Sending money to a friend or family member outside your country is no more a hassle. Thanks to money transfer services like the Western Union that has emerged to be a gamechanger in the space. Also facilitating Wire Transfer or Telegraphic Transfer, it has become the most trusted and effective ways of sending someone funds when they are bankrupt or in emergency. Not many are aware of the fact that Western Union boasts a history of more than 170 years. The American financial services company began in 1851 when they first started with telegrams. Over the years it used technology and came up with never innovations in the fintech space. When people needed a bank account to transfer and receive money, Western Union became a pathbreaker by facilitating fund transfers around the world without the medium of banks.
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Western Union is today one of world’s largest money transfer companies. Did you know? Western Union has a network of more than 550,000 agents in 200+ countries. To transfer money, one can visit at an agent location or do same via the website or smartphone app. Funds can be transferred in cash or through Internet banking and debit/credit card. The recipient simply needs to visit an agent location and provide the tracking number called MTCN (Money Transfer Control Number). Along with that an ID proof will be demanded to check the identity of the person receiving the cash. For the uninitiated, the Western Union fees are not fixed. They are set according to the exchange rates, the country one is sending to and the amount being transferred. You can calculate the fees and exchange rates through tools available on the website. For those who have a complaint or feedback and need to report same, continue reading.
1) Make Use of Tools
For starters, there are a number of tools available at your disposal that will help you save time. For instance, you can locate a Western Union agent nearest to you on the website or app. If you have initiated money transfer, you can click on ‘Track a Transfer’ to know the current status. Where is the MTCN tracking number? You will find it at printed or emailed receipt. If you have chosen to do it online, simply sign into your account to get the details. Registered users can virtually transfer money overseas any time of the day.
2) Report Scam Online
Scamsters are always on the lookout for gullible victims. Beware of the money transfer scams where you are contacted by a stranger unexpectedly asking to transfer money quickly or deposit a certain amount to receive supposed funds transferred to you. You might be asked to click on a link that extracts your personal and banking details. Some of the scammers appear to be genuine retailer of certain goods. They use websites and classifieds to advertise on electronic goods or gadgets that might be too good to be true.
Be on your toes on scams that also involve romance, lottery/prize, employment and medical urgency. If you have been a victim, here is what you need to do. Call the Western Union hotline in your country or fill up the online fraud claim form. Received a suspicious mail? Copy the contents of the mail and email to [email protected]. Western Union has a Twitter handle focused on consumer protection. Follow the account to be educated on the various scams and how you can protect yourself.
3) Visit In Person
If you are yet to receive the money sent to you, first locate an agent nearest to you. And present the government issued ID along with tracking number to receive money. Note that there are no fees you will be asked to pay for same. All the fees are already paid by the sender. If the agent has refused to hand over the cash, ensure the documents presented matched the name and details given by the sender. Check if the name, address and date of birth matched with the identity proof. And if a fee was demanded, just report same over phone or email to Western Union support staff.
4) Call the Helpline
Even after visiting the agent location, you were not able to resolve the concern, here are the important phone numbers by country to reach out to the Western Union support: 1800 173 833 (Australia), 0810-444-1000 (Argentina), 8003 8003 (Bahrain), 0800 707 9330 (Brazil), 1-800-235-0000 (Canada), +86 400 819 9377 (China), 018000 111 999 (Colombia), 800 144 232 (Czech Rep), 80 82 66 68 (Denmark), 16797 (Egypt), 0800 900 191 (France), 0800 181 1797 (Germany), 2117 9088 (Hong Kong), 1 800 102 7111 (India), 021 3040-5730 (Indonesia), 800 789 124 (Italy), 0034 800 400 733 (Japan), 18 777 81 (Kuwait), 00798 8521 3000 (Korea), 1800 813 399 (Malaysia), 01 800 719 8911 (Mexico), 0800 005 253 (New Zealand), 8005 4321 (Oman), 0800 98687 (Pakistan), 02-8888-1200 (Philippines), 0800 022 8781 (Netherlands), 00800 264 38750 (Portugal), 4453 7777 (Qatar), 8 800 200 22 32 (Russia), 65 633 62000 (Singapore), +94 011 5529999 (Sri Lanka), 02 7750 7797 (Taiwan), +90 212 375 57 50 (Turkey), 0808 234 9168 (UK) and 1800 325 6000 (US). If you want to reach out to the corporate office, the address is: 7001 E. Belleview, Denver, CO 80237.
Had my account frozen with no reason coming from W U. It has taken a month and still nothing. I call and get someone who has bad English and knows nothing. Terrible company & terrible service. Thee is absolutely no accountability to their customers. The just play god and do whatever they want. Never can you actually speak to someone who is of any help as they hide behind the financial institution laws and take young in circles until you get so tired of it you just simply go and use another money sender. I recommend to all , if you are being stuffed around by western Inion the best course of approach is to find another company to use, there are lots of them and you will get a much better quality of service. All the company is run through underpaid call centres in either India or the Phillipines. That in itself speaks volumes about the way this company is run.
@Craig Lloyd, that is true. For me, it is just more than a week now since they held my account and my money is still with them. I have called them 5 times now for refund and always get the same answer “we are escalating your issue to a higher department”. I used my TD Bank account for this transaction which is also a problem because they (TD Bank) are “hands off” to this issue.
For anyone who is reading this, you would need to “THINK TWICE” to use or “DO NOT USE” Western Union AT ALL to send/transfer money. Use other money transfer service provider instead.