Money orders are often used as part of bank scams. You also typically pay more in fees with money orders than other payment types. Do your best to protect your money order to avoid the headache of having to track a lost or stolen money order. These days, there also are more modern ways to send money to people digitally, which may be better than using a money order. Kevin Payne is a personal finance and travel writer who writes about credit cards, student loans, debt, credit, and family finances.
Kevin lives in Cleveland, Ohio with his wife and four kids. She has worked as a personal finance editor, writer, and content strategist covering banking, credit cards, insurance and investing. As a small business owner and former financial advisor, Daphne has first-hand experience with the challenges individuals face in making smart financial choices.
Select Region. United States. United Kingdom. Kevin Payne, Daphne Foreman. Contributor, Editor. Editorial Note: Forbes Advisor may earn a commission on sales made from partner links on this page, but that doesn't affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.
Western Union You can track a lost or stolen Western Union money order two ways: If you have the receipt, use the request form on the back to start the process of tracking or replacing the money order. MoneyGram MoneyGram money orders are available at thousands of retail locations across the U. What if the Money Order Was Cashed? Fill out the money order as soon as possible. If you receive a money order, deposit or cash it promptly. The less time it spends with you, the less likely it is to get lost.
Always keep your receipt until you know the payment has been received by the payee. Avoid leaving money orders in a dropbox. Either hand-deliver it to the payee or drop it off in person at your local post office. Was this article helpful? Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us.
This may influence which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money. See our money order guide. You can cancel a money order that hasn't been cashed.
If you're not sure about your money order's status, you can track it by calling the issuer's customer service number or using the tracking feature on its website. Here are the steps to cancel a money order. Step 1: Contact the issuer , who will ask you to start the cancellation process by completing a request form. If it was a Postal Service money order, visit a post office to fill out the form.
You might also be asked for the name of the person or company you were paying and a brief description of how the money order was lost. Step 3: Attach a copy of the receipt , if you have it. Step 4: Submit the cancellation request form and pay a fee. Some issuers, including Western Union, let you email, fax or mail the request. Once the issuer accepts payment, it will verify your information and research whether the money order was cashed.
If all goes well, the issuer will cancel the old money order and send a new one. The entire process varies by issuer, but it often takes about 20 to 30 days if you provide a receipt.
Issuers all have procedures in place for cancelling payment and issuing replacements or refunds of uncashed money orders. They also all charge fees for doing so, but it's a small price to pay for recovering your cash. As soon as you discover that the money order is missing, you should contact the institution that issued it to request that it be cancelled.
Information for doing so is on the receipt you received when you purchased the money order. If you don't have the receipt, you can return to the location where you purchased the money order or any of its branches or offices and explain the situation. You may need to visit an office anyway to complete the next phase of the cancellation process, completing and submitting a cancellation request form.
You'll likely need to show ID and sign the form in person. You'll also need to pay a cancellation fee. These vary by issuer. The U. When you submit your cancellation form, you can either request a replacement money order or a refund of the purchase price.
The replacement process can take up to 60 days, so if you're using the money order to make an urgent payment, you should probably consider sending another. If the Money Order Has Been Cashed Filling out a money order completely , with the recipient's full name and address, makes it difficult—but not impossible—for a criminal to cash it.
When you contact the issuer of the money order to request a cancellation, they'll check to see if it has already been cashed. In most cases, you can also check yourself, by calling the customer service number on your receipt or entering the money order serial number at the issuer's website. If the money order has been cashed, the issuer will not replace it or refund the purchase amount. Your best bet at that point is to request a copy of the signed, cashed money order from the location that cashed it.
Contact local law enforcement and provide them with the copy so they can begin an investigation. If they locate the imposter who cashed the money order, you may be able to get the stolen funds back from them. If you're careful to fill out a money order in detail, and hand it off directly to the recipient or send it by certified mail, your payment will likely go without a hitch.
But if the money order goes missing, you have a good chance of getting your money back—minus a fee and a few weeks' delay—as long as it hasn't been cashed.
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