Michelle Couch-Friedman

Consumer reporter and ombudsman columnist

Michelle Couch-Friedman is the founder and CEO of Consumer Rescue. She is a journalist, consumer advocate, travel writer, mediator, and former psychotherapist. Michelle is also the travel ombudsman columnist for The Points Guy, contributing author at Fodor's Travel and previously served as the executive director of the nonprofit Elliott Advocacy. During her six years managing that organization, she resolved thousands of cases for troubled travelers and other consumers. You can read hundreds of 5-star reviews Michelle earned during her service to the nonprofit on Great Nonprofits. 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) and the American Society of Journalists and Authors (asja). 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.

A U.S. passport on top of a white and brown world map

Need a new passport fast? This is how to do it

February 23, 2025April 7, 2023

Imagine your entire family is excitedly packing for your first international adventure since the beginning of the pandemic. You’ll soon be on your way to the Caribbean to relax and enjoy some sun and tropical drinks.

Or will you?

The traveler in this tale neglected to look at his passport’s expiration date until a few nights before his family’s trip. That’s when he was shocked to discover the document had expired – two years ago!

But no worries, he thought. Consumer Rescue could surely help him.

Why was this guy so confident about that, you might ask.

Well, that’s the embarrassing part of this story.

An advertisement for a long term rental on TripAdvisor turns out to be a scam.

I lost $1,721 in the “TripAdvisor” long term rental scam!

April 24, 2024April 4, 2023

TripAdvisor is not in the business of long term rentals, so if you come across one on the site, it’s surely a scam. But first-time apartment hunter, Haley Cline was unaware of this fact.

When a friendly “TripAdvisor-approved owner” emailed her about a spectacularly discounted year-long rental, no alarm bells went off. The scam only came into focus after Cline sent her initial $1,721 deposit via Bitcoin to the online predator.

This is a stovetop, boiling water in a pot

Why was I charged $500 for stealing a stove from my hotel room?

November 30, 2024March 31, 2023

Laura Fernandez just got charged $500 for stealing a stove from her Home2 Suites hotel room. However, this accusation has two big problems. First, she says there was no such appliance in the suite and second, she’s not a thief.

But the management of the franchised property didn’t let those little details get in the way. Two hours after Fernandez checked out of her hotel room, they swiped her debit card for an extra $500.

And she called the police to file a robbery charge against the hotel.

Now she’s hoping that Consumer Rescue can get her $500 returned and clear her name.

What’s going on here?

How to get banned from flying to Singapore or anywhere else.

Surprise! You just got banned from flying. Now what?

October 19, 2024March 29, 2023

We’ve all heard the stories of air passengers getting banned from flying for aggressive and outlandish behavior. But Marko K. found a more harmless and unique way to get banished permanently by an airline. After threatening a mid-air starvation strike to protest the cost of airline food, he landed directly on Scoot’s no-fly list.

Marko’s tale serves as a reminder to travelers. Passengers who make any threats of problematic behavior – even benign ones – can end up banned from flying. No airline crew wants to be faced with an inflight situation that could force an emergency landing. So it’s vital that passengers resolve all of their complaints and concerns on the ground, not 30,000 feet in the air.

A thief stealing from an unsuspecting internet user

This is how a Craigslist thief easily stole his Target gift card

July 12, 2023March 27, 2023

Tony Tucker has a sad tale to tell. A Craigslist thief stole his Target gift card. Now he’s empty-handed, and he wants to know if we can convince Target to return the lost $284.

Tucker’s story is a reminder that there are multiple ways that thieves can steal gift cards, and these scammers are often one step ahead of the average consumer in their methods.

However, in this case, it seems that Tucker did something so ill-advised that the outcome was almost certainly guaranteed.

My American Airlines flight was on time. How did I arrive on the wrong day?!

June 23, 2024March 21, 2023

Evan H. made an embarrassing self-ticketing mistake on American Airlines that caused him to miss a business meeting. His time zone confusion led him to take a flight to Hong Kong that landed as scheduled but one day too late.

So why is he contacting a consumer advocacy organization about this blunder?

He says American Airlines did not inform him of the significant time zone changes (and date changes) involved in flying from Dallas to Hong Kong. As a result, he wants compensation of an undetermined value from the airline.

Norwegian Cruise Line's newest ship: Prima, a cruise ship on the ocean, Prima, NCL, cruising, sailing.

Did Norwegian Cruise Line really cancel this family’s cruise over a $112 transfer?

January 3, 2025March 17, 2023

Norwegian Cruise Line recently gave Evangelia Koumanidis some awful news about her family’s much-anticipated sailing aboard its brand-new ship Prima. In a baffling email, NCL canceled their fully paid $4,657 cruise – citing nonpayment.

Confident that this cancellation was a simple clerical mistake that Norwegian could quickly correct, Koumanidis called the cruise line.

That’s when an NCL agent informed a stunned Koumanidis that there was no mistake. The cruise line had canceled the family’s trip 21 days before departure over an unpaid balance.

But there was worse news on the horizon. That same NCL agent coldly explained that when a passenger’s cruise is canceled over an unpaid balance, no refund is owed.

Now an incredulous Koumanidis is hoping Consumer Rescue can convince the cruise line to reconsider its decision. She’s certain that her cruise was paid in full and that NCL made a $5,000 mistake.

But what is really going on here? (March 24, 2023 Update)

Aer Lingus aircraft, green and white airplane.

What would you do if you were given this terrible airline seat?

May 26, 2023March 14, 2023

Have you ever wondered what the worst airline seat in the history of modern-day air travel looks like? Well, wonder no more! Aer Lingus passenger Matt Madrigal sat in it on a flight to Dublin.

Madrigal endured the dirty “seat” with no cushion and exposed metal for his entire transatlantic flight to Ireland from the United States.

Ouch!

His mom is furious with the airline’s treatment of her son. And she wants to know if our advocacy team can help.

This case underscores the importance of learning how to self-advocate in real-time. If you’re presented with a wholly unacceptable situation, it’s critical to voice those concerns at the time. If you don’t, you may endure unnecessary, unpleasant conditions that should have — and could have — been corrected immediately.

Editor’s Note: I first reported on this awful excuse for an airline seat in 2018. This article was last updated on March 14, 2023, as it moves to its permanent archive home here at Consumer Rescue.

I didn’t damage this rental car! Why should I pay $600 to fix it?

May 8, 2023March 10, 2023

Could a car rental company bill you for damage you didn’t cause — six weeks after you return the vehicle? As you’ll soon read, the disturbing answer is, “Yes, definitely.”

Hertz recently accused Akshay Ghalsasi of causing $600 in damage to a rental car he drove in January. But Akshay says he returned the vehicle in precisely the same state of disrepair as he received it.

He claims the rental car had a plethora of pre-existing damage, and he’s sure that the company knew about it. Akshay insists he has some powerful evidence that proves he isn’t responsible for the repair of the vehicle.

But unable to get anyone at the car rental company to review his photographic evidence, Akshay is looking for help. He hopes Consumer Rescue can deliver those photos to Hertz and get the car rental giant to drop the damage claim against him.

So what exactly do those photos of the damage on the rental car show?

Holland America kicked a couple off this ship. HAL, Cruise ship on the ocean.

Here’s how to get kicked off a cruise with no refund included

February 17, 2024March 7, 2023

Could you be accused of a crime, convicted and kicked off your cruise without any supporting evidence?

Halfway around the world, Elaine Chan discovered the answer to that question is yes. She and her husband were summarily ejected from their Holland America cruise in Helsinki. The captain accused Chan’s 65-year-old husband of assaulting a crew member. He then ordered the shocked couple to gather their belongings and get off his ship.

Chan wants to clear her husband’s name and get a refund from Holland America.

I promise this story will make you angry. It’s yet another troubling case of a company leveling a wild accusation at a customer and refusing to provide even a shred of evidence to support it. And it’s the consumer who pays the price — financially and emotionally.

Editor’s note: I first reported this couple’s cruise fiasco in July 2018, and it was subsequently covered by many media outlets. This article has been updated to include five things that will get you kicked off your cruise in 2023 as it moves to its new archive home here at Consumer Rescue.

Michelle Couch-Friedman

Subscribe For Latest Updates

Categories

Get Free Help

Legal