Enterprise claims that I took a head restraint and a hat shelf from the car. This is entirely untrue and must be a mistake. The company sent photos of a car with a missing head restraint, but there wasn’t any identifying information, like a license plate or even the date that would prove it was the car we rented. Also, I returned the car at the end of July, and the claim is dated for September, which is more than a month after we returned the car.

How can I defend myself against this false claim?

— Josephine Donatelli, Scotch Plains, New Jersey

ANSWER: If you removed a head restraint and hat shelf from your rental vehicle, then you should have to pay for it. But was it your rental car?

Here’s the right way to handle a claim: First, Enterprise should have contacted you to let you know that some items were missing from your car and given you the opportunity to return them. If you didn’t, it should have sent you a bill — not charged your credit card. And the claim should have contained pictures of the car, the license plate, and an invoice for replacing the head restraint and hat shelf.

Instead, Enterprise charged you, then sent a claim with insufficient information to substantiate it. I think if you get an email from Enterprise or any other company, you should consider reading it. You might have had time to fight this claim if you had responded to the first message.

I would like to think that this was one of those “lost in translation” issues — just a big misunderstanding as a result of translating your claim from German into English.

I think your credit card dispute might have gone your way. Enterprise charged your card without permission, and it sent you insufficient evidence. But more importantly, the claim is implausible. What would you do with a head restraint and a hat shelf? Were you going to carry those on a plane with you and take them back to New Jersey?

I’m not taking sides here. If Enterprise could prove that the items disappeared while you rented the car, then you are responsible. But based on the documentation it provided you, it couldn’t.

What an odd case. You could have appealed this to one of the Enterprise executives whose contact information I publish on my customer advocacy site, Elliott.org. A brief, polite email might have encouraged the company to revisit your case and either furnish you with the information you needed or drop the case entirely.

I contacted Enterprise on your behalf. A representative called you and apologized for the erroneous bill. “He said they are returning my money, and (it) should be back to my bank within three to five business days,” you reported. “He told me to reach out to him when I want to rent from Enterprise again, and he will make sure I get credit for my trouble.”

Enterprise returned your $515, as promised.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help/.(c) 2024 Christopher ElliottDistributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

On our flight back, I visited the ITA Airways counter in Rome, and a representative gave me a different name and email address. But the result was the same: No response. (This time, the email address was invalid.)

Thinking that there might be a language barrier with the Italian speakers at ITA Airways, I then tried the ITA Airways ticket counter in Miami when we landed. A representative there gave me yet another set of numbers and addresses to contact for our refund.

I reached a representative by phone, who gave me instructions and an email address for submitting refund paperwork. I completed and submitted the paperwork promptly, but I haven’t gotten any response to my repeated requests for an updated status.

I have never received a refund, and it has been six months! Can you help me?

— Rocco De Mella, Boca Raton, Florida

ANSWER: You experienced what’s called an equipment change. This is when the airline switches the type of aircraft, then reassigns everyone to different seats. In your case, you and your wife were sent back to economy class, meaning you were involuntarily downgraded.

But before we unravel your case, let’s talk about why you spent $160 to get better seats. Airlines like ITA Airways moved the seats in economy class closer together, then tried to sell you the room they took away. And in your case, they sent you to the back of the plane anyway, but still kept your money.

ITA traces its lineage to Alitalia, the troubled Italian flag carrier that used to be an endless source of complaints for my advocacy team. I guess some things never change.

According to the Department of Transportation, you’re entitled to a refund of fees that are paid for an optional service, including baggage fees, seat upgrades or in-flight Wi-Fi, if you can’t use those services because of a flight cancellation, delay or schedule change. Also, ITA Airways was required to process your refund within seven days.

Your refund should have been automatic. No sending you to several ticket counters. No empty promises. No six-month wait.

I publish the names, numbers and email addresses of the ITA Airways customer service executives on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. A brief, polite email to one of them might have made the process move along faster. You also could have complained to the DOT if this didn’t work or filed a credit card dispute.

I contacted ITA Airways on your behalf. A week later, the airline refunded your $160 seat-upgrade fee.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help/.(c) 2024 Christopher ElliottDistributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Holland America told me that I needed to fill out a release form and send it to MRecordsRequests@Carnival.com, which I did. I have sent it multiple times and never gotten a response; therefore, I can’t collect the $750 from my insurance company.

Can you help me get my medical records from Holland America?

— David Aronstein, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts

ANSWER: I’m sorry that your cruise ended with you confined to quarters with COVID. That’s no fun. But I’m happy to hear the Holland America crew took care of you. This care should have extended to your follow-up when you asked for your medical records.

But wait a minute. Holland America should have provided you with medical records at the time of your treatment — and if not then, when you paid for the medical service.

Your case is an important reminder to collect all medical records immediately after you’ve seen a doctor on board. You’ll need them to file an insurance claim. Insurance companies have to see your medical records and a bill in writing, if you have any hope of getting refunded. I’ve seen too many travel insurance claims that went nowhere because of insufficient records. Don’t let that happen to you. (But don’t worry, you’re in good hands with my advocacy team!)

It appears that all record requests are handled through Holland America’s parent company, Carnival. Carnival also has a page on its site that allows you to submit questions after your cruise, although it’s unclear if this applies to Holland America customers. It looks like you also tried to call Holland America. Calling would be less helpful; you were right to keep everything in writing.

You were more than patient with Holland America. You waited 10 months before contacting me and my advocacy team, which is about 9 months longer than I would have waited. You could have enlisted the help of your travel advisor to get the documents. If that didn’t work, you also could have reached out to one of the Holland America executives I list on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.

I contacted Holland America on your behalf. Within a few hours, it sent the records that you had requested.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help/.(c) 2024 Christopher ElliottDistributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Here’s what happened: I booked a room at La Quinta in Austin, Texas, for one night. While at the hotel that night, I decided to extend my stay another night and began the process of booking the next night through Priceline’s app on my mobile device.

I thought the time was just after midnight, and having used the Priceline app frequently (I’m a platinum-level member), I knew the dates for the booking would be auto-populated in the app form for the following night. But the actual time was just before midnight, so the dates were populated in the form for the current day.

As soon as I clicked the “confirm booking” button, I realized the mistake and called Priceline’s customer service to report the error and request a refund for that booking. A Priceline representative told me that he would need to first contact La Quinta before he could process the refund.

I immediately went downstairs to the front desk of the hotel to let them know what had happened. The front desk representative was happy to cancel the booking and provided me with a cancellation number. The representative also told me that no one from Priceline had contacted them and that the hotel had not received any money from Priceline for my erroneous booking.

As you might have guessed, Priceline is refusing to refund the money. This is not the type of situation that these nonrefundable rates were designed for. I notified the hotel and Priceline immediately, and the hotel agreed to cancel the reservation. Can you please help me get my $88 back?

— Glen Hartness, Austin, Texas

ANSWER: You booked a nonrefundable room rate at La Quinta through Priceline. What does nonrefundable mean? If you click on the link next to the booking, it’ll tell you: “This booking is nonrefundable and cannot be amended or modified. If you fail to arrive or cancel the booking, no refund will be given.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a provision for reversing an erroneous booking such as the one you made — but you already know that.

Years ago, when Priceline had started, a company insider confided that nonrefundable doesn’t really mean nonrefundable. If you make an honest mistake and call the company quickly, it can undo an erroneous reservation. Over time, though, Priceline has gotten stricter about its nonrefundability. And this brings us to the present day, when the company refuses to help an elite-level, frequent guest like you, even if you book a date that is obviously wrong and that the Priceline app shouldn’t have allowed.

You could have appealed this to one of the Priceline executives whose email addresses I publish on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. A brief, polite email might have helped them see the absurdity of the situation.

Or maybe not. Sites like Priceline rely on artificial intelligence to handle customer service problems, and chances are, your complaint would have been routed to a chatbot of some kind that would have sent you another rejection.

I reached out to Priceline on your behalf. A representative responded to me directly.

“Priceline connected with Mr. Hartness directly to resolve the issue and is processing a refund for the mistaken reservation,” she said.

This is a good resolution. But what I’d really like to see is for Priceline to fix its app so that you can’t make this mistake in the future.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help/.(c) 2024 Christopher ElliottDistributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Apple eventually offered us a $200 credit for a future Apple Vacations trip and said it must be used within a year. This is unacceptable to us, because we have no intention of booking another trip — and certainly not with Apple. If this had been properly applied as promised, $200 would have come right off the bill when I checked out.

It’s a small dollar amount in the grand scheme, but it’s just plain rude to offer us $200 only if we book another trip in the next year. Can you help?

— Cathy Balsewich, Evergreen Park, Illinois

ANSWER: Your resort credit should have worked. And you’re absolutely right — a $200 voucher that expires within a year is not an acceptable resolution.

But just a minute. The terms of your resort credit should have been clearly disclosed when you booked your trip through your travel advisor. I reviewed the offer made through your travel agent, and there was no expiration date on it.

Frankly, this should have raised some red flags with your travel advisor. All promotions expire, and your agent should have found out if there were any terms that might apply to your booking. But ultimately, this was on Apple Vacations to properly disclose and, if necessary, fix the issue.

You might have asked about the expiration date on your voucher, too, although you can be forgiven for not doing so. I mean, that’s why you worked with a trusted travel advisor. A travel pro can look at a reservation and ensure that nothing is missing.

I would have leaned on your travel advisor for help. Agents have insurance that protects them from errors and omissions, and you might have received a quick resolution through your travel advisor. The travel expert might have also negotiated a settlement on your behalf with Apple Vacations.

When I suggested you pressure your travel agent for a solution, you mentioned your advisor runs a small business in your neighborhood and that you wanted to be a supportive customer. That’s a great attitude, but you are being supportive of travel agents by holding them accountable.

I list the names, numbers and emails of the Apple Vacations executives on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. A brief, polite email to one of them might have fixed this quickly.I contacted Apple Vacations on your behalf. Separately, your travel agent met with Apple, and you also sent an email to the company — a real team effort!

Apple Vacations agreed to refund you the $200.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help/.(c) 2024 Christopher ElliottDistributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

When we returned to the United States, I called American several times to inquire about our refund. Initially, a representative told us that we had to wait seven days after the completion of the whole flight. Then a representative said that they could not find our flight information because it was a codeshare flight with Qantas.

Finally, an American agent said that the airline wasn’t responsible for the refund because our tickets were on Qantas, and American was just the operating carrier from Dallas to Auckland.

I have contacted Qantas several times. I also contacted Chatdeal because I bought the tickets through them, but they have not been able to resolve the issue. So far, no one is willing to take responsibility for our refund. It is obvious that they are passing the buck. It’s been almost three months since our flight. Can you help?

— Margarethe Hoenig, Cave Creek, Arizona

ANSWER: American Airlines should have quickly refunded the difference between economy plus and business class.

The 16-hour flight from Dallas to Auckland is a slog in business class, but in “economy plus”? You couldn’t pay me enough to do it. And don’t get me wrong, I love Auckland, but getting there from the States is the worst part. So, let me be clear about this: Downgrading you to economy plus was a big deal.

The problem is that you booked a ticket through Qantas, and technically, the American Airlines portion was a codeshare flight. So, the American agent who promised you a refund was really speaking out of turn. You were not an American passenger; you belonged to Qantas.

It doesn’t matter, though. If an airline promises you a refund, then all the back-room codeshare arrangements it has do not matter. You should get your refund, which you calculated to be about $6,500.

Your case got confusing. Here’s what should have happened: You should have contacted your online travel agent (Chatdeal) and asked it to escalate this to Qantas. Instead, you believed the word of an American representative who promised you that they would refund your ticket.

And just to make things interesting, American issued a $600 voucher as an apology, which made it look like you had accepted a ticket credit instead of a refund for the downgrade.

By the way, I list the executive contacts for American and Qantas on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. I think a brief, polite appeal to one of them might have gotten things moving along.

I reached out to Chatdeal on your behalf. A representative agreed to contact Qantas. A few weeks later, you contacted my advocacy team with an update.

“Just wanted to let you know that we did get the refund,” you said. “Many thanks for your help!”

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help/.(c) 2024 Christopher ElliottDistributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Since my luggage was missing the entire trip, I had to make purchases, including luggage. My coat was in my suitcase. Thank God another woman on my tour lent me her coat. The weather was cold with heavy rain.

So many things that I needed were difficult to purchase because we returned from tours late in the day. I think I did a good job of keeping my cost of purchases to a minimum, but I still spent $992. I have copies of my receipts.

ITA Airways wants to reimburse me $733. I’d like to be fully reimbursed. Can you help me?

— Jacqueline Bartolini, Bradenton, Florida

ANSWER: ITA Airways is liable for the entire $992. Under the Montreal Convention, if an airline loses, damages or delays your checked luggage, you’re entitled to compensation up to an amount of about $1,400 (unless there’s damage caused by an “inherent” defect in the baggage).

Bottom line: If you can prove that you purchased these items while you were waiting for your luggage, ITA Airways should cover them.

Unfortunately, airlines don’t always pay what they’re supposed to. They may scrutinize your list of items and say, “We don’t think you really needed that.” Looking at your list, I can see a few items that might have raised eyebrows, including $85 in cosmetics, a $6 mirror and a pair of shoes for $172. However, you were careful to document each purchase and noted the reasons for buying each item.

I think ITA Airways needed to tell you why it wouldn’t cover certain items, but I don’t see it justifying its decision not to reimburse you anywhere in your correspondence with the airline.

You might have avoided these problems by traveling light and carrying your luggage on the plane. I know this sounds unreasonable, but take it from someone who lives out of his luggage — it’s doable.

I know very experienced travelers who never check their luggage. They buy any toiletries they need at their destination if it exceeds 3.4 ounces, like a large tube of toothpaste or a bottle of shampoo. (I have all my liquids in 3.4-ounce, airplane-safe containers.)

You could have appealed this to an executive at ITA Airways. I publish the names, numbers and email addresses of the ITA Airways executives on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.

Given that ITA Airways didn’t really explain why it shorted you $259, I thought it was worth asking. So I did. After you reached out to my consumer advocacy team, we checked with ITA Airways. At first, the airline said it couldn’t refund you because it didn’t have documentation for some items. But it did have them, and you showed them the receipts again.

Finally, 10 months after you lost your luggage, ITA Airways sent us the following statement: “ITA Airways apologizes for the disruption and confirms that the customer will receive a refund for the expenses related to the purchase of items which occurred due to this inconvenience.”

Then it sent you a check for $733. I contacted ITA again and asked it to cover the rest of your expenses, as agreed. It finally did.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help/.(c) 2024 Christopher ElliottDistributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

I have 10 years of positive reviews. I am also an Airbnb host, so this affects my ability to earn money. Can you help me get Airbnb to reverse its ban?

— River Roberts, Lisbon, Portugal

ANSWER: Banning you for an accidental spill on a host’s sofa seems like an overreaction. So, what’s going on? I reviewed the correspondence between you and Airbnb, and it looks like your communications with the host were cordial. You spilled food on a sofa, and it needed to be professionally cleaned. It looks like your host had never filed a claim with Airbnb before your mishap and didn’t fully understand how seriously a claim would be taken by the platform.

I didn’t know either. But filing a claim against your insurance (part of the company’s AirCover for Hosts program) is apparently taken quite seriously. One of the possible outcomes, as you now know, is that you can get removed from the platform.

Did you violate Airbnb’s ground rules for guests? Technically, yes. Airbnb requires you to keep a rental clean, litter-free and undamaged. “Guests should not leave the listing in a state that requires excessive or deep cleaning (moldy dishes, soiled carpets, stains from pets, etc.),” it says.

But you did follow Airbnb’s guidance when it comes to damage. If there’s damage to the home, Airbnb requires that you inform the host as soon as possible and work to find “a reasonable solution.” Based on the correspondence between you and the host, it looks like you were agreeable to paying for the damage.

So, what happened? I suspect Airbnb used some kind of artificial intelligence to review the complaint and decide how to handle it, because a person would have never banned you from the platform. The correspondence between you and the host shows that you were cooperative.

An appeal to one of the executives at Airbnb might have made a difference. I publish their names and numbers on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. But this case would take more than an appeal to get resolved.

You reached out to the host and had a conversation with him, host to host. You explained that after your host filed a claim, Airbnb had banned you and disabled your hosting account, so you are completely off the platform now. The host was surprised and agreed that banning you was an overreaction. He decided to write to Airbnb on your behalf, asking for you to be reinstated.

I contacted Airbnb separately. I was genuinely worried that the same thing could happen to me if I had an accidental spill on a sofa while staying at an Airbnb.

The company reviewed your request and sent you some good news. “After careful review of all documentation and related communication provided by both parties, we’ve decided not to charge you for the damage that occurred during your stay. I have also reactivated your Airbnb account. You should have access to it immediately,” a representative wrote. (This time, it definitely came from a real person.)

I hope that if the tables are ever turned and someone spills something on a sofa in your Airbnb rental, you will remember this incident and try to work it out without getting AirCover involved. Otherwise, I will have another case on my hands.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help/.(c) 2024 Christopher ElliottDistributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

I contacted Traveluro, and a representative agreed to cancel my reservation and give me a full refund. But the refund showed up in my account as “pending” and then completely dropped off. It was never fully processed.

I filed a credit card dispute with my bank, but my bank denied my request. Traveluro is extremely hard to get in touch with. I call, and it rings once, then hangs up on me. I’ve been trying for months!

The one time I got through — other than my first call — a representative said they would escalate the situation and that somebody would call me within 24 to 48 hours. That never happened. Please help me get my $444 back!

— Jessica Radosevic, Danville

ANSWER: If Traveluro promised you a refund, it should have delivered one.

First of all, you might be wondering what Traveluro is. It’s an online travel agency operated by Holisto, a company based in the United States and Israel. Traveluro offers support in several European languages, which is perhaps where the “uro” part comes from.

So, why didn’t Traveluro refund your hotel? First, online agencies don’t control refunds on nonrefundable rooms. They would have to ask the hotel in Las Vegas for a waiver, which would take some time. It looks as if Traveluro tried to get your money back — hence the “pending” refund. But it ran out of time when you decided to file a credit card dispute.

A credit card dispute means you are asking your bank to reverse a transaction because it’s fraudulent, or you didn’t receive the product or service you ordered. I have more on how chargebacks work in my ultimate guide to credit card disputes on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.

So, what went wrong? I mean, besides trying to call an online agency, which is usually a bad idea. (Always email to create a paper trail.)

Well, it turns out the company was able to secure a full refund for your hotel, according to Elad Shmilovich, Holisto’s chief operating officer. “However, in parallel, the customer submitted a charge-back, which prevented the refund from being fully processed,” he says. “That’s why the customer saw a pending notification, which disappeared.”

“Not to worry,” Shmilovich added. “I’ve asked my ops team to issue a new refund, which should already be in her account.”

Ah, I love a happy ending! But there’s an important lesson here for the rest of us. When a company promises a refund, you have to give it time. Sometimes a refund to your credit card can take up to two billing cycles, which is more than two months. If you lose patience and file a credit card dispute, it doesn’t just stop the refund process. It can actually reverse it, ensuring that you never end up getting your money.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help/.(c) 2024 Christopher ElliottDistributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

On the same day, I received an email from Iberia with a confirmation. I called my bank that day and withdrew the dispute. A bank representative told me to just ignore any written communication and that it would automatically close the dispute. I followed this advice and assumed that my ticket would be valid. It wasn’t.

When I tried to check in for my flight, the system showed my ticket as “suspended.” An Iberia representative told me to dispute the charge again and buy a new ticket, so I followed this advice.Iberia did, in fact, receive the $776 from my bank (Capital One), but it nonetheless suspended my ticket. I would like to get a refund. Can you help me?

— Joel Revill, Providence, Rhode Island

ANSWER: You should have had a ticket on your flight from Boston to Madrid. The problem is obvious: An Iberia representative told you to dispute the charge — and later “undispute” it –without making the necessary notations on Iberia’s side. As a result, you ended up with a voided ticket.

You shouldn’t have disputed this charge in the first place. True, credit card chargebacks under the Fair Credit Billing Act cover products and services that were purchased but not received. However, you hadn’t given Iberia time to resolve this on its side. It turns out Iberia eventually processed your transaction, which led to this mess.

My advice: File a credit card dispute after a few days — not a few hours. (I have more on filing a credit card dispute in my free guide on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.)

If someone says you should file a dispute, and you decide to take their advice, then try to get them to put it in writing — or, at least, to make a notation in their system. It looks like Iberia had no clue what you were doing because it hadn’t made any notation in your flight record.

Also, simply refusing to answer the questions is not enough to close your dispute. Yes, it will ultimately close the case and resolve it in the merchant’s favor, but for a problem like this, you need more. I would have explained the situation fully and asked for something in writing that confirmed your dispute had been withdrawn.

I list the names, numbers and email addresses of the Iberia customer service managers on my consumer advocacy site. A brief, polite appeal to one of them might have helped.

Was there a better way? Maybe. A qualified travel advisor might have ensured that you had a real ticket on Iberia. Sure, you would have to pay a little extra for the ticket, but the travel agent would ensure that everything goes smoothly with your flight. (I also have a guide on how to find a travel advisor.)

I contacted Iberia on your behalf. The airline issued a refund for your original ticket, as you requested.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help/.(c) 2024 Christopher ElliottDistributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc