Travel Troubles

Here’s what happens when things go wrong for travelers on the road, in the air, at hotels and vacation rentals. Each cautionary tale ends with solutions and ways you can avoid a similar fiasco.

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.

Marriott threw away stored luggage in Auckland

Marriott threw our stored luggage in the garbage! Who owes us $5,000?

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When Marriott takes over The Stamford Hotel in Auckland, New Zealand, employees discover and throw away some seemingly abandoned luggage. (Surprise! It wasn’t.)

Two weeks later, the owner of those bags turns up at the Marriott looking for her now discarded belongings. Emily G. says the previous management assured her she could safely store her luggage at the hotel while traveling – and never mentioned that the property was about to switch hands.

Now Emily is asking Consumer Rescue for assistance. She values the contents of the suitcases Marriott tossed in the garbage at $5,000 and hopes we can get it.

But does Marriott owe her anything for the bags it trashed, and what should you do if you need to store your luggage abroad? That’s what we’re exploring today.

An Airbnb nightmare: NYC vacation rental problems.

An Airbnb nightmare: Am I looking at blood stains in the bed?

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Koji Kawana and his family were looking forward to an exciting five days in New York City. The group had a tight schedule with plenty of activities planned. What they hadn’t planned for is the Airbnb nightmare that was about to confront them.

Now Kawana wants to know: Shouldn’t Airbnb refund him for this nightmare of a vacation rental?

Filthy garbage outside a vacation rental

A filthy vacation rental is not my thing! How do I get a refund?

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When an Airbnb host directs Andrea Walker to use the service elevator in the building where she is renting an apartment, she’s slightly suspicious. However, when she opens the door to the unit, she knows she definitely won’t be staying. The Airbnb host apologizes for the state of the filthy vacation rental and quickly agrees to a refund. 

So why does the host later tell Airbnb that Walker spent the whole weekend at the property?

Travel club in Mexico, blue ocean and green palm trees with boats on the water

Post-vacation regret: Here’s why you should never impulsively join a travel club

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By all accounts, Sabrina Cousins’ trip to Puerto Vallarta was amazing. She had such a wonderful time that she ended her stay by purchasing an expensive Palladium Travel Club membership. But back home, Cousins quickly came down with a terrible case of post-vacation regret. And she wants us to help pull her out of the travel club mess into which she and her husband find themselves.

But is that possible?

Cousins is just one of a long string of consumers who contact our advocacy team in a panic after returning from vacation with an unplanned timeshare or travel club contract in hand. She discovered, just like the others before her, that these agreements are easy to sign, but breaking them isn’t.

Alaska Airlines aircraft, airplane in the sky

Alaska Airlines denied boarding to me by mistake! Who will pay for this?

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Stepping up to the check-in counter of Alaska Airlines, new mom Jisu Lee wasn’t expecting any problems. She was well-prepared for the grueling 20-hour journey ahead, flying alone with her infant from Seattle to Auckland via Vancouver. In New Zealand, her parents were excitedly waiting to meet their granddaughter for the first time. 

Lee had anticipated almost everything – except the possibility of being mistakenly denied boarding by a confused agent of Alaska Airlines. That error caused the trip to morph into an expensive four-day travel nightmare for the frazzled mother and baby. 

Now Lee is hoping Consumer Rescue can help. She’s asking Alaska Airlines to admit it made an error refusing to allow her to board the flight. She also wants the airline to repay her for all of the additional expenses she incurred as a result of that mistake. 

But what is the real reason that Alaska Airlines denied boarding to Lee and her child? That’s the question of the day. 

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?