We are a national charity for missing children called Thursday's Child. All of our work is volunteer and we operate on very little contributions. This year we have received under $1400. In sending $800 for a laptop to a person we did not know via MoneyGram, who asserted that they would send us the laptop first and that we would then give them the control number for them to get the money, I asked at the local Wal-Mart of two MoneyGram "trained" Wal-Mart employees if the person could get the money without the control number and we were told absolutely not six times; that the money was safe unless we gave them the number. To make a long story short, they got the money and disappeared. I went into the Wal-Mart where I had sent the money and demanded a refund, stating that I had been grossly misinformed by their workers and as a result lost $800 plus the $46 fee. There was not so much as an apology or a degree of sympathy. The night manager, Mr. Ken from Uganda, stood there laughing. I wanted nearly half an hour while he went into the back with the employee who did the transaction and gave the bad information. When he emerged, he said he had phoned the police, who came and ejected me from the store. After a number of phone calls, I finally let it go. Four days ago, out of the blue, I was called by a Lance Ashmore, who told me that Wal-Mart was sorry for what happened and was going to refund the money in three days and that he would call and let me know the status, which he did. Yesterday, he phoned and asked if I would come down to the store and see the manager. I did. The manager came out with a plainclothes security store shopper, shook my hand, had me sign an indemnification paper, the gave me the $846. As soon as I had the money, he became livid and told me that I was no longer welcome at his store and that if I did not get out immediately he would have me arrested. I asked why. He said that on the day it had occurred, I had been "disruptive." No, I had not. I had not been loud or interfered with any of their business, but I did demand to speak with someone in authority (who did not laugh at the situation) and demanded the money be returned to our charity. When I said I had not been, he turned to his rent-a-cop and told him to call the police to have me arrested. He would not give me a copy of what I had signed unless I signed a paper to voluntarily enjoin myself from the store. I believe he was instructed to have me sign that prior to have given me the money.

Wal-Mart did not "refund" anything. I was set up to come down to be threatened. It apparently was worth $845 for them to do that. I find that our charity's phone numbers are now blocked from Wal-Mart corporate and their 800 number.

Wal-Mart professes to care about Missing Children. They claim to have partnered with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to for the Missing Children's Network. Yes our hotline is the only one listed with directory services in the nation and ours is the only missing children open 24/7. Wal-Mart gives NCMEC half a million dollars a year, but goes ballistic over an $846 claim caused by one of their ill-trained employees.

An ad for help wanted appeared in our local newspaper seeking to hire online “Book Keepers”. So I sent in for information. I heard nothing back until I received two $865 moneygrams by UPS.

Then online instructions to deposit them in my bank account, keep a 10% fee, withdraw the rest of the proceeds and send them by Western Union to an address in Ghana. I refused to deposit them, but said I would cash them & forward the proceeds, which was quickly agreed to, but to do it quickly.

On Monday morning, I called Moneygram, LLC & was told that both moneygrams were invalid, which did not surprise me at all. I turned the info & fake moneygrams over to our local police, though I doubt much can actually be done about such a scam.

I was sent a moneygram of $6460 number 83578042 from Kenya to Yiwu, China on October 12, 2009. The forms my wife filled required my names to be filled by First name, middle, and family name. This she did. However, in China, the first name appeared, but last two names appeared together...ie the middle name and the family name. And I was refused payment! I had to call back home and wait, which was really annoying and unfair.Is there a way that Moneygram can make their forms customer friendly for clients who are living in China, but are not Chinese? I' ve had no such problem with their competition.