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Fiascos and Fixes
The Consumer Rescue advocacy team resolves problems between consumers and the businesses that they patronize. We do this via direct mediation with companies — always free of charge.
These articles are the highlighted tales of our efforts to defend, protect, and educate consumers. Michelle Couch-Friedman is a consumer advocate, reporter and ombudsman columnist. She is also the founder of Consumer Rescue.
When United Airlines canceled part of Brian Ostenso’s flight to Australia, he responded with a request for a refund. But then, just as swiftly, the airline sent him a $6,824 future flight credit for the missed trip instead.
But Ostenso didn’t want a future flight credit. He wanted a refund for the entire flight that United Airlines canceled.
So what went wrong?
Would Carnival Cruise Line really ban a nine-year-old child from cruising for the rest of his life? The answer for one family is “absolutely.” Does the punishment fit the crime? You decide.
How could American Airlines consider a passenger a no show for a flight it canceled? The answer to that question is, of course, it can’t. Yet that seems to be precisely what happened to Sherri Gleason – and at the worst possible time for the grandmother-to-be.
Imagine needing a medical procedure only to find that your Medicare Advantage plan is denying coverage. Unfortunately, that’s not an imaginary scenario. In fact, it’s very real and happens millions of times a year for seniors in Medicare Advantage plans. The problem of unfair coverage denials is finally getting more national attention. But it’s too late for those who were wrongly denied care.
College student Shlome Goldenberg made a shockingly expensive but not at all uncommon, Zelle mistake recently. While attempting to repay a loan to a friend, he sent $2,500 to a complete stranger by accident. Worse, when he asked Chase Bank to refund the payment, he learned for the first time that voluntary Zelle transactions aren’t reversible.
Simon Khin is a victim of a scam aimed at international travelers. He’s sure of it. While touring a Balinese coffee plantation, he bought two small tins of fresh beans for $48. He didn’t think much about that purchase until several weeks later. That’s when his Capital One statement revealed that the merchant had actually charged his credit card $4,800.
But the worst was yet to come.
While jewelry shopping aboard Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas, cruise passenger Robin White purchased a beautiful pair of earrings. The gems were to be shipped directly to her home in time for her wedding day, which was just weeks away.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and White walked down the aisle in an alternative pair of earrings. So what happened to the $1,600 baubles that she bought?
Zelle users, beware: Scammers are aiming their sights right at you. It’s true – the money transfer service has quickly become the preferred method of thieves everywhere looking for instant cash. In fact, I receive daily pleas for help from bewildered victims of these Zelle scams.
Here are seven of the latest Zelle scams that you should know about in 2024.
What if you had to make a healthcare decision that could affect the rest of your life?
That’s not a hypothetical question if you’re 65 and about to go on Medicare. Every day another 10,000 Americans turn 65 and need to make critical decisions regarding how they structure their healthcare going forward.
But Medicare comes with complicated rules that can be confusing and can lead to problems if ignored or misunderstood. It’s important that you make informed choices.
Read on as I take you through a simplified Medicare 101.
Stepping up to the Swiss Air check-in counter at Newark International, Zivia Berkowitz didn’t expect any problems. She was excitedly on her way to join an expedition team to hike to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
At least, that was the plan. But that isn’t what happened. Swiss Air denied boarding to Berkowitz – she says by mistake. So, instead of flying to Africa, she spent the night in an airport hotel scrambling to find last-minute replacement flights.
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