Consumer complaint received 2022-09-02
Company: WESTERN UNION COMPANY, THE
State: CT
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: International money transfer
Issue: Money was not available when promised

Complaint:
On XX/XX/22, I sent a wire transfer from Western Union ( W.U. ) in the amount of {$1000.00} U.S. dollars from my bank account, which was to be converted to XXXX  PLN. The wire transfer was going to XXXX  to the account of the XXXX  Government Tax Office to pay property tax. The receiving bank 's name is XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX ( XXXX ). I received a receipt from W.U confirming my transaction request. On XX/XX/22 my lawyer in XXXX  informed me she spoke with the XXXX  tax office and the wire transfer had not yet been posted. The wire transfer tracking number just states that the money transfer was processed. It does not state or prove that the money was actually received by XXXX. So far, I have called Western Union on the following dates in XXXX : XXXX ( twice ), XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX to find out where the money transfer is and to receive written confirmation from Western Union 's ( W.U. ) partner bank in XXXX ( W.U. will not give me their name ) that XXXX has acknowledged actually receiving it. This is because the money is floating somewhere and isn't where it's supposed to be. I verified that I gave the correct IBAN account #. To date, W.U. has not been able to do this and each time I have called starting on the XXXX, W.U. tells me it will take 5-10 work days to get this information. My case was transferred to the escalation department and I was given a case #. They all are reading from the same script and just keep saying the same thing, over and over, every time I call, so I've been getting absolutely nowhere and they have never, not once, reached out to me with any updates whatsoever. I told W.U. that I reached out to the XXXX  XXXX XXXX and they have told me that the money has still not been posted to their account and I need to file a complaint with W.U. and ask for a refund. I also reached out to the receiving bank, XXXX, and they have told me I need to file a complaint with W.U. and that they have no knowledge of the money wire. I've asked W.U. for a refund a few times already and they told me I need to wait until they hear back from their partner bank. This past week, I had to rewire the exact same amount of money from a different institution to the XXXX XXXX XXXX because they have been waiting for it since the beginning of XXXX. I have run out of time to pay this tax, the Tax Office is going I close my file and devoid me of any property rights, if I didn't resend the money. 
On XX/XX/22 when I called W.U. again, I spoke with XXXX # XXXX in the escalation dept. He assured me he was going to personally push this matter with their partner bank in XXXX to reach a resolution and to wait again until XX/XX/22 when he will have answers, one way or another, for me. He told me I should not have had too wait this long for resolution and apologized for what I had already been put through. He gave me a new case # and assured me he would call me today at XXXX, EST, but he never called me back. I taped our phone conversation and told him I was doing so and he said that was fine. My case and the missing wire transfer is still unresolved with no correspondence from Western Union whatsoever. Not only is the money lost but it seems my phone calls have all been in vain and lost, too. I am literally sick over this and the lost money and beyond frustration at this point. They just will not issue me a refund no matter what I tell them or how many times I have called. They just want to keep dragging this out until, who knows when? And, I can't seem to speak to anyone higher up other than his so-called escalation department call-center , which has proven itself not to be escalating anything except just pushing back and repeatedly saying they need another 5-10 days. CFPB, I really need your help and intervention to resolve this complaint. Thank you.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation