CANCEL

Does the timeshare industry love ignorant consumers?

parisvegasBusinesses like to say their best customers are educated ones. But that doesn’t necessarily apply to the timeshare industry.

After you hear Mike Seldin’s story, you might be forgiven for thinking that industry’s best customers are ignorant ones. And you might wonder which other businesses prefer to keep their customers in the dark.

Seldin and his wife attended a timeshare presentation in Las Vegas recently and purchased a trial membership that failed to deliver on its promises. But don’t worry, this story has a dramatic but happy ending.

The couple was hooked with the promise of free show tickets, which is the preferred bait of Vegas timeshare peddlers. Their two-hour, high-pressure presentation emphasized a VIP program, which the Seldins would have access to for their first two years of membership.
[continue]


105 comments

Hotels cancel their old cancellation policies

Archiwiz/Shutterstock
Archiwiz/Shutterstock
When heavy rain grounded Amy Li’s recent flight from San Francisco to Cancun, Mexico, she hoped that her resort would allow her to cancel her prepaid room. But it didn’t.

Instead, she received an apologetic e-mail from the Excellence Playa Mujeres, saying that while the hotel was “truly very sorry” about her canceled flight, it would be keeping her money. “They were unwilling to refund a penny,” says Li, who works for the city of San Francisco. “Not even in hotel credits.”

She and her husband lost $1,656, the entire cost of the hotel.
[continue]


92 comments

Why won’t Global Personal Services cancel my contract?

hawaiiQuestion: We recently signed up for a membership with Global Personal Services (GPS), a company that offers travel concierge services and access to travel discounts. We paid $4,590 to join plus a $19.95 a month maintenance fee automatically collected from a checking account. We thought it was just the perfect time for us to enjoy our future plans traveling since I retired from work last year.

We were looking forward to our plan trips to Asia and Europe this year. In fact, the day after we became members I called and asked for a price quote vacation package to Hawaii in November. Our son lives in Honolulu.
[continue]


88 comments

Is this enough compensation for my canceled room?

stormy weatherWith Superstorm Sandy bearing down on the New York area last fall, Monica Greene sent a concerned email to their Airbnb host in Jersey City. The host told her she could cancel her reservation in light of the looming natural disaster.

What her host didn’t say — but Greene now knows — is that the homeowner intended to keep her money. All of it.

“Our airline gave us full credit on our tickets,” she says. “Airbnb refunded its part of the fee, but she kept $1,500. I am wondering if there is any other recourse for us?”
[continue]


96 comments

Help! T-Mobile wants to charge a $200 cancellation fee

Question: I recently canceled my T-Mobile contract due to lack of coverage in my home neighborhood. I have tried to resolve the issue many times.

The first three or four customer support representatives told me that I was in an excellent service area and that the problem was T-Mobile’s and would be fixed within 72 hours. I called back after 72 hours and escalated the request to a manager, who told me that I was in a very low coverage area and that the only resolution to the problem would be for T-Mobile to build more towers. As you can imagine, this was very frustrating.
[continue]


55 comments

What to expect if you’re expecting to cruise

Bryan and Fola Nelson were excited about their upcoming five-night Bahamas cruise on the Carnival Fascination. It was to be their last vacation before the birth of their first child.

Then, not long before their scheduled departure, Carnival delivered some bad news: Not only would Fola Nelson be denied boarding, but the cruise line would also pocket her entire fare, minus port taxes.
[continue]


149 comments