Flight payment using Western Union

[BenCrew]

I have booked a flight with Emirates, and after downloading the form, used Western Union to transfer the money. After making payment at the Post Office, I returned home to find an e-mail itinerary from Emirates with some info required for the form, so there are a couple of mistakes. The money transfer should have been made to Global Direct (not Emirates) and there was a payment number, whereas I just used the 5 letter booking code. The Post Office staff eventually managed to make the payment and I have a receipt, but has it gone to the right place? What happens if I don't receive payment confirmation from Emirates in the next 7 days? How do I get my money back? I have rang the Emirates office in Bangkok, but they are closed 'til Monday. Any thoughts, advice appreciated.

[Upnotover]

I did the same in May. As the booking didn't show it had been paid after 7 days I called Emirates in Bangkok and then emailed them a copy of the WU payment receipt. They sent it on to Dubai and the e-ticket got issued 2 days later.

I have to say it wasn't easy to make the payment as most WU desks we tried had no clue what we were trying to do, finally we got one to call WU in Bangkok to ask, they had to fax the correct forms to her.

edit - I did fill in the form correctly mind you, still took a bit of effort but Khun Achara at Emirates was very helpful, hopefully she is there on Monday for you!

Edited July 12, 2014 by Upnotover

[BenCrew]

Thanks a lot. Maybe I won't be so hasty to make the payment in future!

[BenCrew]

I received this e-mail today:

Dear Passenger,

Thank you for choosing Emirates, as you transferred money by western union and called back to Bkk EK Town office to send us the proof of payment, unfortunately to inform you that you had done an incorrect western union transfer. It is clearly mentioned online that

You need to do a quick pay western union transfer.

I would like to suggest you to visit the same WU outlet and request for the funds to be recalled.

Anyhow I will send you the form of payment to transfer money by the local bank we provided in Thailand as in the attach file. You just print it out and give it to the bank and make a payment there after that when you finish the payment. Please send us back to this email or fax us at tel 026641059 and call us to inform us to issue the ticket......

So what are the chances of getting the money back from the WU outlet (Post Office) ?

[dddave]

Sorry you are having this difficulty but interesting to know. I have been considering using WU for some online payments because of difficulties using debit card's for international transactions. This gives me fair warning that it is not as easy and straight forward as it looks.

I hope you can resolve your problem soon.

[BenCrew]

Thanks for that. I probably made the wrong choice by using a Post Office WU outlet instead of one of the banks. I went for my refund today, had to fill in a couple of forms and was told that they will call me when I can come and collect the money. Meanwhile, Emirates have e-mailed me another form to take to any one of 4 banks (including Thanachart and TMB) to pay for my flight, which I'll do tomorrow. Maybe I'll apply for a credit card from back home after this saga.It was so much easier when Mox Travel were in business.

Edited July 15, 2014 by BenCrew

[Upnotover]

Sorry you are having this difficulty but interesting to know. I have been considering using WU for some online payments because of difficulties using debit card's for international transactions. This gives me fair warning that it is not as easy and straight forward as it looks.

I hope you can resolve your problem soon.

The biggest problem is finding a WU outlet that understands their own product - specifically the "Quickpay" part. The is plenty of information on their websites but they simply have never been trained about it, nor have the forms needed. In our case had to have the forms faxed from Bangkok. And we only succeeded as we managed to find a WU employee that could be bothered to do something other than play with her phone.

[BenCrew]

Sorry you are having this difficulty but interesting to know. I have been considering using WU for some online payments because of difficulties using debit card's for international transactions. This gives me fair warning that it is not as easy and straight forward as it looks.

I hope you can resolve your problem soon.

The biggest problem is finding a WU outlet that understands their own product - specifically the "Quickpay" part. The is plenty of information on their websites but they simply have never been trained about it, nor have the forms needed. In our case had to have the forms faxed from Bangkok. And we only succeeded as we managed to find a WU employee that could be bothered to do something other than play with her phone.

Yes, I took a gamble that it was a 'Quickpay' outlet, knowing I would never be able to explain. I have just made my payment in a bank using the form that they e-mailed me. I now await my itinerary..all being well. I don't understand why Emirates can't e-mail you these forms in the first place, so easy.