Michelle Couch-Friedman

Consumer reporter and ombudsman

Michelle Couch-Friedman is the founder and CEO of Consumer Rescue. She is a consumer advocate, ombudsman columnist, mediator, writer, and licensed psychotherapist. Michelle is a public speaker, and her expert guidance has been cited in 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. :) Michelle is also the travel ombudsman columnist for The Points Guy, a contributing author at Fodor's Travel and is the former 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. She is also a member of the Society of American Travel Writers. Today, she continues to spend as much time as possible fiercely defending consumers and traveling the world with her family. Contact her at Michelle Couch-Friedman or on Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook.

Consumer Alert: Here are the latest eBay gift card scams to avoid.

eBay gift card scams are running wild. This is how to avoid them

May 29, 2024September 6, 2022

Here come the eBay gift card scammers — and just in time to steal your cash before the holidays. But the Consumer Rescue team is here too, warning you about these swindlers so you can avoid their trap.

We’ve received many pleas for help from distraught victims of various eBay gift card scams during the past year. They’ve lost hundreds and even thousands of dollars to this scheme. These consumers all want the same thing: to retrieve their stolen money from the anonymous predators who tricked them.

But is there any possible way to do that?

After reading this story, you might agree that we've found the worst travel agent ever -- one that doesn't even know the difference between the west and east coast of Mexico.

Is this the worst travel agent ever?

July 25, 2024September 5, 2022

Christopher Anderson believes he has discovered the worst travel agent ever — one who lacks even basic geography skills.

Just how bad were those skills? Well, Christopher and his wife asked this travel “professional” to plan a vacation to Cabo San Lucas. But she booked them a trip to Cancun, on the opposite side of Mexico. Then to make matters worse, this geographically challenged agent expected the couple to pay for her mistake.

What is going on here, and can our advocacy team help?

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?

March 25, 2024September 5, 2022

If you book a vacation rental and it has mice, are you responsible for catching and disposing of the rodents? And if so, does the Airbnb host owe you a refund or other compensation for your troubles?

That’s what Gabriella Costanza wants to know after her recent unpleasant experience. She and her significant other had planned to celebrate the holidays in a clean, cozy Airbnb property. Unfortunately, soon after the couple arrived, it became clear they weren’t alone in the vacation rental. And although Airbnb allows shared-space rentals, these additional “residents” were of the most unwelcome and unapproved kind – mice.

But maybe even worse than the reality that mice were living at this Airbnb was the host’s response. This vacation rental owner expected Gabby to put down glue traps and spend her holiday dealing with the inevitable outcome, which the young traveler did.

Now Gabby is asking Airbnb for a refund for this vacation rental experience. But will the fact that the couple completed their entire stay make that an impossible outcome?

Azamara made a pricing mistake with this traveler's cruise-- a big one. Does it have to honor it? This passenger thinks so.

If a cruise line makes a big pricing mistake, should you book it?

January 6, 2024September 4, 2022

If a cruise line makes a huge pricing mistake, is it required to honor it?

Patrick Gendron thinks so. He recently found an incredible deal for a suite on a 10-night cruise through the Mediterranean on Azamara’s Pursuit. So he quickly booked and paid for not one, but two suites. But the cruise line soon slammed him back into reality — the deal was a $30,000 pricing mistake. And the erroneous rate would not be honored for this cruise.

Now Patrick wants to know if we can force Azamara to give him the two suites for what he paid. But is his request reasonable?

This case brings up the controversial topic of “fat-finger fares” or “gotcha rates.” Those are too-good-to-be-true offers erroneously displayed on companies’ websites. Some consumers believe they should be entitled to these bargains regardless of the value of the pricing mistake.

But no matter which side of this debate you support, you’ll likely have an opinion about Patrick’s experience.

This passenger made a big mistake bidding on a business class upgrade.

This business class upgrade was a big mistake. I want a refund!

May 31, 2023September 4, 2022

What if you snagged an international business class upgrade for just $400, but later found out that figure was a mistake? Steven Schmidt says that’s exactly what happened to him and his wife. She won a bid for a comfy business class upgrade on a flight from Chicago to Vienna. But once they returned from their trip, the couple suffered a severe case of sticker shock. The actual cost of the upgrade: $3,400.

Steven says the mistake over the cost of the business class upgrade originated with the airline. And he wants our advocacy team to join him in a crusade to obtain a refund. But is that something we can do?

This Airbnb guest just had the worst experience ever. This shared space rental was a true nightmare.

Is this the worst Airbnb experience ever?!

April 12, 2024September 3, 2022

Lee Smith believes she just had the worst Airbnb experience ever. And after you hear — and see — what she (and her cat) endured during the past month, I think you might agree.

Her tale is a harsh reminder of the risky nature of shared-space rentals. Smith assumed the Airbnb host had properly vetted the man with whom she would be sharing an apartment. Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case.

This is why you should never say you've been nearly killed in an inflight accident when you haven't.

Never claim to be nearly killed by an inflight injury if you weren’t. This is why

November 27, 2023September 3, 2022

Mai Le says that an in-flight injury on Hawaiian Airlines nearly put an end to her life. Now she’s asking our advocacy team to force the airline to pay her medical bills and other compensation. But the evidence of her near-fatal accident might just be the end of this complaint.

Mai’s tale is an example of what happens when a traveler overshoots the mark with a complaint. We know that often companies will go out of their way to respond to a customer’s valid problem. But the opposite is also true. When a passenger wildly exaggerates the details of an experience, their grievance might just get hit with the delete button.

This is everything you need to know about getting a refund from a bankrupt cruise line.

How to get a refund from a bankrupt cruise line

March 22, 2024September 2, 2022

If a cruise line goes bankrupt while holding a customer’s cash, does the money just go down with the ship?

This traveler made a passport mistake that ended with her in "jail." Here's how you can avoid this fait.

Welcome to Switzerland. Now you are going to jail!

February 5, 2024September 1, 2022

Elena Pavlova just made the worst travel mistake of her life. Before setting off for her dream vacation to Europe, she neglected to check the entry requirements for Switzerland. Then she managed to board her Swiss Air International flight (SWISS) to Zurich with an invalid passport for her itinerary to the Schengen area. Not surprisingly, her vacation plans came to a screeching halt when she landed. She was denied entry and border police took her into custody.

Now Pavlova is asking why SWISS allowed her to board the plane with an invalid passport in the first place. And she’s demanding that the airline share the $3,000 cost of this travel mistake.

It’s critical to know and possess the required entry documents for your intended destination. If you don’t, you too may take an unpleasant international round-trip odyssey — no vacation and no refund included.

It is not possible to use a library card to fly internationally. So why did this passenger think she could?

No, it is not possible to fly internationally with a library card!

January 25, 2024August 31, 2022

Elgy Gillespie was on her way to the airport for a trip to Ireland when she lost her passport. No problem, she thought. Having recently read an article that suggested she could fly with just a library card, she was confident that she could talk her way onboard her international flight.

But when a Norwegian Air Shuttle agent unequivocally denied her boarding without a passport, she was stunned by his lack of understanding.

Now she wants our advocacy team to intervene.

Elgy’s story serves as a warning not to believe everything you read online. It also is a reminder of the importance of ensuring that all of your required travel documents are firmly in hand before stepping up to the airport check-in counter.

Michelle Couch-Friedman

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