Why do we need consumer advocates?
Douglas Quara wants to know why we need consumer advocates — and maybe you do, too.
“I love that you help people,” he wrote in an email.
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.
My hotel was overbooked — why can’t I get a refund?
Several days before his trip to Italy, Robert Arbanas got an email informing him that his hotel was overbooked. A manager promised him a refund. But months later Arbanas is still waiting. Can we help?
Be careful using this money-saving car rental trick
It used to be a reliable money-saving car rental trick: Reserve a vehicle at an off-airport location and take an Uber or taxi over. You can easily knock off 10 percent or more in airport fees.
Unfortunately, that loophole is closing.
I have an intruder in my apartment! Do I deserve a refund?
There’s an intruder in Linda Jones’s apartment. She thinks she’s entitled to a refund from Booking.com for the inconvenience. But you will never — not in a million years — guess how this case resolves.
Her problem is about more than travel safety and corporate intransigence. It’s about the power of a single word. In this case, it’s an email address.
He wanted to take a Thello train to Venice. How did he end up on a bus?
What if your train ride in a comfy sleeper compartment turns into an unpleasant bus ride? That’s what happened to David Papay on a recent overnight journey from Paris to Venice on Thello, a European rail company.
Now Papay is asking for help retrieving the refund he was promised from a Thello employee.
Why won’t Sears replace my broken refrigerator?
If your refrigerator stops working after just two years, shouldn’t the manufacturer replace it? That’s the question for today. Brent Wilkinson just wants Sears to replace his broken refrigerator. Can we help?
Can TaxRise really help itself to $900 of my money?
TaxRise took $900 of Jack Maxfield’s money after he uses the service to try to file a tax return. Worse, he disputed the charges on his debit card — and loses. So is that the end of the story?
We’re back in the USA after our coronavirus lockdown. This is what happened to us
My family got stuck in France in a coronavirus lockdown. It happened in slow motion. First, the museums closed. Then, about two weeks later, they shuttered the cafés and restaurants. And a week after that, authorities blocked access to the beach.
