American Airlines’ disappearing act: how a confirmed first-class seat vanished
When is a first-class ticket not a first-class ticket? When you’re Paul Nelson and you’re flying on American Airlines.
CONSUMER ADVOCACY
Let’s sink these antiquated shipping laws for good
After Richard Karwic left his cruise early to check on his elderly mother-in-law, he was shocked to receive a $300 fine from his cruise line.
UPS kept my $400 after damaging my computer — can it do that?
Vaughn Warriner’s Apple computer gets damaged in transit when he sends it his granddaughter. Now UPS is refusing his $400 claim. Can it do that?
Help! I paid Expedia $1,459 for an airline ticket that doesn’t exist
Mansour Abado books a ticket for his father from Beirut to Austin, Texas, through Expedia. But there’s a problem: The flight doesn’t exist. Why can’t he get a refund for the bogus ticket?
Her hotel canceled by “mistake,” but Booking.com billed her anyway. Now what?
Thulisile Hadebe thought she’d booked a thrilling getaway on Booking.com to a game lodge in South Africa, which promised an “amazing” experience in its chalets and opportunities to see giraffes, wildebeest and zebras.
My milk frother quit just after the warranty expired. What are my rights?
When Andrew Fogel’s milk frother sputters to a stop right after the warranty ends, he gets steamed. Fogel rarely used his Paris Rhône appliance before it died. And now the manufacturer wants to offer him only a discount towards a new machine. Can it do that?
Avis charged me $250 for smoking weed in my rental car. But I don’t even smoke!
Gary Mullen-Schultz thought he was getting a reliable rental when he picked up a vehicle from Avis in Sacramento. Instead, he got something else — a vehicle that reeked of marijuana. Now Avis wants him to pay $250 to get rid of the smell. Can it do that?
Hyatt ignored these 80-year-olds’ pleas — then hit them with a $53,678 bill
Beverly and Larry Burmeier learned a painful lesson about the timeshare industry recently: Sometimes no doesn’t mean no. Sometimes it means, “Yes, I’ll sign whatever contract you put in front of me.”
Are airline tickets too expensive?
If you haven’t looked at airfares lately, you might want to sit down before you read this. The numbers on the screen aren’t a glitch. They’re the shocking new reality of a Middle East conflict.
StubHub said it sent my UFC tickets — but I never received them
Roland Nazariyan buys three sets of tickets to a UFC fight through StubHub. But the real battle comes after the event — with StubHub’s customer service department. Two sets of tickets never showed up and were eventually refunded. But the third order, worth $4,605, turned into a heavyweight bout. Who will come out on top?