Michelle Couch-Friedman

Chief Fiasco Fixer / Consumer reporter

Michelle Couch-Friedman is the Chief Fiasco Fixer and founder of Consumer Rescue. She is an award-winning journalist, consumer advocate, travel writer, mediator, and trained psychotherapist. Michelle is also the travel ombudsman columnist for The Points Guy, contributing author at Fodor's Travel and writes Tales from Consumer Advocacy Land, Consumer Rescue's newsletter read by thousands of subscribers each week. In 2026, NATJA awarded Michelle and Consumer Rescue the Silver Award in the Best Independent Travel Blog category in its annual competition celebrating excellence in journalism. Previously, she served as the executive director of the nonprofit Elliott Advocacy. During her six years managing all aspects of that organization from its inception until 2022, she resolved thousands of cases for troubled travelers and other consumers, earning hundreds of 5-star reviews on Great Nonprofits from those she helped. Michelle is a public speaker, and her expert guidance has been cited in the Washington Post, MarketWatch, Consumer Reports, Travel & Leisure, the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Popular Science, CNN, CNBC, Boston Globe, CBS News, National Geographic, Travel Weekly, Reader's Digest and more. You might even catch Michelle on TV reporting on a situation. :) Professionally, Michelle is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), and the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA). Today, she continues to spend as much time as possible fiercely defending consumers and traveling the world. Contact her at Michelle Couch-Friedman or on Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook. You can also check out Consumer Rescue's "What's your Problem?" Facebook group to get quick answers to your consumer questions.

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)

July 27, 2026July 26, 2026

There’s no doubt that getting denied boarding a cruise you’ve been eagerly anticipating for months — maybe even years — is traumatic.

My case files are filled with the distraught pleas for help from cruisers who’ve experienced it firsthand. In nearly all cases, the situation could have been avoided had the traveler done some basic research.

Here are the top ways cruise passengers get denied boarding and what you can do to avoid the same

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

July 20, 2026July 19, 2026

World Cup super fan Yoshua Quinones snagged a ticket to the final game. At least that’s what his $10,767 receipt from StubHub said. But three months later, with the big event quickly approaching, his FIFA account was still empty.

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?

July 19, 2026July 7, 2026

Two days before Lance Sathoff’s family was scheduled to leave for their Mexican vacation, they received a disturbing email. The message from Hilton informed the Sathoffs that the rate of their prepaid, all-inclusive hotel room had increased by $1,800. According to Hilton, they would need to pay that upcharge at check-in.

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

July 26, 2026June 28, 2026

If you receive a Punchbowl invitation for a friend’s event, don’t rush out to buy a new party dress just yet. That festive invite could just be part of a dangerous phishing 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

July 7, 2026June 16, 2026

A Canadian couple say Costco Travel told them that they did not need visas to take a cruise to Brazil. But when they arrived at the pier in Buenos Aires on embarkation day, Celebrity crew members said otherwise. As a result the stunned husband and wife were denied boarding the cruise and left stranded in Argentina.

These would-be passengers say the disastrous travel fiasco cost them over $13,000 — no cruise included.

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

July 4, 2026June 11, 2026

I’ve spent years writing about Zelle scams and how to recognize and avoid them. That’s what makes what happened to my daughter last week on the streets of Philadelphia so unusual.

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?

July 11, 2026May 31, 2026

If you accidentally put the wrong gas in a rental car, you’re most certainly headed for a giant repair bill. Mohit Govani recently discovered just how giant after Hertz accused him of destroying the engine of a Subaru Outback. The Vehicle Incident Report (VIR) says incorrect fuel caused an astounding $9,000 in damage to the rental car.

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?

June 21, 2026May 17, 2026

As devastating storms caused flooding and widespread damage in Maui last March, a Pennsylvania family canceled their beachfront Vrbo reservation. That was a logical decision they assumed would be covered by Vrbo’s extenuating circumstances policy. But the vacation rental’s third-party management company disagreed and refused to provide any 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

June 20, 2026May 3, 2026

Don’t let extreme buyer’s remorse ruin your next cruise. Impulsively spending money you don’t have on something you don’t want is a recipe for a vacation disaster. During a recent sailing, one Norwegian Cruise Line passenger learned this painful $3,100 lesson the hard way.

Here’s her cautionary tale and what cruise passengers should know about the unpleasant realities of overspending during port-stop shopping excursions.