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  • Report:  #1113181

Complaint Review: Western Union Financial Services Inc. - SYDNEY NSW 1230

Reported By:
ANZAC1965 - SINGLETON, Kentucky,
Submitted:
Updated:

Western Union Financial Services Inc.
P.O. Box Q1522, QVB Post Office SYDNEY, NSW 1230, Australia
Phone:
1-800-773-546
Web:
WWW.WESTERNUNION.COM.AU
Categories:
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i have been the victim of an online romance that lasted 2 years,i used western union -australia fro the entire time.i was a very sophisticated scamming syndicate.it cost me $120,000.00 aud,in western union transfers.six months prior to the discovery by my bank,the western union company refused o tell me why they would not allow why they stopped allowing transfers.i asked them 3 times on the phone why the transactions are suspended.they would not tell me,so i continued to send money via other means.they deal with online fraud every day,if they had told me what they knew then i would have investigated the issue more.

my bank discovered them within one half hour of giving info to the cyber crime unit,that it was a romance scam being run out of Malaysia.i stopped the money transfers immediately.i have lost my entire pension for 22 years service to the Australian army.all for nothing.

i have sent over 30 emails to the royal Malaysian police,Interpol,Australian federal police,FBI yet not one response.

i have wrote 20+ to western union enquiries,9 to western union advocate and at least 30 to western union fraud branch,yet  not one reply that means anything,same old computer "contact in 48 hrs"  never happens.

the most i got was the advocate but when i started to ask the hard questions in regards to duty of care,his correspondence disappeared,using email tracking software ,the emails are read but not answered,as the questions are getting to "hot" for them.so they just ignore them.

FBI told me to make an online complaint ,done that twice no reply.scammers international are so prevalent because governments don't give a d**n,i have the telephone number and email addresses of the main offender and abuse him daily,but he don't care because the Malaysian police are no better,it even says on their website,being involved in scams.their consulate in Australia doesnt even reply.

i believe western union has a n answer to supply for their duty of care,in Malyasia all you need is a picture id with name on it,no address, no nothing.

they are the fraud experts, but they failed in their duty of care to warn me of their suspicions,but would not tell me when i rang on 3 occasions.Now they don't even open let alone reply.

Phil

New South Wales ,Australia



6 Updates & Rebuttals

ANZAC1965

SINGLETON,
Alabama,
BASKET WEAVING CLASSES

#2Author of original report

Wed, January 08, 2014

Why don't you get a hobby,you are so full of moralistic messages with your wisdom.As far as moving away from the original subject,that has come about with your pestering which is pathetic.

As far my career is concerned. I am addressing the issue of you insinuating that I can't take responsibility for my actions.Nothing is further from the point.Whilst on that, what did you ever do for your country.Some self serving career that filled your greedy pockets.Better stop their,as I am using that to justify,right?

As far as western union is not responsible for scamming,what is spoof@westernunion for,I'll tell you smart hypocrite,it is the fraud branch,what is their job smart guy

As far as pity is concerned i don't want your's or anyone else's pity.Who said I ever did.

So get a hobby ,basket weaving classes are available, and i am quite sure your intellect will be readily accepted their.I know why don't you become a preacher with your squeaky clean advice.

Now go away and start on someone else,or is this your hobby to rub peoples faces in misfortune.When this outfit can scam 3 aussie banks and 4 international,as the cyber crime branch at my bank said"the average guy doesn't stand a chance against international  scamming racket"

I would prefer to use more colourful language,but it wont get printed,of all the people that read this I had to get a Western union employee

 

You stink!

 


MochaG

Springfield,
Now going off somewhere else

#3Consumer Comment

Tue, January 07, 2014

.i asked them 3 times on the phone why the transactions are suspended.they would not tell me,so i continued to send money via other means.they deal with online fraud every day,if they had told me what they knew then i would have investigated the issue more.

You are now trying to go away from what you said before which is the point of the report. If your main point is something else, why mention the "bold" portion at all? The statement is clear and loud, and the whole point still stands -- you are pointing your finger to the third party. The company has nothing to do with detecting fraud, and it is well known to be exploited by scammers. Use it at your own risk.

I do not care for you previous career or what you try to accredit yourself because it has nothing to do with what your own mistake. Military is for your own good and country, nothing more in the report. Pity, yes I feel for you, but not a sympathy with this kind of attitude. You can brag about who you were, it still does not change how foolish you were before. Two-cents is worth more than zero. If you don't see any value at all, it is even more pitiful.


ANZAC1965

SINGLETON,
Alabama,
Two cents worth is all it is

#4Author of original report

Tue, January 07, 2014

You seem to dwell on the self pity theme,I know my entire service pension of 22years to my country in a unit that is very hard on the tools.Is gone.

I am talking about a company after 3 months and countless,emails to get information from the statement of transfers, that took 10 emails to get.I even went to the advocacy branch of WU,to get the information and 1 month later still no reply.Due to the hard questions that I asked.They stopped communicating,Why?

Last night I sent my second email requesting the information,yet again emails read as per tracking software,in Boise,Washington,no reply.

So drop the self pity angle,I am seeking justice and spending more money on Investigative firm to locate members involved in scamming syndicate,you don't know half the story.

Also ,in regards to taking responsibility,in my 22 year career,i have fronted Military boards of enquiries on 3 occasions into deaths of soldiers working for me.Every time a board convenes,the first question asked of the Officer in charge (OIC) is "as the OIC ,do you accept responsibility for the finding of the board enquiry",on 3 occasions I have answered yes.So don't start accusing me as a person that shirks responsibility

You have had your 2 cents worth ,now go start on someone else.Why are you so adamite that law enforcement is not going to help,you an expert in that area too.

Hate serial critics.

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MochaG

Springfield,
Someone who does not admit his own mistake

#5Consumer Comment

Tue, January 07, 2014

Again, a post from those who do not and cannot admit the mistake to themselves but rather look for someone else to point their finger at. As a result, they all claim that any responses to their post are from the company. Pity them.

I am sorry to hear that you have lost your money, but I do not see that your problem with Western Union is a rip off.

You said that they stopped transaction 3 times and did not give you a reason for the stop, it is completely irrelevant to the consequence. If you are complaining about money being taken (and held) by them and not return back to you, then it is a different story and that is a valid complaint. However, complaining about not giving a reason of stopped transaction and you ended up losing money by other means, it is your own responsibility!

Let me tell you why. You are hinted by Western Union multiple times that you should not be sending money. You were blinded by the romance scam at the time, so you did NOT think twice but rather went with your impaired emotion. As a result, you lost big time. Now you felt that if the third party (Western Union) directly told you the reason (assuming they knew and would do), you would have seen it coming. Let me ask you this. Do you really think you would believe the third party at the time you were still blinded? Even if you believe, would you complaint about their previous allowed transactions? You can say anything you want now because it is over, but there are reasons to believe that you would not listen at the time. Think back, how your thought was you were in that kind of emotion? How did you feel when you could not send the money to the scammer in the first place? What did the scammer tell you? How did the scammer convince you to send him/her money? I know you can be reasonable. I want you to take your time pondering about the whole situation. I know that you would feel angry and frustrated (to both yourself and the scammer). What have been done is done. Pick it up and move on. Do whatever you can to recover (and get back to the scammer) but do not look for someone to blame on your own mistake. That's my two cents.


ANZAC1965

SINGLETON,
Alabama,
Stating the obvious

#6Author of original report

Tue, January 07, 2014

thanks for that in-depth advice.u work for western union.

i know the money is gone ,i am trying to close them down.my problem with wu is complacency and the stonewalling,when i try to get info on address of receivers.also answer fro their duty of care when they stopped allowing transfers, but refused to tell me why.cyber crime is so bad in the pacific rim,that interpol is completing a new cybercrime branch in Singapore.u stated that law enforcement is not interested,i bet they would if it was government money.before u say i was stupid they scammed 3 banks in Australia.


Tyg

Pahrump,
Nevada,
In reguards

#7General Comment

Mon, January 06, 2014

 Your situation is no different then ANYONE who seeks romance online. You got played and played HARD!!! Law enforcment will be ZERO help to you. I hate to say this but the only REAL action you have is vengance. Now I do not suggest that you go and play Rambo. But you need to understand, your money is gone. They did not put it in an escrow account, they spent it. They spent as fast as they could get it. This means that even if you were lucky enough to get them arrested and prosicuted, once they are in jail, you STILL wont see your money. There is no victim recovery in most of these international countries.

Keep up trying to put pressure on them. Keep contacting whomever you can. You may try your states AG. As it would be a crime commited against one of that states residents, you may find some help there. I know I dont have to tell you this but it is a general warning to any who do read this post. NEVER SEND MONEY!!! THEY ARE PLAYING ON YOUR DESIRE TO BE HAPPY!!! NEVER SEND MONEY!!!!

As for Western Union, you do realize that even though the scammers use WU, regular people do as well. So they have no idea until they investigate. Unfortunatly they are not proactive about it. It isnt until someone complains and by that time its too late to stop the scammers. They DO run a legitamate business, its just that the scammer are using the policies set in place to protect themselves and make the money transfer disappear. And them not warning your about THEIR suspicions, well thats just common sense. You dont want to start trouble for regular customers. As these individuals DO NOT wear a sign saying "SCAMMER" on it.

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