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.
Nancy Westcott’s rental through Enterprise does not go well. She’s handed the keys to a junky car and then she’s accused of damaging it when she returns it. Now the company wants $775 from her. What can she do?
When Marko Grdesic tries to make a change to his itinerary, a Travelocity representative tells him it will cost another $300. It doesn’t. The online agency bills him $4,000, and despite promises to refund the money, it won’t. What now?
How long is too long to wait for a refund from your airline? If you said one year, then maybe you know Dani Lind, who spent more than 12 months waiting for Air One to refund $670. How could that have been prevented?
When Nula Fales’ granddaughters are charged for an extra room, she appeals to her online travel agent for help. But it won’t return her money, even though she didn’t mean to reserve two rooms. Is she out of luck?
Brian Perez-Daple rents a car in Mexico through Hotwire. But his car rental company insists he needs to buy extra insurance, which he doesn’t. Is there any way to get his money back?
When a Hampton Inn hotel charges Alia Naffouj twice for the same room, there are two surprise overdraft fees on Naffouj’s credit card. Hampton is dragging its feet on a refund. Is there anything Naffouj can do to get the money back?
Patrick Kerr books a hotel in Paris for the unbelievable rate of 10 euros a night. Turns out it’s a mistake – the rate is off by a decimal point. His online agency promises a refund, but sends him a voucher, instead. What should Kerr do?
When an Enterprise employee points to a scratch on the roof of Sandy Lamke’s rental car, she’s assured the company won’t charge her for the damage. But it does. Now, despite her efforts to have the bill withdrawn, Enterprise insists she pay up. Should she?
Unbeknownst to Janice Sinclair, her sister in Spain is paying British Airways a change fee for the family’s airline tickets at the exact same time she is. It’s a double-billing — sort of. British Airways isn’t offering a refund. But should it?
When I think of great customer service, I remember Alamo.
