Western union money orders iffy ?

reading the fine print on a Western union money order where the purchaser can stop payment on it for a $12 fee I also found out Western Union won't cash their own money orders. My bank holds it until it clears up to 2 weeks sometimes they say. Doesn't sound any better than a personal check to me. Wouldn't send merchandise before one of these clears if I were you. If for example I cash this at a check cashing place they pay me they actually don't know if the money order is valid for a period of time. If it turns out to be not valid or fraudulent what happens? They have your identification etc. they don't contact you to return the funds back to them do they?