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Elliott Report

Elliott Report

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Advocacy

These tales are from our consumer advocacy files. If you’re a consumer with a problem with a company, you can contact us for help as well.

Rahama Wright thought her Airbnb allowed kids. She thought wrong.

Does Airbnb allow kids? Here’s how one guest got kicked out of her apartment 

August 7, 2025January 6, 2025 by Christopher Elliott

Does Airbnb allow kids? Some do, but some don’t, as one of our readers found out. Will her host keep all of her money?

Categories Advocacy
Can ITA Airways keep the money for your upgrade bid but send you to economy class?

She bid $594 for an upgrade on ITA Airways but was seated in economy class. Now her money is gone.

April 2, 2025December 2, 2024 by Christopher Elliott

Can ITA Airways keep the money for your upgrade bid but send you to economy class?

Categories Advocacy
What to do if you find cockroaches in your vacation rental.

Mold, urine and cockroaches in my vacation rental! Will Vacasa give me a refund?

June 20, 2025November 25, 2024 by Christopher Elliott

When James Storie and his family checked into a Vacasa vacation rental in Florida’s Panhandle, he was stunned by the condition of the home. 

Categories Advocacy
How do you deal with a problem with Booking.com and Affirm? Discover how to fix it.

I lost $6,074 after Booking.com canceled my vacation rental. Can you get it back for me?

June 12, 2025November 18, 2024 by Christopher Elliott

Jennifer Book’s problem with a canceled Booking.com vacation rental and Affirm — and the heartbreaking loss of $6,074 — looks like an open-and-shut case. 

Categories Advocacy
What should you do if you have ants in your rental? Here's how one customer handled it.

Help! My Hertz car rental is infested with ants — and now they’re charging me extra

January 2, 2025November 11, 2024 by Christopher Elliott

There’s a rule in the Travel Bible that your rental car must be insect-free. But the folks at the Hertz location in Palo Alto, Calif., forgot to study their scripture on the day Miguel Lopez came to town. And they handed him the keys to a car infested by ants.

Categories Advocacy
When Aer Lingus canceled Thomas Bedsole's flight from Indianapolis to Dublin during the pandemic, it quickly offered him a voucher for $2,484 -- and he quickly accepted.

This $2,484 Aer Lingus flight voucher doesn’t work! Do I still have to pay for my ticket?

November 24, 2025November 4, 2024 by Christopher Elliott

When Aer Lingus canceled Thomas Bedsole’s flight from Indianapolis to Dublin during the pandemic, it quickly offered him a voucher for $2,484 — and he quickly accepted. But almost four years later, the Aer Lingus flight voucher doesn’t work — and the airline won’t help him.

Categories Advocacy
a digital illustration of a forlorn woman with big eyes standing in front of a car. There is a pile of sand next to her.

Do I really owe Budget $450 for cleaning my rental car? It’s just a little sand!

May 24, 2025October 28, 2024 by Christopher Elliott

What’s this $450 cleaning fee on Irina Safonov’s Budget Car Rental bill? Sure, she rented a Chrysler Voyager in Detroit recently. And yes, she returned it with “a little” sand on the floor mats.

Categories Advocacy
Learn from Terri Taylor's Airbnb misadventure in Paris. Discover what to do if you ever get locked out of your rental.

Locked out of your Airbnb? Here’s how to get back in

November 9, 2025October 21, 2024 by Christopher Elliott

If you ever get locked out of your Airbnb rental, you’ll want to know about Terri Taylor’s misadventure with her apartment in Paris. It’s a doozy.

Categories Advocacy
Scarlett Kelly’s Paris vacation rental turned into a nightmare when a $300 damage deposit and a missed check-in window led to her being marked a no-show. Booking.com sided with the rental owner, who kept her money despite Kelly’s claims she was there on time. Now, Kelly is fighting back, alleging fraud, breach of contract, and even obstruction of justice. Should Booking.com refund Kelly, or is this a lesson in reading the fine print? With a $100 refund offer on the table, Kelly refuses to back down.

She lost her Paris vacation rental on a technicality — should I take this case? 

February 7, 2025October 14, 2024 by Christopher Elliott

Scarlett Kelly paid for a vacation rental in Paris through Booking.com, but she never got to stay in it. Booking.com wants to keep her money on what appears to be a technicality.

Categories Advocacy
Erin Wright was banned by American Airlines, accused of intoxication and engaging in sexual activity with a stranger during a flight. But Wright insists it's a case of mistaken identity — she’s a 24-year-old lesbian who wasn’t involved. Determined to clear her name, Wright turned to an advocacy team for help. Although American Airlines eventually reinstated her, Wright’s fight wasn’t over. She posted a viral TikTok video and fought for a refund for an extra ticket she had to buy. What really happened on that flight?

Banned by American Airlines for being “intoxicated and engaging in sexual activity” — but was it her?

June 28, 2025October 7, 2024 by Christopher Elliott

American Airlines says Erin Wright was drunk and had sex with a man on a recent flight, and now she’s banned. Wright says American Airlines didn’t give her a chance to tell her side of the story and that this is a case of mistaken identity — and she can prove it

Categories Advocacy
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