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?
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?
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.”
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?
Victoria Evans thinks she made a smart purchase when she buys a Frigidaire refrigerator. But within 7 months, her appliance starts flashing temperature warnings and spoiling her food. Multiple repair visits under warranty fail to fix the recurring problem, and technicians twice declare the unit unrepairable. Yet Frigidaire is giving her the cold shoulder.
David Tashji purchased a Travelpro rollaboard in 1998, which came with a lifetime warranty. Now the retractable handle has broken, but Travelpro claims it can’t repair it because replacement parts are no longer available. Is he out of luck?
Patrick Bruce books flights through Orbitz with “free” checked bags — only to learn the airline’s ticket includes no such perk. Who’s responsible for his $540 baggage fee shock?
When Joanne Smikle made a $1,000 payment on her Chase credit card bill, she assumed the transaction had gone through. The money left her Tower Federal Credit Union account. Chase credited the payment. Everything looked normal.
Greg Rothman thought his Holland America cruise was locked in: a seven-day Caribbean sailing in a veranda stateroom for $650, courtesy of an MGM casino certificate. He pays in full and then books non-refundable airline tickets from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale. Hours later, a second invoice arrives — this one demanding another $800 or threatening to bump him down to a windowless interior cabin.
When John Sand landed in Munich and picked up his rental car from Enterprise, he was ready for a fun-filled European road trip. Instead, he took an unexpected detour that left him without wheels for 36 hours and forced him to navigate a Kafkaesque customer service maze.
