Does travel insurance have too many exceptions?
Catherine Markland assumes her travel insurance policy will cover her canceled tour. But it doesn’t. Can her trip be saved?
The Travel Troubleshooter
The Travel Troubleshooter is a weekly consumer column that solves travel problems. Missing cruise refunds, lousy airline service, car rental surcharges — it’s all fair game for this feature. Each story presents a problem and fixes it in a quick Q&A format.
Hey, that’s no four-star hotel!
Albert Muick books a four-star hotel through Expedia in Prague. Turns out, it’s just a three-star property. When he asks for a refund, he’s sent a series of form letters. What now?
Hey American Airlines, where’s my ticket refund?
American Airlines promises Tracy Wilkinson a bereavement discount in the form of a refund after her grandfather dies. But now it isn’t even responding to her inquiries. Why the radio silence?
If luggage fees are wrong, who pays?
Carla Stewart believes she’s flying from Madrid to Cancun on Air Europa, and that her luggage fee is 60 Euros per bag. She’s wrong on both counts, and has to spend 500 Euros to transport her luggage on another airline. Who is responsible?
Dollar’s ‘additional driver’ fee that won’t go away
Bayard Allmond is told his rental car won’t come with an extra driver fee for his wife, but when he gets his bill, he finds the surcharge, anyway. Is there any way to get his car rental company to make good on its promise?
Help, my Viking River Cruise transfers are sunk
Ground transfers are supposedly included in Robert Brown’s Viking River Cruise. But he supposes wrong, and now he’s being asked to pay extra for them. Is that right?
Booked for one night but charged for two
Lenore Davies books one night at an Econo Lodge by phone. She’s charged for two. Now, neither her hotel nor her credit card will help her. Is she out of luck?
A broken Disney Vacation Club promise?
David Willard is offered help with making a booking at a Disney Vacation Club — a promise Disney reneges on after his salesman goes on medical leave. Is there any way to get Mickey to keep his word?
The Travel Troubleshooter: Am I stuck with this $378 phone bill?
Jeffrey Grim can’t make a connection in Brussels because of an error made by his online travel agency. In order to fix the problem, he racks up $378 in phone bills. Should the company cover his expenses?
A “little dent” in my Enterprise rental adds $500 to my car rental bill
Carri Schoeller is charged an extra $500 after she returns her rental car to Enterprise. The reason? There’s a small scratch on the bumper. Didn’t they say little scratches don’t count? Yeah, but talk is cheap.