VACATION FIASCOS - Consumer Rescue

Could your lost bags end up at a store in Alabama, Unclaimed Baggage, Original photo of a delivery from Unclaimed Baggage, Michelle Couch-Friedman's photo

What do airlines really do with all that lost and unclaimed baggage?

January 29, 2026January 27, 2026 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

If an airline misplaces your luggage and cannot find it within a reasonable time, the carrier must pay for your loss. If you accept the compensation, that ends the airline’s liability to you, and your belongings are considered permanently gone. But could your missing property eventually reappear on display at Unclaimed Baggage, a resale shop in rural Alabama?

Unclaimed Baggage is an unusual place where all sorts of lost items get a new lease on life.
Here’s what I learned about America’s only retail store that buys, restores and then sells travelers’ orphaned stuff.

Travel agent arrested, Tavia Thomas gave her clients fake cruise documents, no reservation on Symphony of the Seas

Travel agent arrested, charged with stealing $35,000 from cruise ship passengers

January 26, 2026January 13, 2026 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

A Long Island travel agent has been arrested and charged with scamming would-be cruise ship passengers out of $35,000. And that’s not all that Tavia Thomas of Hempstead, New York, is being accused of doing. Other clients say Thomas collected almost $8,000 for a destination wedding that she booked — and then canceled — behind their backs. Another disgruntled customer paid over $10,000 for a nonexistent Caribbean luxury vacation to celebrate her grandmother’s birthday.

Cruise passenger mistakes to avoid in 2026, mild to extreme cruiser mistakes

8 cruise ship passenger mistakes ranked from mild to extreme in 2026

January 13, 2026January 2, 2026 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Kesha Green* made what is arguably the most dire mistake a passenger can make on a cruise ship. Just hours after boarding Carnival Conquest in Miami, she found herself unexpectedly brawling with two young women. Green says the surprise fisticuffs happened after the strangers stole her son’s iPhone and other belongings from a pool chair.

She tracked down the duo and demanded they return her boy’s property, but instead, the confrontation quickly became physical.

An original photograph by the author, Michelle Couch-Friedman, digitally enhanced to depict the isolated Mississippi gas station where the rental car failure occurred.

Help! Avis billed us $8,090 after our rental car died at a gas station

December 25, 2025December 24, 2025 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Friends on a celebratory road trip strangely experienced the total mechanical failure of not one, but two Avis rental cars. What caused these mysterious problems and who is ultimately responsible to pay for the engine and transmission damage?

A consumer advocate's comprehensive guide to American Airlines travel credit, AA aircraft at the airport, original photo by Michelle Couch-Friedman

American Airlines travel credit: How to use it before you lose it

January 28, 2026December 15, 2025 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

No one could fault Kristina for overlooking the expiration date on her family’s $2,622 travel credit from American Airlines. For over a year, Kristina was in crisis mode after her husband’s brain cancer diagnosis. Of course, during that time, taking a vacation was last on her list of things to do.

When doctors deemed Kristina’s husband well enough to travel, her mind turned back to their AA credit. She intended to use it to book flights for a memorable trip while her spouse could enjoy it. Unfortunately, by then the expiration date had come and gone.

Royal Caribbean passenger says his $16,000 jewelry purchase was a mistake, Utopia of the Seas, Royal Caribbean ship on the sea

I paid $16,000 for a diamond necklace on my Caribbean cruise. Here is its actual value

January 17, 2026November 28, 2025 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Alton Locklear returned home from his latest Royal Caribbean cruise with a $16,000 diamond necklace he purchased on the ship. But all was not as it seemed. He says salespeople inside the Effy jewelry shop aboard Utopia of the Seas wildly overinflated the value of that necklace.

When Locklear took his sparkly souvenir to a local jewelry appraiser, he received shocking news. Not only was the total carat weight way off, but the diamonds adorning the necklace were lab-grown. Those details significantly diminished its value.

Now Locklear is hoping that Consumer Rescue can help. He wants to return the jewelry and retrieve his $16,000.

Car rental mistakes to avoid in 2026, expert advises travelers, Michelle Couch-Friedman advises travelers

8 expensive car rental mistakes and scams that can wreck your wallet

January 24, 2026November 20, 2025 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Expensive car rental mistakes are easily avoidable with just a little research and preparation. Yet week after week, the Consumer Rescue case files show that many car rental customers do neither. By the time I hear from these blindsided travelers, that oversight has led to hefty fees and other unexpected repercussions.

Here are the most common mistakes car rental customers make and what you can do to avoid them in 2026.