Raja, my regular gas station attendant was visibly forlorn the other day. “What’s the matter, Raja? Bad news from home?”

“No, Mr. Tariq. Or maybe yes. I sent some money to the family in Madras three weeks ago, and two days ago I was sent a message that they still had not received it. I then took time off from my duties at my expense and went to the remittance company who claim they can deliver money to any part of the world in minutes.”

“After waiting for a long time, the agent who had initially taken my money seemed uninterested in my dilemma. He told me to wait a few days and then come back. You see, my family in India depends on my monthly contributions, and any long delay puts them in a very unsafe position.”

“When I persisted, he then pulled the original money transfer application and I verified that all the information I gave him was correct. He shrugged and told me to give it some more time, even though this company promises to deliver our hard-earned money in minutes. He also told me the company was not to blame for this delay. I was upset, but what to do. I am just a simple gas station attendant, and it is my hard earned money they took, but...”

“Raja, let me pull over to the side, and let’s see what this is all about. Do you have a copy of your remittance contract?”

When he replied in the affirmative, I asked him to get it while I parked my car away from the pump fueling lane.

“Okay, Raja. Now let’s see here. All the information you have written here is correct, including the full recipients name and address back in Madras?” When he nodded, I flipped over the page of the contract to check the company’s liability. It was an internationally renowned company whose agent in Saudi Arabia was a well-established bank.

With Raja back to pumping fuel, I started wading through the legal mumbo jumbo of the company’s terms and conditions, in fine print I might add.

“In no event shall Company X or its agents be liable for damages, delay, nonpayment, or underpayment of this money transfer, or non-delivery of any supplemental message, whether caused by negligence on the part of their employees or agents, or otherwise...”

As I read on, another paragraph caught my attention.

“Company X will refund the principal amount of a money transfer upon the written request of the sender if payment is not made within 45 days. Company X will refund the transfer fee upon written request of the sender if the money transfer is not available to the recipient within a reasonable amount of time, subject to the business hours of the location selected for the payment and other conditions...”

As my eyebrows furrowed deeper, questions began to form in my mind. This company advertises heavily on its prompt delivery service.

It is an international company with over 200,000 agents worldwide, and yet deems it unnecessary to shoulder the liability caused by negligence of its own staff here?

And why claim delivery in minutes, and yet allow themselves a window of 45 days. And finally, why should I provide them with a written request to get my money back or the service fees I paid for the transfer if they haven’t delivered? Most customers would not usually take the time to read through and realize such limitations from such a reputable company. I had to do something.

With Raja free between fueling, I went over to him. “Listen Raja. It’s Thursday evening and I doubt if we can contact any responsible person at the company or its agent, the bank. Let me make a copy of this contract, and I promise you first thing Saturday morning I will be on the phone in quest of some positive results.”

He refused any immediate offers of any monetary assistance meanwhile, saying it was his family he was concerned about.

And while I wait for Saturday to catch the powers to be at this institution, I urge all my readers to read the fine print, no matter how reputable the business they are dealing with is.