The Travel Troubleshooter
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.
Double-billed by Avis for a van returned after hours
When Robert Cipriani returns his Avis minivan, he expects to pay $1,770. Instead, Avis charges him twice. What happened — and how can he get his money back?
Budget billed me a $450 cleaning fee for dog hair. I don’t have a dog.
When Budget charges Russ DeVries $450 for a pet cleaning fee on his rental, he has a problem paying: He doesn’t have a dog. Can he get this charge removed?
Eek! There’s a mouse in my Airbnb. Can I get a refund?
When Kristal Bird finds a mouse in her Airbnb, she asks the host for a refund. But is that allowed?
Hertz demands an additional $658 one year after rental. Can it do that?
Almost a year after another driver rear-ends his Hertz rental, Michael Edgar receives a demand for an additional $658. How can he get the company to drop the bill?
