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.
Carla Stewart believes she’s flying from Madrid to Cancun on Air Europa, and that her luggage fee is 60 Euros per bag. She’s wrong on both counts, and has to spend 500 Euros to transport her luggage on another airline. Who is responsible?
Bayard Allmond is told his rental car won’t come with an extra driver fee for his wife, but when he gets his bill, he finds the surcharge, anyway. Is there any way to get his car rental company to make good on its promise?
Ground transfers are supposedly included in Robert Brown’s Viking River Cruise. But he supposes wrong, and now he’s being asked to pay extra for them. Is that right?
Lenore Davies books one night at an Econo Lodge by phone. She’s charged for two. Now, neither her hotel nor her credit card will help her. Is she out of luck?
David Willard is offered help with making a booking at a Disney Vacation Club — a promise Disney reneges on after his salesman goes on medical leave. Is there any way to get Mickey to keep his word?
Jeffrey Grim can’t make a connection in Brussels because of an error made by his online travel agency. In order to fix the problem, he racks up $378 in phone bills. Should the company cover his expenses?
Carri Schoeller is charged an extra $500 after she returns her rental car to Enterprise. The reason? There’s a small scratch on the bumper. Didn’t they say little scratches don’t count? Yeah, but talk is cheap.
After Ursula Maul’s husband passes away suddenly, she tries to get a refund for his nonrefundable ticket. But neither her online agency, nor her airline, will help her. Does she have any other options?
Mel Jung’s Amtrak tickets are canceled accidentally, and he’s forced to pay a $236 for a new ticket. No one is taking the responsibility for the error. Is he stuck with the higher fare?
Ted Van Anne’s wife isn’t an experienced traveler, but she knows she declined the optional car rental insurance. So why is Dollar charging her an extra $20 a day for her car? And can the charge be reversed?
