A travel insurance mistake in Italy almost cost a family $16,000 — until they asked Consumer Rescue for help.

A “little” travel insurance mistake cost this family $19K — or will it?

Michelle Couch-Friedman

Michelle Couch-Friedman

Chief Fiasco Fixer / Consumer reporter

A common travel insurance mistake caused a reader’s entire $19,000 claim to be rejected. Here’s what Consumer Rescue did to help and what you need to know to avoid making the same error.

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11 ways Michelle Couch-Friedman and Consumer Rescue know that cruise passengers get denied board — straight from her case files.

11 ways cruise passengers get denied boarding (straight from my case files)

A soccer fan bought an expensive ticket to the World Cup Final on StubHub, but never received it.

This World Cup fan paid $10,767 for a ghost ticket. Here’s how we brought it to life

Hilton increased the price of a family's hotel room six months after they prepaid for the reservation.

Hilton increased the price of our hotel room by $1,800. Is this legal?

That Punchbowl invitation might look festive, but there's no party. It's a phishing scam.

Surprise! Here’s your Punchbowl invitation — to a scam

These cruise ship passengers were denied boarding after Costco Travel gave them incorrect visa information.

Costco Travel told us we didn’t need visas. That mistake cost us $13,000 and our dream cruise

There's a new Zelle scam lurking on the streets of Philadelphia.

How my own daughter’s $1 donation turned into a $2,000 Zelle scam

Hertz says the customer destroyed his rental car by pumping it with the wrong gas in Portugal.

Wrong gas, wrong guy: Why is Hertz demanding $9,000 for rental car repairs?

A family says extenuating circumstances forced them to cancel their $3,800 Vrbo in Maui. This investigation by Consumer Rescue involves a hunt for their refund.

Extenuating circumstances forced my family to cancel our Vrbo. So where’s our $3,497 refund?

Norwegian Breakaway took these passengers to Puerto Plata where the mom unexpectedly purchased a $3,100 facial wand and ruined the rest of the cruise.

Instant regret: Cruise passenger buys $3,100 “magic device” during a port stop

Visa rules are causing travelers to be denied boarding cruises that stop in Brazil.

Shock at the dock: Brazil visa rule leaves nearly 100 cruise passengers denied boarding

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Banned from cruising, Cruise line will ban passengers, Cruise ship passengers getting banned.

These cruise ship passengers got banned forever. Could it happen to you?

Fake Verizon customer service calls, phone scammers pretending to be Verizon customer service, protect yourself and know the signs of a scammer

Verizon customers beware of phone scammers pretending to be helpful agents

Reaching scam call center easier than ever, scam call centers rising

Scam call centers are rising on the Internet. Here’s how to avoid them

Fake rental car damage charges are increasing, Investigating damage charges on a rental vehicle.

Hit with fake rental car damage charges? Here’s how to make them go away

Zelle scams often start with a phone call, This is an iphone on a tablet.

Zelle scams are on the rise. Could you fall for this one?

If American Airlines changes your flight schedule, here's how to get a refund. This article explains the flight schedule change policy of American Airlines.

If American Airlines changes your schedule, here’s how to get a refund

If you don't want to tip on your cruise, you need to let the cruise line know before you leave the ship. This cruise ship passenger thinks auto-tips are unfair.

This is what happens if you don’t want to tip on your cruise

Could a hotel charge you a smoking fee even if you don't smoke? This hotel seems to think so.

How to get a surprise hotel smoking fee reversed? Like this

If you find mice in your next vacation rental, should you get a refund? This Airbnb guest believes so.

My vacation rental has mice! Shouldn’t Airbnb refund me?

7 Simple ways to get excellent customer service and fix your consumer problem.

7 simple ways to fix any consumer problem

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