check into Cash personnel called a supervisor and opened up the way for me to use my passport in connection with my social security number and a picture of my social I had made just in case I misplaced the original. But of course, the passport had recently expired, so I could not use it. So the Check into Cash supervisor was good enough to allow the photo of my social security card to be used with my CA ID. But of course another problem arose because once again, a "hold" was put on the transfer after the first failed attempt to pick up the money. After the second try, I figured that it is a standard procedure with WU that if the first attempt to pick up he cash fails, an automatic "hold" is placed on the transfer. What does this mean? It means more insane and absolutely ridiculous delays in getting emergency funds because now the sender is required to call from the phone number that was put on the sending form (nowhere else!!), so that a WU representative can call the sender and "verify" that he or she sent the money to you. In this situation, the sender was sick and had to check out of the hospital to send the money, and then had to deal with all kinds of problems with WU making it too difficult to receive needed funds. Two representatives were supposed to call the sender, but when I called her I was told that no call came in. So I called WU again and spoke with "Ivan" about 5:41pm. He said he would call, but after an hour or more, still no call was made. I am totally disgusted with the complete and utter incompetence of the transfer of larger amounts via WU. What makes this so absurd is the fact that this cannot be the first time that WU has ever dealt with people trying to send larger amounts. So there can be no excuse for this level of incompetence and asinine customer service. The funeral is approaching and I'm still stuck in CA and it looks like I might miss my own grandmother's funeral. This is sickening and disgusting, and I am convinced to never ever again use Western Union for any other money transfers. I will do all I can to make sure Western Union never again causes this level of pain and problems for people in emergency situations. I will complain all over social media and make sure WU pays for my pain and emotional distress because people will stop using the service. So I do not recommend using WU for sending a dime or a dollar, and while I understand they need to guard against possible fraud, there is no excuse for putting people through too many hoops just to get needed funds. Go with another service like MoneyGram or something else. My grandmother passed away on December 4th. The first attempt to send money was on December 5th. It is now December 7th and I STILL do not have a dime of that money sent due to an unnecessary and unreasonable technicality and disastrous Western Union procedure. This is absolutely sickening. Stay away from Western Union! read more

I also made a small transfer to my mother who was vacationing in another country as a way of getting her money in minutes. For hours she stopped at a WU affiliate to pick it up and be told that there was no record of a transfer. I finally call WU to see what's the issue. Their rep tells me that there was a hold on the transfer as they needed to talk to me too ensure that it was not for money laundering or fraud. They proceed to ask me stupid questions even after I told them that it was money for my mother. They ask by what means do I communicate with my mother (?), they ask what will she spend the money on (!?), etc. I didn't get any notice that there was a hold so I didn't know I had to get in contact with WU to remove a hold. What should have taken minutes, as they state, took more than 24 hours. They was there last time I use that service. read more

Just now When did Western Union become big Brother? When did Western Union become big brother? Tried to wire money to a friend and they decided that for some unknown reason to reject my transfer and further more told me They would never transfer funds for me. Basically banning me from using their service. I just don't get it. My credit card was good and even my credit card company approved the transaction. So the hell with Western Union. read more

"I am only sorry you cant give negative stars" The worst website, phone service, and payment processing imaginable. I have ulcers from trying to use this service, read more

I can´t give less of a review unfortunately. Every 30 days, I have the same conversation... Your app and webpage says 0 to 1 business days for your money to be delivered... after taking my money, 24 hours later, there is no movement... I called, and am told I need to wait 72 hours for their attention... What?! You took my money! High call volume, hang up and call 3 hours later... a bunch of BS. I looked up BBB and they´re not even registered to file a complaint. Use someone else... read more

They try to steal your money! I had this sane experience. A failed transfer and still waiting on a refund See https://www.classactionsreporter.com/consumer/western-union-failure-return-uncollected-funds-class-action read more

BS service. The money I needed sent in a day from US to Indonesia was put on hold to be reviewed by 'offline team to do approvals'. I got an email saying the money's available for pick-up, my sister went to WU to pick up the money. BAM! No transaction. Pulled half my hair out. Ridiculous service. Only saving grace is they refunded all my money including the transfer fee. read more

Western Union takes my money gladly, but treats me like I need them and not like I am a customer. They say money is ready for pickup and then when you arrive it is magically now on hold. Call their customer service to confirm both parties are involved in the transfer and it is my money. Customer service treats you like a fraud suspect and not like a customer. They want to know exactly what you are using your money for. Are they giving me a loan?! It was my money to begin with! Customer service is very rude and will put you on hold if you don't answer your entire life story. They will tell you they can refund your money if you don't like it, but doesn't that mean you know who I am? So am I not verified providing you will all my information? Will never use again. read more

Unbelievable. Took $466.00, did not transfer it and refused to say why. Now they are holding my money for 12hrs for no reason at all. Asked to speak with the rep's supervisor but was told their company would only reply to an email. Do yourself a HUGE favor. Stay away from anything that says Western Union on it.!! read more

Wasted 5 hours and visits to five stores and issue still unresolved. Incorrect and misleading information, requires many phone calls several not getting passed automated surface which is a joke, did not refund full amount, finally had to go through another company to send the money only one other company has made me so furious which I'm sure you recognize the largest phone company in America do not use Western Union read more

Western Union - Banks & Credit Unions Near Me - San Francisco, California

Send money on 22nd March. The expected deposit date in recipient account was given March 31 (not sure why too long). On April 3 they informed the transaction cannot be done (even though WU called me on March 23 to get more details and confirmed that all details have been received and money will be transferred by March 26). Now after 10 days of wait I have to find another way to send money and also figure out how to get refund for my money from WU. Long story short, find another way of Money Transfer! read more

4 unsuccessful attempts were made, waisted 4 days and hours with customer service on the phone who were giving excuses from "must be misspelling of your address" to IT problems on their site. I ended up getting a call from a customer service representative who asked me stupid questions like "What is the reason I'm sending my relatives (days before Christmas and with 1-year pandemic worldwide) money. Just terrible experience!! read more

Horrible! First of all they over charge, but, I've used them to wire my bf $. We are drivers and it's inconvenient because you have to put a state to pick up in. And, it's not easy finding WU that can fit a truck and trailer in. My bf tried 4 locations, either they were closed or the machine was broke. So, I tried to change the transfer to his bank account. Mind you, he's the only one I've sent money to, and it's on my history. So, I call to speak to agent to help me set this up. And, shocker the call center is in another country . After talking to this man, that could barely speak English, and doesn't help, I decided to change the pick up state(since they can't change it to his bank account). I call back and talk to next agent that informs me that I know have a security block on my account, and, the only way to change it is to go to Western Union to show a agent my I'd. So, I am the sender, I overpaid to get treated like I was a scammer. I will NEVER use them again. Worst case scenario, I will choose money gram. They deserve zero stars! read more

I have been a Western Union customer for the past four years and in the beginning, the process was very efficient. I was transferring money to another country and all I had to do was call WU through an agent location and then receive a temporary number and give it to the cashier. Three years in, the experience has gotten soooooo poor. I had to call several times just to fix my name, my receiver's name, address, etc. EACH TIME I want to send a transfer. I felt like they do not listen at all over the phone and just want to hurry the process. First of all, I use WU because one of their agent locations are nearby and since I was used to their process. Not to mention the agent location I go to has awful customer service, they refuse to work with WU to help me send my transfer through. Previously I've been having difficulties using their agent telephone machine and especially they kept misspelling my information and force me to wait about 10 minutes each time I call (LITERALLY). Last night I thought maybe I could make my life easier by doing a transfer through their website. I took my time creating an account and using my information, blah blah blah. Thus the website said my transfer is almost complete and all I need to do is walk in and provide my phone number, easy peasy right? NOPE. When I walked in letting them know I already started the transfer process online, I was told to call them. So I did - WU representative held me on the phone for 15 minutes then hung up on me. Just so all of you guys know, WU charges more in person than if you start a process through their website. But even doing business with them you have to go through so many hurdles. Here's my recommendation to Western Union: - help your agent locations with issues like this, be available to help them because everytime I have questions or try to let store representatives know why my experience was so horrible, they basically said it is out of their control. WU get your business together. - technology has advanced. Try improving with technology instead on relying on those telephone machines. Super outdated and personally has caused me more issues than it should have. - if I use your website to process a transfer, I would expect it to work. Why bother having a website and creating an account if that doesn't make it easier for me? I ended having to call again to send a transfer and wait another 20 minutes. Seriously, make everyone's lives better by focusing on the online processes and making sure those processes are connected to the agent locations. read more

Nightmare experience. I gave them cash and they refused to release it the recipient nor back to me. They placed it on a hold until the next day. Fingers crossed. I spent a couple hours talking to their customer support and they kept using lines from their approved script and just told me they are "sorry for the inconvenience" and they "couldn't help me". From everyone's tone, it was clear they didn't care to help me resolve this or let me talk to someone who could actually do anything. Regarding the hold, they told me it was policy. It's an unacceptable policy but again, the people on the phones don't care and Western Union doesn't have anyone make an official complaint to. Probably because they don't care, at all, about the "service" they provide. I got a corporate phone # where they were more helpful (732) 694-2184. read more

if I could give them no stars I would. Difficult to get in touch with. Poor website integration where connection does not go through. Extremely poor oversees customer service with harsh attitudes. Poor communication via emails. My funds were on hold because the $148 was too much to send to my client BUT the site indicated it as available. Guess what, it was on hold..... Not available. Suggestion - Try another way to send funds! read more