Western Union review: Banned from using service 59

I was banned because I was a part of a class action lawsuit against Western Union that they lost. Soon after the ruling I was banned from using Western Union to send or receive money. Is this legal? It seems like revenge to me.

Our company has had every employee banned now and NEVER have we been provided a single reason for any of our people being banned. Moneygram is way better but has a smaller reach. The unfair business practices and extremely poor customer service provided to business accepting this WU payments mean you can't count on this business and if you use them make sure you get your money before they ban you don't leave it with them and collect it later!

I was banned from sending or receiving money from western union.the money I send is from my job and is for my wifes family in the phillipines.they depend on our financial help for food.i or my family have done absolutely nothing wrong.i have been using western union for years and have sent many thousands of dollars through this company.i totally agree with these post here on this web site.i think its disgusting what they do to people, also im very concerned that they put my name in a bad lite with my government.in this day and age who knows what will happen when homeland security looks at people who are banned from using western union.i intend on filing a complaint with nj dept.of banking, and also seeking an attorney to file a law suit against western union.if anybody has any information please help

I also have just run into the same situation with Western Union. After 4 years of sending money to my family overseas without any issues while we are mitigating through immigration issues, I was just told that I could no longer use Western Union. The real change in WU activity recently was due to my wife's hospitalization and they cut us off (thankfully just after she got out). I'm still trying to follow up. But they seem unwilling to give me any reason for the decision. Right now I'm livid about this. The only good thing about this post is that it seems I'm clearly not alone with this situation. It is morally and ethically irresponsible the way they handle things of this nature. When they do this, there is the real potential that people can get seriously hurt. I'm with Bagawire, something really needs to be done about this ridiculous no explanation banning. We have done nothing wrong yet are being treated like criminals and the fall out can have deeper effects on reputation.

Well it seems there must be a list that is available to ALL online money transfer services. My problem began with WU, same story as the rest in this post, I used them for 10 years, then out of the blue I am banned forever. No explanations, they just said they have to follow banking rules. I was finally given an "interview" it was actually an interrogation. I was asked about every person I sent money too, why I sent, how I was related to them, when was the last time I actually saw them in person, where my money comes from, , why I send so much, why I would send to my step children and not to my wife, and so on and so on. It was grueling and in the end I was told they did not like my answers, BAM! You are banned forever. Ok, , I can live with being banned from WU. I went to another online transfer service, XOOM, they allowed me to send 3 transfers then BAM! We are sorry to inform you that your account has been closed and you can't use our service again, , it is not open for discussion. WOW, Really? I tried sending them documents to prove who I am, , who my family is, , where I work, but no use, , so I went to Remit Home, , Same song and dance, , , so it appears there is some sort of money transfer blacklist. I did finally find a company that has so far allowed me to send, but not without delaying my send until they do some further checking, , , I am afraid they also will cut me off as this is what happened with XOOM and Remit Home. I feel this is can't possibly be legal, , to accuse you of something and not even tell you what rule they think you have broken, It is the same as being accused of a crime and not knowing what crime or having any way to defend yourself. I too am looking for an attorney to help me find out more of what is happened. I too have family in the Philippines that rely solely on me for all of their support, Food, Water, Power, school. I have no other way to get them money. I know the problem can't be with me as I work for a company supporting the US military and I have a clearance, , and I was allowed during all of this to open a new bank account with Navy Federal Credit Union. So it is not a banking blacklist. I don't know what list it is, I continue to search the internet.

I used Westrrn Union for 2 years They just oit of the blue said you cant send money First they interviewed me like i was on the first 48 like they put me under hot lamp I answered there questions then they told me to screw Can i have all the money back you took for my business I hope someone or myself stands up against this Then 24 hours later Money gram barred me if I was doing anything illegal i sure in hell wouldnt have answered there stupid questions you offer a service perform the servoce or tell us why we are dismissed you pieces of [censor]

Ya westernunion an money gram banned me for purchasing perfectly legal product from indonesia for my small business. I used a friend for a few transfers after then wwnt entirely to bitcoin an wont go back. Never liked wu rude clerks anyway.

Wow! Amazing. I just had my experience today hence I decided to come online to see what's going on. I am in Jamaica when my mom and sisters in the USA. Of course they send me funds quite regularly as needed. Yesterday when mom sent a friend won she usually asks to send the funds for her she was not allowed to send it. So my sister took it and completed the transaction. Lo and behold when I went to pick it up today after the long wait in the line went through the entire procedures with the agent and was about to sigh I got the shocker ;I have been permanently banned. I just stood their lost and possibly embarrassed. What nasty irresponsible company destroying the dignify of upright citizens. Something needs to be done. This is ridiculous.

I thought i was the only one, today i got the exact same response. I have been using them for over a year, not once have i had an issue..but it started today. I called customer service, first guy sounded a like robot. I asked to be speak with someone that could help me, was transferred. The rep was completely useless all he told me is you have been restricted, asked why? i have been using for over a year. After i kept asking for a reason, guy hangs up on me. I called again, no really answers ..told me to email and that i would get a response in 5-7 business days.
Customer service is horrible, everyone there sounds like they dont want to be there...it was awful.

I used Western Union to transfer money to my family in Tanzania. I am a Finnish citizen and I was sending money from Finland to Tanzania. After two years of money transfers WU blocked me to use any service WU provides. WU did not give me any explanation why I'm banned. I think WU is one of the worst financial operators in the world and it seems like they can do what ever they want to do. Luckily normal online banking has developed so much that there's no need for WU services in the future anymore.

I feel bad for those people that do not have a normal bank account and they are forced to use expensive WU services. Someone somewhere with enough authority should look into WU operations put an end to the arbitrary way of doing business and treating people.

seems its blocking season with WU. funny thing is i used to be an agent for them many years ago so its really ironic. three transactions were refunded for me, on while my child was in the hospital and her father in Canada was trying to assist me with funds. After numerous calls to the CC who has no clue and serious communication issues my sender was told that i had to "validate" myself via an email to their Global Consumer Reinstatements or compliance department. This was a series of back and forth as their questions were sender focused and wanted information on how i was funding transactions but as a receiver i kept explaining that i was not funding any transactions.
This went on from April 12th 2018 and no resolve or response to my queries and completed form i sent another email yesterday May 9th asking what was the status only to get a response today May 10th 2018 that i was banned from sending and receiving WU transaction.
No reasons just an email invoking their rights to refuse service to me. Awesome company!
thank God that options exists although it leaves a bitter taste to have a mark against my name based on a pencil pushes whim. Now i will encourage everyone to use every other option available to send money to their families instead of Western Union. they forgot that that the same customers that made them are the same customers that can break them.

Now I'm joining the "banned for life" club. Can't send to my fiance ... no explanation given.

Hello!
My sister was also banned from receiving and sending money thru WU for lifetime, just today in the Philippines, as per call from a WU representative -US based. She is receiving / sending money for years. WU didn’t provide any clear reason for blocking her to do transactions. WU should be given sanctions with this regard, since it is very unethical to be banned without any clear reason.

Seems like this is a growing trend...Add one more to the list...Firstly if you are banned then they hold information about you. Send them a email asking to disclose all information held by them about you (normally named "subject access". They cannot charge a fee for this. Once you receive this (they have 1 month to respond) you can then ask for all your personal data to be deleted and your account to be deleted. (Articles 12, 17 and 23 and Recitals (65) and (66) of the GDPR). Here is a great article...

The general principle is that a company must have a good reason to have your details on file, and must delete them if that reason no longer applies. (you deleted your account with WU) If they do have a good reason, though, then you don't have an automatic right to demand they delete your records. It depends on the circumstances.

To give an obvious example, if you default on a big loan, then the bank will record that information in your file. You can't demand that your file be deleted to give you a perfect credit score and allow you to take out another loan! (dont really think this applies to WU but is a good example to go by)

You have the right to ask to see what details they hold about you (though they are allowed to charge you a fee for processing your request). You also have the right to insist on the information being correct, and if necessary amended.

You can demand that they delete the information about you if it is causing you "substantial damage or distress" and this effect is "unwarranted". However, this is something that you might have to prove in court. Hurt feelings or minor inconvenience would not be enough, if the company can prove they have a legitimate reason to store data about you.

So in a nutshell stop all activities with WU demand the subject access then demand that they delete all data from their systems.
Then as per other comments use another company which are far superior.

Regards
MPS

I have been sending and receiving money through WE for almost 10 years with no problem. My husband sends me money from Canada. Sometimes I´m doing better than him, and I send him a few dollars or when his seasonal job is over. I was banned from receiving money through WU, and I contacted them here in the Caribbean, and they were unable to help. They gave me an email to reach. As a reply from the email, they sent me a REINSTATEMENT FORM to be filled with all kinds of information, and to attach bank statements, trips, etc. I am more than happy to send all this info and even my scanned Marriage Certificate for almost 5 years, BUT first I demanded an answer from them, and they said it was a private policy. So they can´t disclosure why I was banned but they do EXPECT me to send my personal information like it´s just water. They can [censored] off. We took our business to another local branch which happens to have even more affordable fees!

I am truly sorry for those who cannot support their families because maybe only WU operates where their relatives live.

Next time I need to transfer money, I would rather wire through my bank and take 15 days than even think about WU.

PD: By the way, I told them I had no interest in getting reinstated. I won´t support companies with such poor customer value.

Good luck to all of you!

G.

I urgently need some assistance in tracking, recovering, and correcting a Western Union money transfer I made at Reise Bank branch at the main train station (Hauptbahnhof) in Heidelberg, Germany on 5(?) November 2017 to (name withheld for privacy) in Thailand.

My address at that time was Jellinekplatz 1, 69126 Heidelberg, Germany.

Both my and (the recipient’s) addresses had been in the Reise Bank/Western Union computer at that Heidelberg location because I had been sending him money transfers on occasion for many years there. I am also confident that two employees at that location would remember me and the fact that I sent money to (recipient) for many years there. I never once had a problem doing that, and from what I have been able to learn from Thailand in the meantime, the money did reach Thailand as planned, so if the money transfer number was incorrect, it must have been my mistake. The Western Union person in Thailand last week told (recipient) that the money had been sent back to bank in Germany where I purchased it. I finally found online in a tortuous, time-consuming search what was supposedly an e-mail address for that bank. I sent a mail and have yet to receive a response. There isn’t one ounce of sense of urgency on this matter from either Western Union or Reise Bank on this issue.

The amount was only 200 euros worth of Thai baht. To the best of my recollection, I think the amount was somewhere around 5, 700 baht. (The recipient) was unable to get the money because he told me the money transfer number I e-mailed him was incorrect. I thought the money transfer number was [protected].

I think the mistake must have been made by me when I copied the money transfer number from the receipt/transfer document I was given by the bank clerk who sold me the money order. That was very possible as I was also in the process of making a very stressful move by myself from Thailand to Huntsville, Alabama in the U.S., which I did make on 17 November shortly thereafter, plus I had completed cataract operation surgery a few weeks before that. So I could have made such a mistake under those circumstances with so many things to do after having spent almost 35 years straight living in Germany, especially if I didn't have my reading glasses with me (I often don't).

My present address is in Alabama. SOMEONE at Western Union must have it because I made complaints about it THAT WERE NEVER ACKNOWLEDGED BY WESTERN UNION OR REISE BANK. I fail to understand or see how any business as large as Western Union can fail to, as a minimum, treat legitimate complaints, or completely ignore them, like that. I cannot speak to any of the complaints against WU on this forum, but I can say that how WU in my case has behaved can’t be legal.

Western Union, or anyone else on this forum who can provide me with any information on how a case similar to mine can be resolved and the money lost returned to me or given to the intended recipient. My e-mail is hamildav@yahoo.com. Where did the money go? Who stole it?

The money was paid to WU. If I made a mistake, I have furnished MUCH more than enough data to get it either refunded or transferred to the intended recipient! I am talking about common sense, customer service, and a direct-line, SIMPLE contact mechanism that should be able to be resolved QUICKLY at any WU location.

Lastly, I am extremely tired of chasing my money. I am also almost 68 years old, have health issues, and like others whose complaints I have read about Western Union, I have other loved ones abroad who depend on me for support. My transactions for many, many years with a company I never had problems with should not be delayed because I might have misread a digit and sent an incorrect money transfer number to a loved one by mistake. I do not intend to let this go. To me, 200 euros is a lot of money.

Does no one in your company give a flying rip about customer service? Do I have to write Congress? I certainly will, I assure you.

I've been using WU for few years sending funds to my family in Russia. same story my transaction was declined, when I called them no explanations... Then Moneygram did the same, I would say Maneygram costumer service even worse than WU. they don't give you anything, I kept asking them is there anyone that I talk to, NO we sorry... WU at least gave me email to contact.. I have no Idea why treating so bad their costumers. they made my life difficult for NO reason...

Please forward this to xxxxx, who tried to send me $50.00 today and when I was in the store they told me it was refunded.
I contacted their customer support via chat and I've been told my name has been barred for life from Western Union, they wouldn't give me a reason.

He can probably go pick it back up, please ask him to send it to me via Zelle. The link is below. I know we have been as a family been using Wester Union 40 years but it is time to consider that period is over.

Here is a link to Zelle please use this
https://www.zellepay.com/

this is a much better service mom and it is free.
I know you don't have a lot of experience with phone apps but it is safe and free and the only way I can get money now.. you wont have to leave home either.

Apparently, this has been happening to a lot of people you can see a thread on this here:
Western Union — Banned from using service
Most of these people on this thread seem to be sending money out of the country unlike our family. Maybe the larger amount 2K you sent me to pay rent triggered some flag.
It was the $50.00 Larry sent me that apparently pushed Western Union over the edge.

https://www.aspkin.com/forums/making-money/92215-can-you-still-pick-up-western-union-moneygram-payments-if-name-blacklisted.html

The Western Union Rep told me I could send an email to GCR@westernunion.com and they would have me fill out a questionairre and maybe they would reconsider the decision in 5 to 7 business days.

GCR team please go ahead send me the questionairre.

I have pasted the text from the customer service engineer @ Western Union below.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Can you please confirm your First and Last Name?
7:41:39 PM
Me

xxxxxx
7:41:49 PM
Tony OPID 256

I apologize. Due to various laws and regulations across the countries where we do business, we are unable to complete this or any future transactions with you.
7:42:31 PM

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. If you would like to review this decision with Western Union, we need you to provide us with additional information. Would you like me to give you the instructions?
7:42:33 PM
Me

Yes
7:43:01 PM
Tony OPID 256

please send an email to GCR@westernunion.com. Upon receipt of the email, the department in charge will send you a questionnaire that you will need to fill out. All the information you share will remain confidential for Western Union internal use only.
7:45:26 PM

Please note that this review does not guarantee that the decision will be changed, but it will certainly be re-evaluated. This process typically takes between 5 and 7 business days from the moment information is received. After completion of the review, you will be contacted via email to notify the resolution.

Hello: I live in Florida... have used WU only twice in my life and are going thru the same problems that many have posted about. Seems strange that I'm only trying to pay my electric bill.

Same thing happened to me. I agree we should be told why. It’s funny I have been scammed out of about $2000 from people. I bet they aren’t banned. I used this for personal and mostly my business. There are better services to use anyway.

I have three friends who also have used Western Union in the past. They had the same issues you have exactly. For several years they were able to send money. Then about the same scenario happened and now cannot use their service. Without any warning, without any reason, and without any known cause. One of them did get that letter back, several months later and basically said the same thing the operator said and the decision was final. It never told him what the actual reason for not using their service was. Western Union is a scam. Too bad because I remember my parents using them way back in the 60s and 70s. Good companies go to crap.

Literally experienced this same exact [censored] just now. We've been using WU for over a decade and only send money to ONE PERSON overseas - my mother-in-law in the Philippines. Now seemingly out of the blue, without warning, my MIL is "uncompliant" and has been banned from receiving money until she reinstates and basically begs her way back to WU's services. [censored] that. The supervisor was utterly useless and spewed company policies and could not provide one reasoned to WHY.

See you Western Union, I don't know how we tolerated your [censored] services and ridiculous transfer fees for so long.

Just encountered the same problem -

"I would regret to inform you that due to various laws and regulations across the countries where we do business, we are unable to complete this or any future transactions with you.".

I've been sending money using WU for years. Have I been convicted of a WU crime? If so, what crime.

I sent my grandson in the Philippines money for his birthday like I have been doing for the past 12 years. I got a message this morning that he did not get his money,

I called customer service and they told me I have been banned from using Western Union, but couldn't tell me why. They made me feel like I was a criminal. Western Union took the money out of my bank account and then put it back in. It was $50 piddle dollars.

What a bunch of jerks.