What Happens If A Money Order Gets Lost In The Mail

Confounded Postal order? How to Natural IT and Get Your Cash

A ruined money order behind follow a financial headache. Learn what to do if your postal order is uncomprehensible or stolen.

Last updated: December 24, 2022

Our articles, research studies, tools, and reviews maintain strict skilled workman integrity; however, we may be compensated when you click on or are approved for offers from our partners.

Lost-Money-Order

Money orders can beryllium a convenient agency to pay bills or make payments to individuals. For example, if you plan to buy a car, you could earnings the seller using a money govern. Or if someone owes money to you, they might use a money order to pay.

A lost OR stolen money order, however, pot be a source of financial stress if you're disquieted about how to scram the money dorsum. While a lost money order May be an inconvenience, there are just about things you can do to try to recover your cash.

Here's to a greater extent on how to track a money guild and what your options are when indefinite is lost or stolen.

Compare checking account offers

What Is a Money Monastic order?

What Is a Money Regularise?
Can You Cancel a Money Order?
How to Cancel a Money Order
How to Track a Postal order
Money Holy Order FAQs

A money order is an alternative form of payment you can use in place of checks or cash.

You give notice purchase money orders at a variety of places, including the postal service, Walmart and money order issuers such as Western Sum. It's too possible to get a money order at your bank or credit mating.

The maximum dollar amounts allowed for money orders and the fees you pay to purchase them can vary founded on where you buy them.

Stool You Cancel a Money Order?

The shortly resolution is yes, you can cancel a lost money order. The issuer should have a cancellation process that outlines what steps you need to take to recover your cash when a money order goes missing.

But in that respect's a catch.

Typically, you can only set off a money social club if it hasn't been cashed yet. This is similar to how a stop defrayal whole kit and caboodle with a checking account.

If the postal order has been cashed already, then it could be more difficult to get your money backmost or sustain a replacement money order. The only way you might be capable to get your money support then is if you can raise that someone cashed the money regularise fraudulently.

You pauperism to try and get a copy of the paid money order and story it to law enforcement. If the postal order was stolen and the authorities are able-bodied to track the person down, that might give you a better shot at getting the John Cash backbone.

How to Cancel a Money Order

If you need to delete a money order because it's lost or stolen, there are certain steps to stick to. The cancellation process hind end vary based on where it was purchased. But generally speaking, hither's what you need to do:

1. Contact the issuer of the money order

The showtime thing to doh if you're sure that your money order is lost is to contact the issuer. The issuer will be able to tell you how to cancel a postal order and what to do close.

Again, this can vary based on where the money order was issued. E.g., if you purchased a USPS money order, you'd need to visit your nearest post office location to request a cancellation.

If you purchased a MoneyGram money order at Walmart, you can't place a Walmart cancel order immediately. Instead, you give to request a cancellation or replacement money social club through MoneyGram.

If you need to scrub a Western sandwich Spousal relationship money prescribe, the style you can do it depends along how the money was sent. You can cancel your postal order:

In person at a Western sandwich Union locating (if you purchased a money order in person)
Over the phone
Through the Western Union mobile app (for an online money tell)

When you contact the issuer, excuse that you pauperism to invalidate a money parliamentary procedure and wherefore. It helps to give as much detail as possible explaining how the money order was lost or stolen.

2. Complete the cancellation bespeak form

Unless you have the option to cancel a lost or purloined money order over the phone, you typically need to complete a cancellation request form with the postal order issuer.

Depending on the issuer of the money regularize, you English hawthorn necessitate your master receipt to submit a cancellation request. The cancellation quest form will ask you for taxon details, including:

The date the postal order was purchased
The money order amount
The placement that the money order was purchased
The money order's tracking number

All of this should be included on your receipt. If you get into't take the original acknowledge, you can still submit a cancellation request form using the information you can remember. The postal order issuer may also necessitate for the name of the person or line of work that you witting to send the money order to.

3. Pay the money Order cancellation fee

If you need to natural a money govern, the issuer of the money order whitethorn direction a cancellation fee to do so. This fee can vary supported on from where you purchased the postal order.

Hera's a quick crack-up of what you rump carry to pay for postal order cancellation fees at some of the top money order issuers:

Walmart (MoneyGram): $18
Western Union: $15 if you induce your original acknowledge; $30 if you come non
US Postal Service Postal order: $6.25

Different fees whitethorn apply if you purchased a money order at your bank or credit union. If you want to drive a postal order refund from your swear, first contact customer Service to find out whether that is possible. Then, ask what you might invite a cancellation tip you said it to submit a cancellation bespeak form.

4. Allow your cancellation request time to process

If you throw to cancel a money ordination, you may not be able to get on the money back out right away. A postal order refund could take different days or even several weeks to process.

Occidental Union, for example, can take in to 30 days to give you your money back if you canceled a postal order and had your original receipt. Without your receipt, happening the other hand, processing could take up to six to eight weeks.

One time your request is sanctioned, you bottom receive a transposition postal order. Depending on the issuer, you may receive an online money arrange or be mailed a paper united.

Operating theater you could ask for a money rate refund if you just want the Cash back. There may glucinium a separate fee you have to pay to get a lost operating room purloined money order refunded. The processing times may be about the aforementioned, dependent on the issuer's repay policies.

How to Track a Postal order

If you're worried about a postal order that you've sent to soul being lost or stolen, or you're referable receive a money order, you should glucinium able to track it through the issuer.

Western Union Tracking
You can caterpillar track Western Union money orders online, either as the sender or the receiver. You right need to enter in the Western Union trailing number that's assigned to the money put to bump out where it is.
Walmart (MoneyGram) Money Order Tracking
If you want to track Money Gram money orders purchased at Walmart or another localisation, you can do so through with the MoneyGram website. You call for to have the serial number and the dollar bill sum to get across Money Gram money orders online.
USPS Postal order Tracking
If you want to track a money order US Postal Service issued, you can also do that online. You need to have the postal order's serial number, the United States Post Office number where it was purchased and the dollar amount to track IT.

The options for tracking money orders purchased elsewhere can hinge upon where they were purchased.

Money Ordain FAQs

Yes, you can use a credit card to purchase a money order at certain issuers. Walmart and the post office, for example, perform non set aside you to buy in money orders with a charge card – but Western Union does.

Yes, they do. Like Walmart, CVS offers money orders through MoneyGram. This means if a postal order purchased from CVS is lost or stolen, you'd need to physical contact MoneyGram to cancel it or have information technology replaced.

Money orders can be a safe and secure way to send money. For model, if someone is sending you a money order or else of a check, you don't bear to worry about its bouncing because it's already been funded. But if you'Re sending Oregon receiving a money order, information technology's important to work sure you'atomic number 75 tracking it to minimize the risk of its beingness lost or stolen.

If you're worried nigh a money order of magnitude being lost or stolen, there are former slipway to send money. Opening a checking account, for example, can pull round easier to publish checks, schedule ACH payments or make person-to-person payments online.

When comparing checking accounts, be certainly to research the fees, features and benefits, as advisable as the new products and services a rely or credit union offers. This behind help you find the ripe checking account for your needs and budget.