Victoria Grzesiakowski’s case had more red flags than a Soviet military parade.
For starters, her problem happened on a cruise and it involved jewelry. One of the players was a shady Mexican company that would register a 9.0 on the scam Richter scale, if there was such a thing. And it was being handled by a surrogate, her daughter, because Grzesiakowski is 91 and doesn’t have an email address.
When Terry Flores checks into her VRBO rental, she’s greeted by overflowing garbage and dead chickens. After cleaning up the mess, is she entitled to some kind of refund?
Note to any debt-collection scammers reading this: Choose your targets carefully. Very carefully. If you don’t, you might end up sending a bogus notice to a consumer advocate. And he might write something about it.
To get an idea of how smart marketers have become, spend a few minutes online. Just hint that you might be interested in a product by doing a search or browsing a big site like Amazon.com. It’s enough to trigger a never-ending cascade of ads that seems to follow you around, no matter where you go.
Mention alarm clocks to a frequent hotel guest and you’ll probably get an earful. Those ever-present digital clock radios frequently evoke feelings of confusion, frustration and even rage.
Negotiating a deal is part art, part science.
The science part you probably already know. In the last few weeks, I’ve reviewed the best time to book an airline ticket or buy a car, a house, and a computer, among other things.
But one big question still looms: At what point during the actual negotiation do you pull the trigger? Do it too early and you could overpay. Do it too late and you might miss your opportunity altogether.
Kevin Kordosky’s girlfriend is pregnant, but thanks to the Zika epidemic, they’ll have to cancel their Caribbean vacation. Can they get a refund?
After Marlene Nagy plunges off a waterfall, her cruise line agrees to cover medical expenses. But does that extend to her therapy bill?
Before my feet touched the ground, I knew something was wrong. I felt that familiar sore throat, the feverish chills, the body aches and fatigue.
I had the flu.
I rolled back into my bed at the Crowne Plaza in Denver and silently wondered, “How bad is this going to be?”
The answer came soon enough. Two of my kids — the indefatigable 11-year-old and the high-energy 13-year-old — were uninfected.
Nona Novak’s vacation to Puerto Rico is disrupted when hurricane Maria shuts down her hotel. Why won’t American Airlines Vacations refund her trip?
