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.
David Walters’ wife passes away before they can fly from Dallas to Midland, Texas. But when he asks his online travel agency for a refund, it refuses, saying the airline will only offer a credit. But dead passengers can’t use a flight credit — or can they?
Dan Lachapelle is promised a prompt refund for his canceled Antigua vacation. But it’s been weeks, and there’s no sign of the money. Now his online agency isn’t responding to his queries. Will he ever see the money again?
Esther Mikula thought she booked an all-inclusive hotel in Aruba. But when she checks in, she discovers that the rate doesn’t include food, beverages and activities, as promised. Now she has to pay extra. Is she owed a refund?
When JJ Mortensen tries to redeem her seven-night hotel award at Marriott, she’s given some bad news: The certificate has been downgraded to a 25,000-mile credit or a five-day certificate. That doesn’t seem fair to her, but Marriott won’t respond to her appeals. What now?
John Frow pays for his airline tickets with $601 in credit. But then he has a bike accident and cancels his trip. When he makes an insurance claim, Access America turns him down, believing he didn’t suffer any financial loss. Now what?
When Cheryl Ellis’ mother dies unexpectedly before her vacation, she’s told by her insurance company to cancel her trip and that the claim will be taken care of. But it isn’t — instead, it’s denied because of a pre-existing condition. But her mother died of natural causes. What now?
When Stacey Koprince rents a car with her partner in Hilton Head, SC, there’s an additional driver fee of $5 a day – a fee Enterprise had promised not to charge. What now?
Peggy Kite’s flights from Washington to Bozeman, Mont., are rescheduled by her airline, leaving her with an abbreviated connection time — and an expanded bill. Specifically, there’s an extra charge of $1,534. How does she get that removed?
When the price of Steven Estrella’s Cancun vacation takes a nosedive after he’s already paid for it, he tries to make a claim under his online travel agency’s price guarantee. But for some reason, the company never processes his claim. What’s going on? And will he ever see a refund?
The hotel Valerie Acosta booked through Hotwire.com isn’t what she expected. The site claims it’s a four-star resort, but the reviews say otherwise. How about a refund?
