Consumer complaint received 2023-01-20
Company: WESTERN UNION COMPANY, THE
State: FL
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: International money transfer
Issue: Confusing or missing disclosures

Complaint:
Western Union 's Money Transfer Policies are discriminatory in nature and in direct violation of the following Banking regulations : Dodd - Frank Act Remittance Rule - Safe harbor rule < 100 transactions annually Banking Secrecy Act AML Act Banking Discrimination Laws By circumventing these rules & regulations, Western Union has set up an ad hoc anti-money / remittance act of their own & has blatantly disregarded the laws of the land, the rules established by the treasury department & laws enacted by the US Congress On XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX  I sent money to XXXX by western Union. Western Union XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  The amount was XXXX dollars. The money was not made available to the receiver & no explanation or notifications were sent to me by Western Union. 
On XXXX XXXX XXXX I contacted Western Union & asked for an explanation as to why the money was not released to the receiver. I spoke with XXXX ( western Union ID # XXXX ) XXXX explained to me that I had to go through western union 's verification procedures because of " suspicious activities '' i my transfers by western union. 
He read through a series of questions. I have listed some of the questions along with my responses below : XXXX. Can I give them names of my XXXX most recent receivers? 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. What is my relationship to these individuals? 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX who is renovating my home in XXXX b. XXXX XXXX XXXX spouse XXXX. Why did you send XXXX transaction to XXXX XXXX in XXXX day? 
- XXXX in XXXX prohibit her from receiving more than 5000 monthly & more than XXXX in a day XXXX. Why have you been sending so much money to XXXX? 
a. I own a home in XXXX & am in the process of renovation & have to pay for materials & labor XXXX Who did you send money to in XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 
a. Whoever the XXXX I want to send my money to ; its none of your XXXX business b. These are friends & family members who are in need of money to feed their families XXXX Western Union is not the morality police & I can send money to whomever I wish to, as long as it is not in violation of the law XXXX. How did you get your money? 
a. I earned it, I am a highly paid consultant who works with the largest medical device companies in the world & I have earned between XXXX a year At this point I was told by western union that if I want to continue to use Western unions services, that I would have to provide bank statements for the last XXXX  months, as well as tax records As I explained to western union , I am not in violation of any of the banking laws, I give my drivers license with each transaction & I have receipts & pictures proving that I am sending money for the renovation of my home in XXXX. 
There is no violation of any money laundering laws, there have not been any transactions which would be illegal in any sense. Western Union is trying to make an example of me & show the government that they are enforcing anti money laundering laws & that they are compliant to banking & transfer rules. In fact, Western Union is introducing an unfair & unjust burden upon law abiding citizens & discriminating against XXXX in general. This is not the first time that western union has subjected me to their loose interpretations of the laws. They are arbitrarily picking & choosing which laws to enforce the laws, so that they can send a report to the government & demonstrate their compliance

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation