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FEE

Just when you think you've seen every car rental fee under the sun, you hear from someone like Jason Hunter. 

Help! Budget charged me $1,166 for a “loss of license plate” — is that legal?

April 26, 2025March 31, 2025 by Christopher Elliott

Just when you think you’ve seen every car rental fee under the sun, you hear from someone like Jason Hunter. 

Categories Advocacy
After Budget finds animal hairs in Bernard Sia's rental car, it charges him a $125 car rental cleaning fee. But Sia doesn't have a pet -- and that's not his only problem.

Budget car rental cleaning fee problem: Hey, that’s not my vehicle!

May 4, 2024May 1, 2024 by Christopher Elliott

After Budget finds animal hairs in Bernard Sia’s rental car, it charges him a $125 car rental cleaning fee. But Sia doesn’t have a pet — and that’s not his only problem.

Categories The Travel Troubleshooter
If you've ever seen the words "for your convenience" on a hotel bill, you probably suspect it's not really for your convenience.

Hotel fee warning: What “for your convenience” really means

April 9, 2024July 28, 2023 by Christopher Elliott

If you’ve ever seen the words “for your convenience” on a hotel bill, you probably suspect it’s not really for your convenience. It’s for their convenience.

Categories On Travel
Look carefully at your lease agreement. Did you agree to a disposition fee?

Hey, what’s this disposition fee from Hyundai?

January 31, 2024February 12, 2018 by Christopher Elliott

When Kim DeBiase ends her lease for a Hyundai Sonata, the dealership demands a $400 payment for a disposition fee. And that puts her in a bad disposition. Does she really have to fork over the money?

Categories Problem Solved
application, form, paper, paperwork, contract, glasses, pen

The surprise $70 “application” fee wasn’t so visionary

February 1, 2024July 13, 2017 by Christopher Elliott

When Otis Millbrook Jr. applies for a new, low-income home in California, his application is turned down. But not before the company extracts a $70 “application” fee. Is that right?

Categories Problem Solved
She didn't get a hotel refund from Expedia.

Expedia promised me a full refund of my hotel fee. Then it went back on its word

February 2, 2024November 1, 2016 by Christopher Elliott

Expedia promised it wouldn’t charge Katy McLaughlin for her canceled hotel reservation. So why didn’t it keep its word?

Categories The Travel Troubleshooter
What's this reward offer of "Dermallo" from the Delta.com site? Pat Morin wants to know. So will you. monthly "membership" fee.

Offered a reward but ended up with a monthly “membership” fee

August 14, 2023October 21, 2016 by Christopher Elliott

What’s this offer of “Dermallo” from the Delta.com site? Pat Morin wants to know. So will you.

Categories Problem Solved
She didn't smoke in her room. So why did her hotel charge her?

There’s no smoke in my hotel room, so what’s this $250 charge?

February 6, 2024October 21, 2016 by Christopher Elliott

When Samantha Armstrong sees a $250 charge on her hotel bill, she’s told it’s because she smoked in her room. Just one small problem: Armstrong doesn’t smoke.

Categories The Travel Troubleshooter

Another $72 in taxes for my hotel? But I thought we already paid!

February 6, 2024October 16, 2016 by Christopher Elliott

When it comes to price transparency, airlines get almost all the attention — and rightfully so. But Joseph Jacobazzi wants us to devote a little bandwidth to hotels today. Bonus: His case doesn’t involve mandatory resort fees.

Categories Case Dismissed
Santosh Reddy gets hit with an extra charge after early terminating of his AT&T account. Can they do that?

Hit with an early termination fee from AT&T — and then some

December 15, 2023December 25, 2015 by Christopher Elliott

Santosh Reddy gets hit with an extra charge after terminating his AT&T account. Can they do that?

Categories Problem Solved
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