My (Mis)Adventures at Western Union
Yesterday after noon mass I headed to the UP Shopping Center branch of RCPI, which was a western union agent, to withdraw my September Google AdSense earnings. I was disappointed. Apparently the branch didn’t have the form needed for Quick Cash. And the manager said I needed Google’s account number in order to withdraw the funds (not only the Money Transfer Control Number). I’ve read about complaints about the latest way to withdraw Google AdSense earnings on some blogs, and I was expecting some delays.
So the manager had to call up their head office to request a fax copy of the *Quick Cash* form.
I decided to forego withdrawing my AdSense earnings for now because of these reasons.
First, I left my other ID in the car. I didn’t want to waste my time walking all the way to the parking lot and back to the RCPI branch just to get my _other_ ID. RCPI/WU needed two valid IDs, and I usually only carry my driver’s license in my wallet. My other IDs (technically no longer valid, actually) I usually leave in the car for when I need to leave something at the gates of those exclusive subdivisions or school/company compounds.
Also, I wasn’t so sure about the form I was being asked to fill up. For some reason, the wordings on the Google AdSense payment details said *MCTN or Money Transfer Control Number* and *Western Union Quick Cash*, but “MCTN” wasn’t written anywhere on the *Quick Cash* form. So this started me wondering whether I should just use the regular “receive money” form instead.
Also, the person ahead of me in the queue was arguing with the teller, so I was expecting the wait to be longer. Teller says her PRC (Professional Regulatory Commission) ID had already expired last August, and was asking her to submit another ID. The client, however, didn’t carry anything with her at the moment. Seemed like she was pissed, especially since she’d been a regular client for the past few months already.
Here’s what’s funny. During the argument, she said
Ilang buwan na akong nagwi-withdraw ng pera dito, bakit ayaw nyong tanggapin ang ID ko. Dalawang libo lang ‘yan! Hindi ko ipagpapalit ang dangal ko sa dalawang libo.
This loosely translates to:
I’ve been a client for some months now, so why won’t you accept my ID as valid. It’s just PhP 2,000. I won’t compromise my dignity for just PhP 2,000.
Or something to that effect.
Seems like the system got the better of that client.
I almost wanted to hear the teller answer the client:
Hindi naman po dangal niyo ang kelangan namin eh. Valid ID niyo!
Which loosely translates to:
We’re not after your dignity, but only your valid ID.
LOL.
Anyway, I think in these cases it’s an issue with very valid arguments from both sides. The remittance institution is just ensuring the security of transactions. The client, meanwhile, is asking reconsideration because it might be inconvenient at that time to produce another valid ID, probably given her circumstances. Her ID had been valid only a few months ago, and in all likelihood the person on her ID (name, picture, address, etc.) is still her!
Ah, life!
Later today or tomorrow, I’ll be heading to a different Western Union branch and I’ll be sure to fill up that yellow form, hoping it’s the right one.
