Consumer complaint received 2016-11-24
Product: Money transfers — Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Other transaction issues — 
Company: MONEYGRAM PAYMENT SYSTEMS WORLDWIDE INC (ME)

I was on MoneyGram to send my son money for his tuition. I sent the money, talked to someone to verify that I knew who I was sending it to. It was approved and I had my son go to pick it up. When he got to the Walmart to pick it up, he was told he had to call MoneyGram and then they told him I had to call. I called and was asked all the same questions again, if I knew who it was going to and verified my information. The guy then said that since they had a lot of fraud complaints to that area and that it was not my son who I was sending money to he canceled. Also told me it was a security risk. My son did not get his money like he should have that night. The next day I went on to Walmart MoneyGram and put in a different email address to set up a different account to send him the money. Went through all of the questions again. My son was going to go to Walmart to get the money when I got a call saying that the transaction had been canceled because I was a security risk. That was XX/XX/2016. That Monday I went online to my bank account and found out that even though they canceled the transactions they still took the money out. I had to hound them for over a month, when someone decided yes I was owed the money. I was told one refund would go into my checking account within 3-10 days and the other one I could pick up at a Moneygram location. I went to a Money Gram location and was told the money I was to pick up for a refund was in a different state. I did receive my one refund through my checking account. I have been calling and emailing them about the other complaint since XX/XX/XXXX. Finally someone emailed me and said that I was due the refund to take the transaction # they gave me to a MoneyGram location and either the agent could call or I could to get a new #. I got to the location and was told a operator at Money Gram to just use the # I was given. I tried that and still could not get my money. I called Money Gram and was told that it needed to go into my checking account and would take 10 days. After 10 days I called Money Gram to say that I had not gotten my refund. They took all of my information and was going to have someone look into it. I called after a few days to see what they had found out. I was told yes I was due for a refund and they had me talk to someone who processed the refunds that go back into the checking accounts. He told me that it would take 3 to 10 days and I would have it. I asked me more then once if he was sure that it would be in my account after 10 days. He said yes, that was due the refund and it would be in my checking account after 10 days. After 10 days it was not there I called and emailed again. I was told that I was not due the refund and that they would not have taken out money for both of those transactions. Then I was told it was the fault of my credit union that the money was not there. I have show them my emails that said I was really do for the XXXX refund and the money was there waiting for me. They still are saying that they do not owe me a refund, even with it being researched and other people telling me I am owed the refund. I just want my money back. That money was suppose to help me when I had XXXX and had to be out of work. I was to use that money for my bills and food. Now I am behind on my bills.