Western Union - new credit card charges - beware!

[Taz]

I send money to a friend via Western Union every month. I use my MBNA credit card, which is a Mastercard, for the online transfer. I always check my statements and expect to see the charge from Western Union and a separate charge from my credit card company - a cash advance charge.

However, my latest credit card statement shows a third charge! It's for interest on the original Westen Union money transfer! I queried this with my credit card company and they said that Western Union (actually, Mastercard) now deem the original money transfer as a cash advance. The interest charged by the credit card company accrues until the ENTIRE balance for that statement is paid off! This interest has never appeared before as I use Western Union every month and always check my statements. I also always pay off all my credit card bills as soon as I receive them.

Hence, if you now do a money transfer using Western Union you have to pay:

1) The Western Union fee for the transfer at the time you make the transfer
2) A fee to your credit card company for the transfer
3) Interest to your credit card company that accrues until you pay off the entire credit card bill

This third charge sounds like a scam to me.

[Butuz]

Really simple answer - steer well clear of western union

Butuz