The Travel Troubleshooter is a weekly consumer column that solves travel problems. Missing cruise refunds, lousy airline service, car rental surcharges — it’s all fair game for this feature. Each story presents a problem and fixes it in a quick Q&A format.
American Queen Voyages, which is teetering on the brink of insolvency, is holding up Terrance Hardy’s refund. The reason? It can’t figure out how much a Delta SkyMile is worth.
Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed — and will the charge stick?
After Elaine Simmons’ flight reservation is lost, she pays an extra $1,796 to get to her NCL cruise. Why won’t the cruise line help her recover the money?
When Leah Page picks up her rental car from Thrifty, it charges her a $250 upgrade fee. Can it do that without her permission? And how can she get a refund?
Brent Feinberg and his wife cancel their cruise after a medical emergency. Why won’t their credit card cover their $19,148 loss?
Nancy Epstein gets a repair bill for $3,000 after renting a Turo. But what’s it for? And does she have to pay?
Dollar doesn’t have the rental car Beth Bonness reserved in Atlanta, but that’s not stopping it from charging her $82. Can it do that? And how does she get a refund?
Evonne Hopkins books a room at a bed & breakfast that doesn’t have a bathroom. Can she get her money back?
Krishnamurthy Viswanathan’s hotel room in London is smaller than he expects and has poor ventilation. Can he get his money back?
Steve Feiertag’s flights from Palm Beach to Reykjavik are messed up, but Chase Ultimate Rewards won’t help him fix them. Is he about to lose $5,000?
