Tag: DENIAL

The art of appeal: 5 tips that will turn a “no” into a “yes”

By Christopher Elliott |

Qconcept/Shutterstock
Qconcept/Shutterstock
Teresa Ferris is mad.

She recently paid her airline a $100 “unaccompanied minor” fee when her son flew alone from Oakland to Los Angeles. It didn’t buy her much, she says.

“After he landed, there was no record on the computer of him flying as an unaccompanied minor,” Ferris remembers. “I couldn’t get the paperwork needed to pass security to meet him at the gate in time.”

Her son walked off the plane on his own and found his way to the baggage claim area alone. Ferris complained, and the airline refunded her $100 fee and offered her a $100 voucher toward a future flight.

“I’m disappointed, because I would have to spend money to get any additional compensation,” she says. “Am I stuck with it?”
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Is this fair? They saved $74, but they lost $10,074

By Christopher Elliott |

They missed Italy and lost their vacation. / Photo by Ryan Wood - Flickr.
Question: I’m writing on behalf of two friends who booked a trip of a lifetime to Italy recently. They also purchased trip insurance through Access America. A couple days after paying for the insurance, they found out that the husband had to have hip replacement surgery. It was a situation that became chronic within a couple of days.
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Travel insurance didn’t cover her Princess cruise after husband’s death

By Christopher Elliott |  | Updated May 20th, 2012

No refund for you. / Photo by busy printing - Flickr
Question: I am hoping you can help me get a refund for a cruise that my husband and I booked last June with Princess Cruises. Jim, my husband, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the spring.

At the time we booked the cruise, his doctors at the hospital were very optimistic about his prognosis. He visited the hospital on a monthly basis for checkups. He had finished his chemo treatment at that time and was being monitored. He was given five years or more to live, and we were ecstatic.
Read more “Travel insurance didn’t cover her Princess cruise after husband’s death”

A “best” rate guarantee with the worst service

By Christopher Elliott |

Best Western guarantees you’ll find the lowest rate on its website. Unless your name is Russ Thomas.
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Case dismissed: “I feel that the insurance is useless”

By Christopher Elliott |

Marcel Meth’s wife and daughter had plans to visit his recently widowed sister-in-law in Minnesota. As a precaution, they bought a travel insurance policy through Access America.

But they bought the wrong policy.

“Four days before my wife and daughter were to leave for Minnesota, my sister-in-law called us and told us that her son was hospitalized and that he would be remaining in the hospital for a week or more,” he says. “In response to this, my wife needed to cancel the vacation. We obtained all the necessary documentation and filed it with the Access America. They immediately denied the claim, saying that the reason for hospitalization was not covered by the policy.”
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