What Do I Do If I'm Having Trouble Receiving a Payment from Western Union?

Western Union is an American financial services and communications firm. Their services allow customers to send and receive money from all over the world.

Western Union is a reputable company with a history of dependability. However, there are problems with payments occasionally that can cause a huge inconvenience.

Before taking any course of action you should know that Western Union pays out its money transfers in a variety of ways. They may pay out money in form of cash, checks or a combination of both. In some cases, they may deposit the funds directly to your bank account. Therefore, if you have not received a payment from Western Union you should confirm the avenue through which they are paying you.

You should also find out if your money transfer is ready for reception. You can do this by going to the Western Union website and clicking 'Track Transfer.' All you need is the name of the sender and the tracking number (MCTN). If the tracking site states that your money is your local Western Union office, you should go pick it up. Otherwise, wait until the payment arrives even though it may be late.

Reasons Why Western Union May Withhold a Payment

If your money should have arrived but you have not yet received your payment, you should know that Western Union can withhold your payment for several reasons.

One of the reasons why you may have trouble receiving money from Western Union is if either you or the sender is on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List the US Department of Treasury and FBI keeps. Those on the list are suspected of having ties to terrorism, organized crime, a drug trade or fraudulent activity. Western Union will hold the funds and refund the sender his/her money if either the sender or receiver is on the list.

Another reason why you may have trouble receiving a payment from Western Union is because of the transaction amount. If you send any amount above $1,000, Western Union will contact you and ask you several questions as required by the law to ensure the law is not being broken.

If you or the sender of the payment is suspected of any sort of financial crime, Western Union will hold the funds until the claims are verified to be false. If true, they will refund the money to the sender.

Your payment will also be restricted if there are multiple transactions between the same people that amount to over $10,000 to avoid paying taxes to the tax authorities. Both the sender and receiver are liable for serious consequences in such a scenario which may include jail time.

Therefore, if you don't fit into any of the above categories and have done nothing to show that you are guilty of any wrong doing; you should contact Western Union customer service and ask why you are having trouble receiving your payment. Ensure you have your personal information and transaction tracking number ready before initiating contact.

You can contact Western Union customer service directly through the following avenues:

Phone

The best step to take if you are having trouble receiving a payment with Western Union is to call customer service. Not only is this method fast but it is also dependable. Respectfully ask the customer service representative for assistance and you will soon receive your payment or get a reason why your payment is having issues.

You can find the number on GetHuman.

Live Chat

You can also report trouble with a payment to Western Union via live chat. It is fast and should help you receive the assistance you need to receive your payment.

You can obtain the link to the live chat facility from GetHuman.