Howard,
Good question. I know nothing about Western Union, but it is not the escrow itself that is important; it is who holds the escrow account. An escrow account is essentially a "trust account." If you hire a solicitor he would hold the money in an escrow account. He would write a contract stating the conditions upon which he would release the funds, like delivery of the vehicle, inspection and delivery of a valid signed title. The difference is if the freight forwarder (who is representing the seller) says "I will hold your deposit in escrow," you do not know exactly what the conditions of release of the funds are. They will always be in favor of his client, the seller. If your solicitor calls the freight forwarder and tells him he has the deposit in escrow, the forwarder will then act as if the deposit has been delivered to him, unless it is a scam. Assuming it is not a scam the deposit is being held by a third party under an agreement can be satisfied by both parties fairly. Escrow accounts are usually used in the purchase of a home. The money will sit in the escrow account until the deed is filed at the registry, at which time the money will be released. Lawyers in the U.S. are normally required to make a full accounting of these accounts to the authorities.
The lesson is to not cheap out and use the seller's agent like he is your agent. He is not. Get your own agent to represent you.
Like you I am still worried about this deal.
David