A lot of people don't use western union for that very reason, and it's a common one to use for scams for that reason too.  This is not a bug, it's a feature, just for specific things.

Bitcoin has a lot of the advantages of western union, with less hassle and WAY less cost.   

The whole point of bitcoin is to be digital cash.  Cash is fungible, and if it is stolen, you have no practical recourse, since you aren't likely to be able to prove anything in court. 

When using a system based on cash, like western union, people just need to be careful.  If you are dealing with an untrusted merchant, don't do a transaction so large that the risk is out of proportion with the benefit.  This should be pretty basic thinking, since nearly everyone has a debit card, and a small amount of cash on them, for the very same reason. 

The bitcoin "banks" for lack of a better word, such as mybitcoin, are still in their infancy, and for the amount of money I have in btc, I'd rather store my own coins, but you can assess the risk any way you want. 

The primary benefit of bitcoin for the everyday person is that it enables peer to peer transactions with almost no processing cost, no middlemen, internationally, and without needing to even expose one's true name.  This means if you meet someone in IRC and they say "Hey, I'll do that XYZ you've been wanting for 50 coins" you can say "ok, half now, half later" and no one has to worry about paypal freezing accounts, banking regulations, FICO scores, or any other nonsense that makes the normal banking system so complex that you need a CPA to feel safe. The risk is fairly high, but it's understandable, it's just like meeting someone at a bar and they say "give me 50 bucks in cash and I'll do XYZ". 

It's a currency made for internet commerce, and I'm pretty confident it's going to gain acceptance for that purpose.  After it's proven it's value for that, maybe it will work it's way into the world of brick and mortar businesses.