SOLVING CONSUMER PROBLEMS

Our advocacy team has been solving consumer problems always free of charge since 2016. We have a proven success record of fixing disputes between customers and companies in a caring and logical way. We focus heavily on travel-related issues, but we also tackle non-travel-related problems. These articles tell the tales of those troubled consumers and how we helped, and how you can avoid a similar circumstance.

The Maldives, blue ocean, blue sky, tropical trees.

A roaming charge nightmare: waking up to a $2,452 cell phone bill!

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Vacationing in the Maldives was a dream come true for Marilyn and Terry Thomas. That is until they got hit with a $2,452 roaming charge nightmare from Spectrum, their cell phone service provider.

The couple says they were soundly asleep as Terry’s phone racked up this shocking roaming charge after the hotel’s internet went down. 

Now, as the due date for this giant bill is rapidly approaching, they’re asking Consumer Rescue for help. The couple finds it hard to believe an idle phone could accrue $2,452 in roaming charges over several hours. 

But Spectrum says that phone did incur those roaming charges, and it expects the Thomases to pay the bill.

Can we rescue these consumers from their roaming charge nightmare? Let’s find out.

Norwegian Cruise Line's Encore sailing through Alaska, mountains, ship, sunset, ocean

We upgraded our cabin to celebrate! Why did NCL cancel our $3,737 Alaskan cruise?

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Did Norwegian Cruise Line really cancel a couple’s Alaskan cruise after first confirming a cabin upgrade to celebrate their anniversary? The answer to that question is “Yes.” Here’s their terrible tale.

The pair was all set for the trip of a lifetime to celebrate this milestone anniversary.

But Norwegian Cruise Line soon had a truly awful surprise of its own for Al’s wife – and for him too.

Not only would the couple not be cruising to Alaska in an upgraded cabin, they wouldn’t be on the ship at all. According to Norwegian Cruise Line, it had canceled the Parents’ $3,737 fully-paid anniversary trip due to “nonpayment.” 

Now the distraught and confused couple is asking Consumer Rescue for help. They’re rejecting the outrageous $319 refund that Norwegian Cruise Line says is all it owes the Parents. The pair hope our advocacy team can convince NCL that it made a mistake when it canceled their cruise for nonpayment. 

And if we can do that, they expect NCL to reinstate their Alaskan cruise and upgraded cabin (and don’t forget that cake!).

Can we do it? Let’s find out.

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

Yes, you can still get a new passport fast. This is how

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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.

This is a stovetop, boiling water in a pot

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

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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?

A black rental car without damage.

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

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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?

A row of vacation rental homes on a beach illustrating an article about a missing security deposit refund.

My vacation rental host won’t refund my security deposit. Is this a scam?

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Can a vacation rental host refuse to refund your security deposit — no questions asked? I discovered the answer from one unreasonable VRBO host is, “Yes, I can.”

I have news for her: No, she can’t.

This story is another in our file of outrageous tales of travelers being fleeced by vacation rental hosts and franchise hotels alike. These owners are helping themselves to hundreds and even thousands of dollars of their guests’ money with little to no justification. And unfortunately, the cases are piling up at an alarming rate.