Welcome to Consumer Rescue
Fiascos and Fixes
Here’s what happens when things go wrong for travelers on the road, in the air, at hotels, and in vacation rentals.
The Travel Troubles category at Consumer Rescue is a collection of real-life stories about travelers who’ve encountered unexpected issues during their adventures. Each tale is dramatic but is a cautionary example, offering valuable lessons and practical advice.
The Travel Troubles section is meant to educate and empower travelers, helping them avoid similar issues and know what to do when things go wrong.
Travelers who encounter a problem they can’t resolve on their own should ask for help from our advocacy team. Our direct mediation service is fast, friendly, and always free!
A vacation rental management company in Nashville charged guests $1,000 for damaging a mattress after a one-night stay. Even more frustrating, the agency told the shocked travelers it didn’t need proof that they had caused the damage.
Can our advocacy team come to the rescue of these consumers?
Let’s find out.
You’ve probably heard about the couple jailed in Mexico after filing numerous credit card chargebacks over timeshare fees. They reversed nearly $120,000 in charges from their timeshare company and advised others how to do it too.
Publicly.
The couple gave their awful exit advice on a Facebook group for disgruntled timeshare owners. However, they weren’t the only ones lurking in that community.
A Frontier Airlines passenger says his family was wrongly denied boarding their recent flight and he’s demanding compensation. But what really happened, and does the airline owe him anything?
Let’s find out.
Travelers beware: Sometimes a travel insurance mistake isn’t fixable – no matter how much money is at stake. But what about this one?
Several weeks before her family’s American Airlines flight to Portugal, Ashley Macus learned there had been an aircraft change. That switch left the family of six without the assigned seats together Macus had confirmed months earlier. Most disturbingly, her two little boys, ages 7 and 8, no longer had any seats at all.
UTOvacation sold Shih (Richard) Liu and his wife a once-in-a-lifetime trip to China and Japan. But Liu, like many other customers of this particular tour operator, now says he’s the victim of a scam. Nearly a year after collecting full payment from the Lius, the company changed the contract and added new fees.
The couple maintains that the tour operator pulled this bait and switch without any notification or follow-up. But worse than that deception was what UTOvacation did next – also without informing the couple.
The recent LA wildfires temporarily displaced Rahul Kapur’s family and pets from their home. The Kapurs temporarily relocated to an Airbnb rental in nearby Marina Del Rey. They reserved the unit for two weeks and hoped to return home after their stay. But as the fires continued to burn, it became clear that wouldn’t be possible.
They were displaced again when that apartment wasn’t available beyond the original contract. However, the good news came when an Airbnb rental in the same condominium became available. The family migrated to the new unit and settled in.
Kapur and his family are still reeling from what happened next.
Would Hertz accuse a customer of completely ruining a rental car even if it was returned in perfect condition? According to Darleen Brazoban, the answer is yes.
Brazoban says she drove a Hertz vehicle for four days last November without even the hint of a problem. When she returned the rental car to the Nashville Airport, an employee inspected it with her. He noted no damage, handed her a receipt, and Brazoban was on her way.
…On her way to big rental car problems, that is, but she didn’t know that yet.
After United Airlines canceled Tamra McIntyre’s flight home from Iceland, she requested EU 261 compensation – around $622. In response, the airline “awarded” her just 8,000 United Airlines Mileage Plus points, the equivalent of about $108.
Final answer, says United Airlines.
McIntyre, unwilling to accept that answer asked the Consumer Rescue advocacy team to investigate. United Airlines says her flight cancellation doesn’t qualify for EU 261 compensation. She says it does.
Who’s right? You’re about to find out.
American Airlines left Brooke Krukenberg and 24 family members stranded in North Carolina after canceling their flight home to Iowa. As the group scrambled to find alternative transportation, airline agents assured the displaced passengers their refunds were on the way.
Krukenberg calculated that American Airlines owed each family member $250 for the canceled flight – around $5,600. That refund factored into the group’s plans as they booked rental cars and hotels for the unexpected 18-hour road trip back home. Here’s what happened next.
Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Info
© 2025 Consumer Rescue / Michelle Couch-Friedman
