Consumer complaint received 2022-04-21
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — International money transfer
Issue: Money was not available when promised — 
Company: MONEYGRAM PAYMENT SYSTEMS WORLDWIDE INC (WI)

I sent money to my friend for emergency medical care who is visiting the XXXX XXXX on vacation, the money was to be picked up in cash at a verified MoneyGram location. I have sent money through MoneyGram before to him with no problem. In order to receive the transfer in cash in person he needs his ID and the transaction ID which I provided to him and he did not share with anyone else. I know this individual personally here in the XXXX and have for XXXX years. I was on the phone with him and he never went to the bank. I received an alert that the transfer was picked up at XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX which is impossible because the money was transferred at XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. I contacted MoneyGram and they said the money was successfully sent and received in person for cash pick up but he never went to pick it up which means if someone did pick it up protocol was broken as his ID was in his possession and he did not share the transfer ID so if an individual did receive the money the bank they went to or the MoneyGram location did not follow their own policy in requesting valid ID along with the transaction ID and consequently gave to the money to an authorized individual without proper documentation to match the identify of the intended receiver. When the individual has received money in the past I am provided with an email confirmation and receipt along with the time the money was received by the correct individual. This time I received an email that said it was picked up at XXXX XXXX but that is impossible as the intended receiver was on FaceTime with me at his current residence and not physically present at a MoneyGram location with his proper ID so he could not have picked up the cash. MoneyGram was not helpful or informative and when I logged into my account the transaction pick up time had been changed to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX which is also impossible as MoneyGram was closed and the wire transfer had not yet been made. MoneyGram could not offer an explanation and said it was possibly a system error on their end then proceeding to open the case and telling me a refund could take up to 90 days which is unacceptable seeing as no one can explain where my money went and it was a significant amount. I spoke on the phone with four different people and had an online chat with another individual, so five total MoneyGram employees, and all had different explanations. In the past they are able to track where the money is received in cash by the person as well as when ( down to the very second ) and we have never had a problem yet this time the receipt has changed times three times and even changed dates to a date that does not have any validity as the funds would not have been available. They are able to track when and where the money was received in cash in person previously however now they are saying they can not see when and where the cash was picked up yet when my friend went to the bank the funds, which were taken out of my account, are unavailable to him with little to no explanation and a 90 day waiting period. If I want to cancel the transaction which now I do because I want the money back into my account as I can no longer trust MoneyGram I must do so within 90 days. Also, after XXXX XXXX the fee is kept by MoneyGram and because of the amount of money transferred the fee is quite large. Overall MoneyGram has not offered much assistance as well as imposed a ridiculously long investigation process and 90 days is unacceptable.