Ugh...Western Union

[AmericanZero8503]

Does anyone have to deal with this piece of crap?

We have to do Western Union transactions, and I think it is more trouble than it is worth. Considering that 95% of people who use it, don't buy anything else during their visit to the store. In fact for most of the things I do at my desk (i.e. sell postage stamps, take electric bills, print money orders) the people just walk in and walk right back out.

Well our Western Union is on a very old computer that just has a 3/4 floppy drive...runs on DOS...and connects to send money using a dial up modem. So it takes about 10 minutes to do one transaction.

Now we have shady foreigners who come in and try to do several transactions minutes apart so that we don't have to send their ID information. We have to send the ID information for transactions over $1000. Now my boss is requiring that we have to take their ID regardless and write down the number. Sooooo...that leads to the joy of people who are yelling at me in broken English because they think their privacy is being invaded (or they don't want to get investigated by the FBI).

I think I would be better off if I didn't have to deal with that crap at all. Its 2007 there has to be a better way to send money...I mean internet crooks do it all the time. And people are constantly getting scammed to send money to Nigeria.

[Becks]

Well, at least they don't do telegrams anymore.

[wagegoth]

A lot of these people are working and being paid under the table in cash, and they are used to doing things this way. If they send money by Western Union, it's probably much more likely to get to the destination than if they sent money through a bank account, which most of them don't have. Many of these people could not trust their banks in their countries, so they automatically don't trust ours, especially if they think they might get reported to the INS.

[bigjimaz]

Well, at least they don't do telegrams anymore.

Actually they do, in a way. They will include a message to the recipient (at an extra charge) if you include it in with the money transfer. I don't know if this is possible when walking up to a counter, but it is a service that is available online.

[ReverendBSB]

I used to work at Circle K and have to deal with Western Union crap all the time. Most could barely speak english, the rest were trash that were too stupid to understand the operators instructions. The worst was when people were wired money. Since we were not supposed to have a lot of cash on hand Western Union would imprint a debit card with the money they were wired. Most people did not know this, and would get pissed off when I handed them a card instead of cash. I had to explain over and over that we did not have 300 dollars cash, and the card was the only way they were getting anything at all from us.

[friendofjimmyk]

Yeah, but doesn't it cost money to wire the money? I understand that they want the money to get home, but there has to be a better way.

[ReverendBSB]

Yeah, but doesn't it cost money to wire the money? I understand that they want the money to get home, but there has to be a better way.

Not always. I was stuck in L.A. a few years ago when my car broke down and the only way to get some cash was through Western Union.

And just last year I had a friend go through some money trouble and needed some cash to pay her rent. I could have mailed her a check, but she needed it ASAP.

But both time I went to a real Western Union location, with trained employees, not to a kiosk at a Circle K. When I worked at the K I thought about unplugging the phone line every day so I did not have to deal with that crap.

[DigitalEngine]

Actually, spoken as someone who works online, Western Union is probably the cheapest and easiest way to send money.

If they send money by Western Union, it's probably much more likely to get to the destination than if they sent money through a bank account, which most of them don't have...

Not necessarily. I have a bank account, but the cost to send money to my bank account is approximately USD $15 on the recipient's end, and I'm guessing more on the sender's end; compare that to Western Union, who would just charge an administration fee of Rp 6000 or approximately USD $0.06 on the recepient's end. Big difference.

Most online workers in this country has come to depend on Western Union. Not only because of reasons I've stated above, but because the PayPal option has been ruled out (PayPal does not provide the option to send money directly into Indonesian bank accounts) and e-gold, Moneybookers and the like has proven too much of a hassle for past potential employers before.
As for checks, nah. Checks cost alot of money to process AND to deposit into Indonesian accounts AND it takes too long (about a month!) to verify.

As for the people who's gotten scammed on the net (like those people who sent money to Nigeria), I just have one word for them: Escrow! Escrow fee is only something like under %1 AND it makes both sides feel better because the buyer knows that the seller/provider wouldn't receive their money until they have received the items, and the seller/provider feel better because they know that the buyer would not receive the items until they receive the money. More comfortable for everyone, especially considering transactions between countries that are halfway around the world from each other.

[Shengirl]

Western Union can be annoying as hell. It's time consuming, and some people just don't get it. I don't mind it most of the time, but sometimes...well, you guys know.

I really don't understand people who habitually send money to their children or whoever a couple states away. Like, if this is a regular thing and not an emergency, just mail them a check! That's $.41! Money in minutes, domestic money transfers are CRAZY expensive; Western Union probably makes it that way to capitalize on people who are in emergency situations. But if you're too stupid to think ahead like two days and use the mail, I guess you deserve to pay extra.

Then there's sending money to China, which costs nearly nothing. Go figure.

[Amethyst Hunter]

Semi-OT: does anybody know how to get back your money from a WU money order if it's gone missing in the mail? I sent out a payment for additional journal services (yes, I can only use postal and money orders when buying online things. It's a bitch, but I don't have PayPal nor can I get it due to not having or being able to get a credit card - which is also a long, complicated bitch of a story) but the damn thing never made it to where it was supposed to end up. I really hate the thought of being out $40, but I don't know what to do.

[ReverendBSB]

Semi-OT: does anybody know how to get back your money from a WU money order if it's gone missing in the mail? I sent out a payment for additional journal services (yes, I can only use postal and money orders when buying online things. It's a bitch, but I don't have PayPal nor can I get it due to not having or being able to get a credit card - which is also a long, complicated bitch of a story) but the damn thing never made it to where it was supposed to end up. I really hate the thought of being out $40, but I don't know what to do.

Look on the back of the stub you got with the money order, or check their website. But the fees you get charged will probably eat up most of the 40 dollars.

[Andara Bledin]

Not always. I was stuck in L.A. a few years ago when my car broke down and the only way to get some cash was through Western Union.

I broke down just starting the trip home from Vegas, once. Thankfully, I hadn't actually made it out of the city, yet. But the only way to get the money from my mother-in-law to cover the repair work was Western Union.

Semi-OT: does anybody know how to get back your money from a WU money order if it's gone missing in the mail?

It takes time, but nearly every money order company will refun on money orders provided that they have never been cashed, and you wait a sufficient amount of time. They usually will charge a fee, but I think with $40, you should still get a decent chunk back.

^-.-^

[tamezin]

Semi-OT: does anybody know how to get back your money from a WU money order if it's gone missing in the mail?

You have to have your receipt, call the 800 number on the receipt, they will research it. It can take a couple of months, but you will get your money back if it hasn't been cashed.