Category: Problem Solved

What if you were charged giant fees for Uber rides you never took? That’s what TJ Cain says happened to her recently. Now she hopes the Elliott Advocacy team can convince Uber that she didn’t take these expensive, 1 a.m. Uber rides — and she wants a full refund. 

Question

Uber charged me for two rides from Katy, Texas, to Houston that I didn’t take. The charges were both for $87 with a $60 tip, for a total of $294. I immediately contacted both Uber and my credit card company.

Uber only credited one charge of $87 and claimed I made that reservation from my phone. So I’m responsible for $207. Uber says a fraud specialist reviewed my case.

I haven’t been to Katy. I’m certainly not going on any joyrides to Houston at 1:29 a.m. and 3:16 a.m., which is when Uber shows these rides were taken.

Joshua Rome used a $500 Sears gift card to purchase a dishwasher — that he then canceled after it never showed up. He expected a full cash refund. But the company told him no, it’s not possible to get a refund of a Sears gift card.

Now Rome wants to know if we can help convert his card to cash.

Is that possible?

Can Tickets-Center refuse Lori Glazer’s refund request for her ticket to the canceled Schitt’s Creek reunion tour? The ticket reseller says it can and that doesn’t sound right to the Elliott Advocacy team. 

Question

In March 2020, I bought two tickets to the Schitt’s Creek reunion tour from Tickets-Center. The event was postponed, and I heard nothing until today when they said they were giving us a credit of 110 percent. That’s not acceptable.

The Tickets-Center site has a “100 percent guarantee,” and I think they should refund my money. There are no events I would like to go to right now.

I love your column and read it every week. I am hoping you can help me get my $359 back. — Lori Glazer, Newburyport, Mass.

Todd Brown just wanted a king size mattress and frame delivered to his home in a reasonable period of time. Unfortunately, his experience with Amerisleep has been a disaster from the start and continues to get more frustrating by the day. Now he just wants Amerisleep to let him return the entire order for a refund. So why is the company ignoring his requests?

Question

I ordered a king mattress and frame and paid $3,400 almost three months ago from Amerisleep. After multiple delays from the stated two-week delivery, I received the mattress and one twin frame about a month later. They then said another twin was on the way to “create” a king. I never received the second twin. They then offered to upgrade to their premium frame a few weeks later. I accepted the offer.

After multiple assurances that the frames were on their way, they were never shipped. FedEx picked up the single twin, then dropped it back off. I don’t have a frame that fits the bed.

Ticketmaster informed Elena Constantinescu that the opera she planned to see was canceled and promised to give her money back last February. But she says the refund never showed up. Can we help?

Question

In February 2020, I used my Visa card to purchase three tickets to “Rigoletto” through Ticketmaster. I paid $315 for the tickets. But the event was postponed because of COVID.

In early 2021, the event was formally canceled. Ticketmaster promised to send my money back to my credit card. But I never received it. Can you help me get my refund? — Elena Constantinescu, Tamarac, Fla.

CBD gummies seem to be gaining popularity. Chrissie Klinkowski ordered some through a company called Green Ape. But when she received the product, she decided it was best to send it back. With the guarantee the company offers she should have quickly received a refund. So what went wrong?

Question

I have a problem with Green Ape CBD. I returned a package of CBD gummies unopened and inside the packaging material they sent it to me in. They have a sneaky policy of recurring deliveries and I returned them because I found out these have sugar added and I can’t eat sugar now.

When I returned the CBD gummies, a representative said they would issue a refund for the $75 but I would have to cover the shipping. I’ve sent about 20 emails to them asking for my refund and it goes nowhere. I spoke to someone yesterday who said, “Oh yes, we received your order and will process a refund for your CBD gummies. It will take five to six weeks to get a check and now there will be a $5 restocking fee.”

A Green Ape representative said it was unable to process a return to my credit card. I asked them to send me an email to confirm they would send me a refund and they said their email department would send me an email today as they didn’t work yesterday.

This all sounds shady to me. Why wouldn’t they refund it to begin with? Why is it taking two months to get my money back and now five to six weeks more?

Erica Goode made a return to Saks Fifth Avenue and expected a swift refund of $153. But the company says it never received the package and so she never received her refund. Can we help?

Question

I recently bought a pair of Ugg rain boots online from Saks Fifth Avenue. They did not fit. I got approval from Saks to return the boots the next day. The company sent me a prepaid label.

Three weeks later, the tracking information showed that the package was still at a facility in New Jersey. I called Saks customer service and suggested the package might be lost and requested a refund. A representative said Saks would open an investigation.

A week later, I got an email saying that they had not approved my request. I called customer service again and a rep confirmed that my return had reached the Saks warehouse but that the refund wasn’t approved. He didn’t know why so he said he would start a new investigation.

But the next time I called, a Saks representative told me that there was no way the first customer service rep could know whether my return had reached the warehouse. He promised to open a new investigation, too.

You would expect the freezer section of your brand new refrigerator to work perfectly, right?  That was Lorra Manuel’s expectation, too. But she says that wasn’t her experience when Sears delivered a malfunctioning Kenmore Elite to her home.  Now she wants Sears to take the broken appliance and replace it with a working refrigerator. But Sears and a subcontractor called Transformco are taking their time with her case. How can she persuade them to hurry up?

Question

I recently bought a Kenmore Elite refrigerator from Sears. I purchased the Master Protection Plan, which extends the coverage on the new appliance.

On delivery, the freezer didn’t work. I called Sears, and it sent a technician, who replaced a filter and recharged the unit. But that had no effect.

Sears and the company I’m now dealing with, Transformco, have been hard to reach and not very accommodating. It turns out my refrigerator has a recall issue, and I want Sears to replace it right away.

If  Sears won’t replace the refrigerator, I want a refund, and they can take this one away. Can you help me? — Lorra Manuel, Chicago

T.J. Maxx owes Ekaterina Quinones a refund. That isn’t in dispute. So why won’t the company just give its customer the money it owes her?

Question

I recently bought a clothing item online from T.J. Maxx and returned it in its original condition. I paid online through PayPal.

I contacted T.J. Maxx countless times to ask about a refund. First, a representative promised to refund me in “10 to 15 days.” Then the company said it would be another five days. Then another five days. Then it was “one to three days” to show up in my account. It did not happen.

We went back and forth for over a month. Almost two months after I returned the item, I filed a dispute with PayPal. I enclosed the evidence, including tracking showing the delivery and their signature, email logs, photos of the item in original packaging, and photos of the return shipment with the label attached).

PayPal sided with T.J. Maxx and rejected my refund request.

Why wouldn’t T.J. Maxx just refund me? This money is nothing for a huge retailer. And if they said they would, why wouldn’t they? Please, let me know if this is something you can help with. The help in my case would be figuring out why T.J. Maxx and PayPal have been treating me this way after the seller allegedly agreed to return the money. Thank you kindly. — Ekaterina Quinones, New York

 How is it possible that an annual Sam’s Club membership could expire after just three months? That’s what Steve Atlas wants to know. Can we help?

Question

I recently bought a Groupon for a one-year Sam’s Club membership. The offer was misleading. I thought it was for a year, but this Sam’s Club membership is set to expire in three months. I pressed cancel less than 15 minutes after I made the purchase, and I expected the refund to be applied to my credit card.

Unfortunately, the only refund I received was for $35 in Groupon Bucks. I don’t even know how to use them. I care less about the $35 than about being treated with honesty, integrity, and a willingness to find a solution that is fair to me. Can you help me get my money back for this annual Sam’s Club membership with the unusual expiration date? — Steve Atlas, Merritt Island, Fla.