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“Beware!!! Probably why WU is losing market share.”

Written on: 22/02/2012 by Captian58 (1 review written)

I just started using Western Union in November 2011. I have had nothing but problems. If you are looking, I would recommend that you look for another solution. I am in the process of researching other solutions mostly because now the only option is to us an agent. I do about 10 transactions per week.
I first sent via an agent while I tried to activate my on line account. Even after getting the activation code (only through US ground mail), there were many delays in being able to send a transaction. Support was no help. They said it was a security issue and that I would just have to wait an unspecified amount of days for my account to reset and if I tried to access it too soon, I would have to start the wait process again. In the mean time I kept using the agents but finding agents that were open or were not having problems themselves was difficult and very inconvenient to keep running around.
After a couple of weeks I was able to do on line transactions. So then I down loaded the iPhone app. The iPhone app worked good for a couple of weeks then just stopped working. There was not error code just an error message. The first time I call support they denied that there was even a smart phone app (it had been out at least 6 months). The second person I talk to admitted there was an app but WU did not support it, only the company that developed it. The third person I talk to said that they can only send requests to the smart phone app. I have been following up on this issue for 6 weeks and still no feedback from support. In the mean time I kept using the on line option and the agent because on line did not always work.
About 2 weeks ago the on line app started acting up: no email acknowledgement of transactions or 6 hrs late, the confirmation page would not load before time out and eventually an error code that says the transaction is not available. Even when support tried to put the transaction in while I was on the phone, it timed out for them. Now I am waiting for a refund because my account was charged.
I have had many conversations with support, one in which they hung up on me when I asked to speak to a supervisor. I have tried to find out how to fix the security issue my account has. I have many emails and the final resolution is:
“We apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced. Western Union may accept or decline the transaction at our discretion. For security reasons and to protect the integrity of our Money Transfer service, we do not divulge specific criteria factors for acceptance or rejection of individual credit/debit card requests.

We do apologize for the inconvenience.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us again.”
So my only recourse is to use the agents, who are inconsistent as far as staffing or their systems even working or find a different provider.
I am looking for another provider now.