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 trained 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), 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.

Home Depot pre-lit Christmas tree replacement. Home Depot saves Christmas. Consumer Advocacy.

Will Home Depot save our family’s Christmas? This pre-lit tree is a dud

April 24, 2024December 21, 2022

Home Depot sold Marcea Cazel a beautiful 7-foot pre-lit Christmas tree with an extended warranty two years ago. The family loved the tree’s realistic look and soft twinkling lights and hoped to enjoy it for years to come. Unfortunately, the tree turned out to be a dud.

Last year, the family spent hours placing sentimental ornaments on their tree and reminiscing about each one. After the decorating was complete, the family gathered around for the big reveal. To their great disappointment, when Marcea flipped the switch, the bottom of the pre-lit tree remained completely dark. Since that time, Marcea has repeatedly asked Home Depot to honor the warranty and replace the tree. But she still has a pre-lit tree that only lights up on top.

This article explains exactly why you shouldn't try to sell a flight voucher from American Airlines.

You should not try to sell your American Airlines vouchers. This is why

August 18, 2025December 19, 2022

Attention all American Airlines passengers: If you have any flight vouchers stored away somewhere, don’t try to sell them. If you do, the airline might use high-tech security systems to catch you.

If you try it and American Airlines finds out, it will mark your vouchers stolen, leaving you with nothing.

This tale is a cautionary one for anyone considering skirting the terms of their American Airlines vouchers. There are many hacks out there advising travelers about how to make a profit on these bonuses. But much of that “guidance” overlooks an undeniable obstacle: almost every airline forbids this practice, and offering your vouchers for sale can cause them to become instantly worthless.

Airbnb host account hit by hackers. How did a hacker steal $34,250 from an Airbnb host ?

Hackers stole $34,250 from this Airbnb host. How did this happen?

March 15, 2023December 16, 2022

Airbnb host Nancy Isa recently got a terrible shock when she discovered hackers had broken into her payout account. Unfortunately, by the time she noticed something was wrong, Airbnb had been making regular payments to the scammers – for five months.

In total, the hackers stole $34,250 from Nancy’s Airbnb host account.

Then things went from bad to worse. With all that money on the line, Nancy contacted the listing giant in a panic. She was hoping for some calming reassurance that all was not lost. Instead, Airbnb immediately locked the host out of her own account and then went radio silent.

That’s when Nancy reached out to the Consumer Rescue team. She’s hoping we can convince Airbnb to give back her access to her host account – and her $34,250.

But after six months, is that possible?

Can United Airlines give a voucher instead of a refund? United Airlines canceled the flight so where is this passenger's cash?

Can United Airlines really give me a voucher instead of a refund?!

September 14, 2024December 15, 2022

United Airlines canceled many flights early in the pandemic and routinely shoved vouchers instead of refunds at its disgruntled passengers. This unorthodox (and illegal) practice continued until the Department of Transportation put the brakes on it in April 2020.

Earlier that month, United Airlines canceled Michelle Noppenberger’s flight and automatically issued her a voucher instead of a refund. Over two years later, she’s still fuming about the situation and wants the airline to give her money back. And she’s asking our advocacy team to help her get it.

But after all this time, will United Airlines take back this unwanted voucher and refund her $1,764?

Let’s find out.

Here's why filing a sky-high damaged luggage claim will never work. Liability limitations via the Montreal Convention put a cap on what the airline will owe you if it ruins your bags.

You should not file a $16,000 damaged luggage claim. This is why

July 28, 2025December 13, 2022

After a flight from Mexico, Lynda Lebrock discovered that unidentified “goo” had damaged all three pieces of her luggage. She filed a claim and hoped the airline would quickly pay — all $16,000 of it.

As you probably guessed, things didn’t work out the way she hoped. The sky-high damaged luggage claim was swiftly rejected almost in its entirety. Now she’s asking our advocacy team for help. But can we?

Orbitz mistake, Orbitz canceled flight mistake, Orbitz mistake refund.

Orbitz canceled my flight by mistake. Am I stuck with the $3,400 bill?

February 21, 2023December 11, 2022

What if Orbitz made a mistake and canceled your return flight home from vacation, leaving you stranded abroad?

Lufthansa lost all of this passenger's luggage. Will Blue Ribbon Bags pay her claim? Lufthansa lost luggage problems, missing baggage sent abroad, WorldTracer locates lost bags, Blue Ribbon Bags lost luggage protection.

Lufthansa lost all my luggage! Will Blue Ribbon Bags help me?

March 6, 2024December 9, 2022

Before her recent Lufthansa flight to Hamburg, Kate Griffin purchased a Platinum lost luggage protection plan from Blue Ribbon Bags. That plan provides a $1,500 lump payment if an insured bag goes missing and can’t be located within 96 hours.

So when she landed in Germany but her two suitcases didn’t, Kate figured she was covered. She quickly filed a lost luggage report with Lufthansa and Blue Ribbon Bags and then waited.

Those 96 hours came and went, but Lufthansa failed to locate her lost luggage. So why did Blue Ribbon reject her $3,000 claim for the two missing bags?

Hertz made a mistake that cost the car renter $750.

Hertz made a big mistake and charged me $750 extra! I need help

April 20, 2023December 7, 2022

Shannon Mikus says Hertz made a big mistake during her recent car rental. She says the company charged her nearly $750 extra, and she can prove it. So why won’t anyone at Hertz acknowledge this outrageous error and refund her cash?

Cruise passenger says Diamonds International convinced her to buy an expensive diamond she doesn't want. Traveler has extreme buyer's remorse.

Could you be convinced to buy a $19,800 diamond on your Caribbean cruise?

March 10, 2024December 5, 2022

Kathy Hoffath says she was convinced to buy a $16,000 diamond at Diamonds International during her Royal Caribbean cruise. Unhappy with that diamond, she exchanged it for a larger, more expensive one in Cozumel. But when she got home, Kathy realized she didn’t want that bigger, more expensive diamond either.

In fact, she didn’t want any diamond at all.

Travel agent mistake cancels NCL cruise, NCL refund missing

Our travel agent canceled our NCL cruise by mistake and then quit! Now what?

October 21, 2023December 2, 2022

What happens if your travel agent cancels your cruise by mistake and then quits his job? Unfortunately, NCL passenger Margaret Prendergast knows very well — you can quickly lose thousands of your hard-earned dollars.

Margaret had been patiently waiting for Norwegian Cruise Line to process a refund for a cruise it canceled. But because her agent erroneously canceled her cruise several days before the cruise line, it’s a $5,587 refund NCL never intended to send.

Michelle Couch-Friedman

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