Make the McKenzie Connection!

Articles written by Hristopher Elliott


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  • Vrbo promised to cover my $21,014 rental bill in Hawaii. Why won't it?

    Christopher Elliott|Mar 28, 2024

    When Cheryl Mander's Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened? My family and I recently rented a house through Vrbo for a vacation stay in Hawaii. When we entered the home, we were immediately hit with a strong smell of mold. Upon further inspection, we took pictures of black mold on the smoke detector, the pictures hanging on the walls, the shower stall, and the windowsills. One of the members of my...

  • AAA homeowner's insurance problem: They never told me I had to fix the roof!

    Christopher Elliott|Mar 28, 2024

    Jan Hustler lost her AAA homeowner's insurance because she didn't repair her roof on time. But the company didn't tell her about the requirement until it was too late. Can she get her insurance coverage back? Q: I recently received a notification from AAA, my home insurance company, that it would not renew my coverage for this year. The reason? The AAA underwriting department said my roof had "exceeded its useful life” and needed to be replaced by September. AAA said I could reapply for a h...

  • American Queen Voyages refund problem: What's a SkyMile worth?

    Christopher Elliott|Mar 21, 2024

    After American Queen Voyages changes Terrance Hardy's arrival port, the cruise line agrees to cover his additional flight expenses. But more than a year later, there's still no refund check. What's going on? My wife Judy and I booked a cruise on American Queen Voyages two years ago. The trip on the American Countess was scheduled to depart Chattanooga, Tenn., last fall. Four days before our departure, we received a notice from American Queen Voyages that our final destination had been changed...

  • I canceled my Sears dishwasher order. But where's my refund?

    Christopher Elliott|Mar 21, 2024

    Yilun Liu canceled her Sears dishwasher order three months ago. But the company is still holding her $540. Will she ever get a refund? I canceled a dishwasher order after Sears repeatedly delayed the delivery and installation. It's been two months, and I still have not received my refund for the canceled order. I've called, emailed, and chatted online with Sears, which repeatedly promised a refund in 7 to 10 days. Every time the ten days were up, I followed up because I still did not see the ref...

  • I paid an extra $1,796 to get to my cruise.

    Christopher Elliott|Mar 7, 2024

    After Elaine Simmons' flight reservation is lost, she pays an extra $1,796 to get to her NCL cruise. Why won't the cruise line help her recover the money? Q: I recently took a Western Mediterranean cruise with my family, which included flight arrangements made through Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). On the morning before our scheduled departure, we tried to check in online, but the first leg of our flight was not showing up on the Delta Air Lines app. We contacted the NCL air department. A...

  • Help!

    Christopher Elliott|Mar 7, 2024

    Carolyn Hoke has been waiting more than a year for her refund from American Queen Voyages for a canceled cruise. Why is it taking so long -- and how can she speed up the process? I booked a seven-night river cruise from St. Louis to Minneapolis with American Queen Voyages. But it was canceled in November 2022. I requested a full refund, but as of today, I have not received it. The American Queen Voyages representatives are very apologetic when I call them. I've escalated my request to the...

  • I never ordered Uber One. Please help me get my money back!

    Christopher Elliott|Feb 29, 2024

    Diego Vega is signed up for Uber One. He has no idea how he's been enrolled in the monthly $9.99 membership, but he does know one thing: He wants to unenroll. But how? I received an offer and an unsolicited credit for an Uber One membership through Capital One. I never asked for it, and there is no way I can reject it. Now Uber is charging me $9.99 per month for something I didn't want, and what's worse, I can't cancel it because Capital One and Uber are unresponsive. Can you please help me...

  • Charged an extra $250 for a Thrifty car rental upgrade. Can I get that money back?

    Christopher Elliott|Feb 29, 2024

    When Leah Page picks up her rental car from Thrifty, it charges her a $250 upgrade fee. Can it do that without her permission? And how can she get a refund? I recently rented a car from Thrifty in Los Angeles. The car I had reserved was not available when I arrived, which I only learned after waiting over an hour in line! Thankfully, a kind agent found a car for me that was available, and I was able to get on my way. Unfortunately, it looks like Thrifty also increased the price of my rental by $...

  • I canceled my cruise, but my $19,148 credit card claim is lost at sea

    Christopher Elliott|Feb 22, 2024

    Brent Feinberg and his wife cancel their cruise after a medical emergency. Why won't their credit card cover their $19,148 loss? I'm having some trouble with a travel insurance claim for a cruise I purchased through my Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Last summer, I booked a Viking Cruise with my father and my wife. At the airport, my father suffered a medical emergency and had to be rushed to the hospital. We missed our cruise. Since I had purchased the cruise using my Chase Sapphire Reserve card,...

  • UPS lost my package. Why is Amazon still charging me?

    Christopher Elliott|Feb 22, 2024

    After UPS loses Vanessa Armendariz' return package to Amazon, she can't get her money back. Whose responsibility is this? And should she have to pay for someone else's mistake? I purchased three items from Amazon that I returned via UPS. UPS has admitted to losing my package in transit and said they will refund the money to Amazon. But Amazon has to file a claim first. Amazon is refusing to help me file that claim and will not give me my money. I have been very stressed over this whole situation...

  • TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER

    Christopher Elliott|Feb 15, 2024

    Nancy Epstein gets a repair bill for $3,000 after renting a Turo. But what's it for? And does she have to pay? My husband and I rented a Turo for a week while we were visiting San Diego. We paid for "minimum protection" just to be on the safe side. We did not take any photos of the car in the app before or after because we took great care of the car. The day after we returned the car, I received a bill from Turo claiming $3,000 in damages (which just so happens to be the most I would be...

  • PROBLEM SOLVED

    Christopher Elliott|Feb 15, 2024

    The touchscreen on Satoaki Omori's new HP laptop computer doesn't work, and the computer has been discontinued. Can he get a full refund -- or at least a repair? I recently had a very, very painful experience when I bought an HP Envy x360 2-in-1 laptop. I received it a few months ago, and the product was defective. The touch screen did not work. I wasted 40 hours on the phone with HP tech support but could not get a replacement screen. I finally sent it back to HP for repair. HP recently told...

  • TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER

    Christopher Elliott|Feb 8, 2024

    Dollar doesn't have the rental car Beth Bonness reserved in Atlanta, but that's not stopping it from charging her $82. Can it do that? And how does she get a refund? I recently rented a car from Dollar at the Atlanta airport. When I arrived at the airport, there was a four-hour wait for a car. There were no computer or weather issues. If I had continued waiting, I would have missed my wedding rehearsal. I tried to resolve the problem by calling the 800 number, but I could not. So I left and...

  • PROBLEM SOLVED

    Christopher Elliott|Feb 8, 2024

    Roy Gregston's Hoover Complete Steam Mop breaks down only a few months after he buys it from Amazon. Even though he has a three-year extended warranty, no one will cover it. What's going on? Last year, I purchased a Hoover Complete Steam Mop from Amazon. On that same order, I bought a three-year extended warranty from Asurion. The unit failed a few months later. I first contacted Asurion. A representative informed me that since the steam mop is still covered by the manufacturer’s warranty, A...

  • PROBLEM SOLVED

    Christopher Elliott|Feb 1, 2024

    Ronald Crossley's Hamilton Beach toaster oven doesn't work. And apparently, neither does the Hamilton Beach customer service department. How does he get this appliance fixed? I returned a Hamilton Beach toaster oven earlier this year because of functional and design problems that made it useless. Specifically, the upper element remains "on" in any mode and burns food. Before the return window passed, I emailed Hamilton Beach asking for at least a confirmation of their having received the...

  • TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER

    Christopher Elliott|Feb 1, 2024

    Evonne Hopkins books a room at a bed & breakfast that doesn't have a bathroom. Can she get her money back? I booked a room at a bed & breakfast in New Albany, Ind., through SuperTravel, an Expedia affiliate. When I arrived, I discovered the room didn't have an attached bathroom. You had to go downstairs to access the bathroom. The SuperTravel website did not tell us about this. We asked for a refund, but SuperTravel refused, citing its no-refunds policy. I contend that what we purchased was not...

  • TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER

    Christopher Elliott|Jan 25, 2024

    Krishnamurthy Viswanathan's hotel room in London is smaller than he expects and has poor ventilation. Can he get his money back? Hotels.com is refusing to honor the terms of our reservation, and I would like your help getting a refund. My wife and I made a refundable reservation and prepaid the entire amount of $3,630 (and $504 worth of OneKeyCash) on Hotels.com for a 10-day stay at Lost Property St Paul's London - Curio Collection by Hilton. The rules said we could cancel without penalty....

  • PROBLEM SOLVED

    Christopher Elliott|Jan 25, 2024

    PayPal won't refund an unauthorized charge on John Boham-Cook's account, even though it reversed two others by the same fraudster. How can he get the company to see things his way? I had three unauthorized transactions on my PayPal account recently. PayPal blocked one of them and issued a refund. A short while later, PayPal refunded the second fraudulent transaction. But the third transaction, for $2,600, is still in my account. All of these transactions were made by the same fraudster at the...

  • TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER

    Christopher Elliott|Jan 18, 2024

    Steve Feiertag's flights from Palm Beach to Reykjavik are messed up, but Chase Ultimate Rewards won't help him fix them. Is he about to lose $5,000? Last year, my wife and I booked a cruise around Iceland. We bought business class tickets from Palm Beach, Fla., to Reykjavik through JetBlue and Icelandair using our Chase Ultimate Rewards points. However, shortly before we left, Chase erroneously downgraded our tickets to economy class. I discovered the error when I checked our reservation a...

  • PROBLEM SOLVED

    Christopher Elliott|Jan 18, 2024

    What's wrong with Britt Lane's bed? And why won't Ashley Furniture fix it for her? She's been sleeping on the floor since she ordered the furniture from the retailer. I recently bought a new bed from Ashley Furniture. The company delivered the bed with missing parts. Ashley Furniture has not provided the correct parts to make the bed functional. When I call customer service, the reps hang up or put me on hold indefinitely. I visited the store near me in Joplin, Mo., and asked for a copy of my co...

  • TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER

    Christopher Elliott|Jan 11, 2024

    After discovering two fraudulent reservations, Booking.com suspends David Hendrick's account. How can he get it reinstated? I write to express my disappointment and distress with my recent experiences at Booking.com. I travel frequently, as do my wife and family. I always recommend Booking.com, and we all use it almost exclusively. Recently, while traveling, I discovered two fraudulent attempts to make bookings on my account. I canceled them immediately, contacted customer service, and a...

  • PROBLEM SOLVED

    Christopher Elliott|Jan 11, 2024

    Becky Taylor's view at a P!nk concert is obstructed by a foul-ball net. She wants her money back from Ticketmaster. Does she have a case? I purchased three concert tickets for P!nk at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. I spent $607 for them. The seats were not marked as "obstructed view." But when I got to the concert, I noticed that the seats had an extremely limited view because of the foul-ball net from the baseball field. It blocked a whole side of the stage. There were also two large...

  • Travel Troubleshooter

    Christopher Elliott|Dec 28, 2023

    If the latest wave of proposed airline mergers have left you a little worried, then you have a good memory. Historically, airline mergers are terrible for passengers. And the latest two -- the proposed combination of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, and of JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines -- are no exception. "Passengers should be very skeptical of airline mergers," says Tolga Turgut, an associate professor at Florida Institute of Technology's College of Aeronautics. "They usually lead...

  • PROBLEM SOLVED

    Christopher Elliott|Dec 28, 2023

    After Andrew Bottorff returns his surge protector to Amazon through a Whole Foods store, Amazon tries to charge him again. How can he get his money back? I bought an Eaton surge protector on Amazon recently. It was not suitable for my use, so I returned it to Amazon via the Amazon return counter at Whole Foods two days after receiving it. They scanned my return barcode at the counter. However, the return center does not provide printed receipts. An email receipt usually shows shortly after your...

  • TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER

    Christopher Elliott|Dec 21, 2023

    Cunard cancels Jacque Ewing-Taylor's transatlantic cruise and promises to reimburse her expenses. But it doesn't. How can she make Cunard do the right thing? My husband and I were booked on the Queen Mary 2 sailing from Southampton to New York earlier this year. The cruise line canceled the sailing just before our departure. A Cunard agent told us to stay on board that night and depart the following day. The cruise line gave us a form to fill out that said, “For any incurred expenses with y...

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