Are travelers cooling to the sharing economy?
Angela Diaz suffers from travel sharing fatigue. She recently rented a two-bedroom home in Dania Beach, Florida, but wishes she’d stayed in a hotel, instead.
Commentary
Elliott Advocacy is a nonprofit organization that mediates cases between consumers and businesses. These are commentary articles that detail our efforts and provide educational information for consumers.
Passengers are tuning out preflight safety announcements. They may regret it.
Admit it, you don’t pay attention to those preflight safety announcements anymore. The whole, “Now, we request your full attention as the flight attendants demonstrate the safety features of this aircraft,” goes in one ear and out the other.
What can he take for this prescription drug headache?
When Shan Adaikalam changed jobs, his insurance coverage changed as well. And when he tried to fill some prescriptions, the price increase left him in shock — and reaching for his phone to dial the 9-1-1 of consumer advocacy.
A storm ruined their vacation. Is a refund on the horizon?
When a tropical storm ruined their vacation, Randie and Michael Wolfe turned to their hotel for a refund. But this problem didn’t end as you would expect.
What happens when you need small claims help?
Sometimes, you have no choice. You need small claims help, and you need it now. It’s time to head to small claims court.
Consider what happened to Meghan Robinson, who recently bought a mini-pig named Peaches from a business called — I’m not making this up — Mini Pig World.
This is how to master the art of travel
Travel is an art, not a science.
Read enough columns, and you might think being the world’s smartest traveler is a paint-by-number proposition, an easy formula you can follow.
Planning your estate? Watch for these shady practices
There’s a lot to watch out for when you’re planning your estate.
Bad advice. High fees. Trust mills.
“Death brings out the worst in people,” says Francine Kent, an estate appraiser from Sarasota, Fla.
Unscrupulous advisors prey on the elderly and their heirs with questionable legal advice, unnecessary bills, and the ever-present living trust come-ons.
The surprising reasons travelers file insurance claims
If you’ve bought a travel insurance policy, here’s the next logical question: What could possibly go wrong?
That’s a question Squaremouth set out to answer as part of its campaign to promote real life claims — a topic that’s near and dear to my advocates, too.
Interested in a DNA vacation? Better read this first
When Richard Hill set out to find his biological parents, he didn’t expect he would wind up on a vacation. But when his DNA test results came in, he hit the road.
Talking up travel industry ‘chatbots’
Travel chatbots are having a moment. It’s about time.
After a few false starts, these automated programs that answer basic questions, find deals or secure refunds are slowly coming into their own. And they might be worth trying.