A foreign customer decided to pay me via Western Union instead of the usual EFT settlements I receive from customers. His reason was that an EFT settlement would have cost him US$85 as against Western Union's charges of only US$11,50.
I have seen numerous references about Western Union and Nigerian scams so I wasn't very happy when I read of his intensions.
Anyway, since Absa where I bank are agents for Western Union, I agreed - albeit reluctantly. Here are my experiences of today.
I arrived at my Absa branch just after 9am, bearing the customer's email with details of his payment, the question and answer, my ID and a copy of last month's electricity account to verify my residential address.
There weren't many people in the bank and I was asked beforehand to collect a Western Union form from a security guard in the bank.
OK, so I got the form and completed it and proceeded to the tellers. Once there, they informed me Western Union was 'offline'. The teller informed me that I could try a Western Union agency located inside Cavendish Square, Claremont so I proceeded there.
I found their 'office' inside an AA shop - not inside Cavendish but inside the adjoining Link building.
When I got my turn at the bulletproof window and presented the form Absa supplied, I was informed the form was not acceptable - I should complete their own form.
So I did that and again presented the forms. After about 5 mins of staring at my documents, the teller informed me she wanted a March 2014 electricity bill as the February bill I presented was 30 days out of date.
I asked them what time they closed and she said at 5pm.
So I returned home from Claremont to Kenilworth and found a March electricity bill in our letterbox.
By this time it was around 2.30pm and I arrived back in Claremont at 2.45pm. only to find the shop closed up until Monday. An AA employee inside the shop approached me and I asked why the Western Union shop had closed when they informed me earlier they were open until 5pm. "The employee fell ill, sir". I asked him what about the 2nd Western Union employee. "He also fell ill, sir"...
I asked Cavendish's information desk where I could find another open Western Union office and she directed me to Bidvest inside Cavendish, allegedly also a Western Union agency.
Got there and they told me they have no forms to fill in for receiving funds. I asked the yawning female where to next.
"Oh, Bidvest Kenilworth Centre" (from where I had just picked up my wife).
So I dropped the wife at home in Kenilworth and proceeded back to Kenilworth Centre. I found the place and presented Western Union's form I got from WU Cavendish Square.
"No, Sir - you have to complete OUR form" and she handed me one of theirs.
I completed the thing for the umpteenth time and guess what " Sorry Sir, I gave you the form for SENDING money - you must fill in the form for RECEIVING money"...
By this time, I felt like tasering the b*tch as I had the device in my pocket.
So finally, a quarter tank of petrol p!ssed out in Saturday end of month traffic and 61/2 hours later, I got paid.
Finally arriving back home, I reduced my stock of Windhoek considerably, took the two wimmin in my life for a walk to Muizenberg and I'm now eyeing the next 6-pack.
What has been your Western Union experiences?
mafioso
I have seen numerous references about Western Union and Nigerian scams so I wasn't very happy when I read of his intensions.
Anyway, since Absa where I bank are agents for Western Union, I agreed - albeit reluctantly. Here are my experiences of today.
I arrived at my Absa branch just after 9am, bearing the customer's email with details of his payment, the question and answer, my ID and a copy of last month's electricity account to verify my residential address.
There weren't many people in the bank and I was asked beforehand to collect a Western Union form from a security guard in the bank.
OK, so I got the form and completed it and proceeded to the tellers. Once there, they informed me Western Union was 'offline'. The teller informed me that I could try a Western Union agency located inside Cavendish Square, Claremont so I proceeded there.
I found their 'office' inside an AA shop - not inside Cavendish but inside the adjoining Link building.
When I got my turn at the bulletproof window and presented the form Absa supplied, I was informed the form was not acceptable - I should complete their own form.
So I did that and again presented the forms. After about 5 mins of staring at my documents, the teller informed me she wanted a March 2014 electricity bill as the February bill I presented was 30 days out of date.
I asked them what time they closed and she said at 5pm.
So I returned home from Claremont to Kenilworth and found a March electricity bill in our letterbox.
By this time it was around 2.30pm and I arrived back in Claremont at 2.45pm. only to find the shop closed up until Monday. An AA employee inside the shop approached me and I asked why the Western Union shop had closed when they informed me earlier they were open until 5pm. "The employee fell ill, sir". I asked him what about the 2nd Western Union employee. "He also fell ill, sir"...
I asked Cavendish's information desk where I could find another open Western Union office and she directed me to Bidvest inside Cavendish, allegedly also a Western Union agency.
Got there and they told me they have no forms to fill in for receiving funds. I asked the yawning female where to next.
"Oh, Bidvest Kenilworth Centre" (from where I had just picked up my wife).
So I dropped the wife at home in Kenilworth and proceeded back to Kenilworth Centre. I found the place and presented Western Union's form I got from WU Cavendish Square.
"No, Sir - you have to complete OUR form" and she handed me one of theirs.
I completed the thing for the umpteenth time and guess what " Sorry Sir, I gave you the form for SENDING money - you must fill in the form for RECEIVING money"...
By this time, I felt like tasering the b*tch as I had the device in my pocket.
So finally, a quarter tank of petrol p!ssed out in Saturday end of month traffic and 61/2 hours later, I got paid.
Finally arriving back home, I reduced my stock of Windhoek considerably, took the two wimmin in my life for a walk to Muizenberg and I'm now eyeing the next 6-pack.
What has been your Western Union experiences?
mafioso
