Dublin, London, California... and a five-month journey for £172

Ms R.D. writes: I am sending you a copy of a letter from Western Union, informing me that I am owed unclaimed funds. I have replied several times and provided proof of my identity and address as requested. But I have heard nothing more. I hope you can help. THE letter you received came from Western Union’s office in Dublin. It said you had used the company to send money to someone who had then failed to collect the cash, so you were entitled to a full refund.

All you had to do was prove your identity and quote the tracking number that was issued when you made the transfer.

If you could not come up with the number, then you would have to say how much was sent, to whom, and to which country.

The problem was you had no idea who might have failed to pick up money you had sent, or when, or where. The situation was not helped by the fact that when I contacted Western Union in London and then in California, some responses were sent to you as encrypted messages that automatically erased themselves by the time you forwarded them and I tried to open them.

At one point, the company issued you with a new tracking number and told you to go to any local Western Union agent to claim your funds. Unfortunately, the agent refused to hand over any money because you could not say how much was involved.

It turned out the uncollected transfer took place several years ago and was for £172 that you believed had been collected. After staff in California intervened again, you now have the money. But having spent the past five months unravelling this myself, I can understand your frustration.