Christopher Elliott

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers consumers to solve their problems and helps those who can't. He's the author of numerous books on consumer advocacy and writes three nationally syndicated columns. He also publishes the Elliott Report, a news site for consumers, and Elliott Confidential, a critically acclaimed newsletter about customer service. If you have a consumer problem you can't solve, contact him directly through his advocacy website. You can also follow him on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or sign up for his daily newsletter.

Charged for an online class I didn’t take

January 22, 2024October 31, 2012 by Christopher Elliott

Rhonda Smith’s daughter decides not to take a class at the University of Phoenix, but there’s just a small matter of her bill. Does she still have to pay it, even though she didn’t take the course?

Hey, what’s your hurry?

January 22, 2024October 30, 2012 by Christopher Elliott

I don’t know what I was thinking, trying to drive 1,100 miles in a straight shot.

Is this the only way to change the TSA?

January 22, 2024October 28, 2012 by Christopher Elliott

Here’s a question everyone should be asking after last week’s stunning verdict against Andrea Abbott, the Nashville mother who tried to stop TSA agents from patting down her teenage daughter: Where do travelers turn when they have a legitimate grievance against the agency charged with protecting America’s transportation systems?

Can you trust a vacation rental?

December 8, 2023October 27, 2012 by Christopher Elliott

The two-bedroom apartment in the trendy Tunali neighbor-hood of Ankara, Turkey, that Richard and Ellen Lacroix rented through Airbnb fell dramatically short of their expectations.

Are “unpublished” hotel reservations too hard to cancel?

January 22, 2024October 26, 2012 by Christopher Elliott

Derek Ho’s Expedia booking goes sideways, and he needs help. Can this trip be saved?

No, this isn’t a Hotwire bait-and-switch scam (or is it?)

January 22, 2024October 25, 2012 by Christopher Elliott

Kim Gandy is an experienced traveler, and she she’d like to think she wouldn’t fall for a scam. But when she tried to book a rental car through Hotwire recently, she thinks she may have been duped.

I canceled my window order, but where’s my refund?

January 22, 2024October 24, 2012 by Christopher Elliott

Barbara Jamison cancels her window order on time, but her company wants to charge her anyway. Is she out of luck?

Why did my ticket refund take forever and a day?

January 22, 2024October 23, 2012 by Christopher Elliott

Gripes about lengthy refunds are not unique to the travel industry, or even to airlines. But if you want your money back for a ticket, you should probably be prepared for a long wait.

After a detour to Bangor, do I deserve a ticket refund?

January 22, 2024October 22, 2012 by Christopher Elliott

As SAS Flight 910 from Newark to Copenhagen climbed to its cruising altitude on June 20, one of its air conditioning units malfunctioned, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangor, Me.

How to kill the TSA’s full body scanners — once and for all

January 22, 2024October 21, 2012 by Christopher Elliott

It started like it always does, just a few moments before I arrived at the airport. Except this time, the symptoms felt exponentially worse.

Christopher Elliott

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