Very quick response and comprehensive information & resource regarding customer rights protection. After more than five months of waiting and nonsense with the airline I accidentally found Elliott Advocacy via google and their channel helped me resolve the compensation case within a month. Brilliant people and nice stories, wish you all a lovely year and bless for all who reach for help.
I had spent five months working with AAA and American Airlines to try to get compensation resulting from a missed flight in Frankfurt in May 2018. Got nowhere and contacted Elliott Advicacy and with only a few email exchanges I was given the name of a customer service rep at American Airlines and within a few days had a fair conclusion. Don't know what Elliott did but they were most effective besides bing prompt and professional. I hope I have no more need for assistance but if I do I will definitely call upon Elliott Advocacy. S Mendenhall
Thank you Elliot Advocacy!
On Thanksgiving Monday, my husband and I were scheduled to fly home from Raleigh-Durham Airport at 5:35 a.m. with a connecting flight at Chicago's Midway bound for our Tucson, AZ, final destination. When we arrived at the Raleigh-Durham at 4:15 a.m., we learned that our flight was cancelled -- one of hundreds of weather related cancellations that day. Everyone in the ticketing counter line ahead of us was similarly affected and needed to book a new flight. As I waited my turn, I checked online and there were no tickets to Tucson available that day. I called the Southwest reservations line and got a recorded message said there was a 1.5-hour wait to speak to an agent. As we wended our way through the 1.25-hour long line to get to the ticketing counter, I listened as desk clerks told most of the people ahead of us that there were no flights available that day, but that they could get them on a flight one, two, even three days hence. We couldn't wait because my husband had to be at work the next day, so we had no choice but to book tickets to the nearest city (Phoenix, a 2-hour drive once we rented a car) on the only flight that that day that still had a handful of available seats. Southwest charged me a $405 to make that change, which I thought was unfair considering the extenuating circumstances. When I contacted the Southwest customer service and to plead for a refund, they denied that request. I contacted Elliott Advocacy. Within just a few hours of Elliot Advocacy taking on the case, I received a phone message from a Southwest Airlines representative who said that the $405 charge will be refunded to my credit card and apologized for the inconvenience I experienced. I am so glad that I read Christopher Elliott's column every Sunday in the Tucson Daily News -- otherwise I wouldn't have known to contact Elliott Advocacy.
Alitalia lost my luggage in Aug 2018. I repeatedly contacted Alitalia, filled out the proper forms and was told my luggage wouldn't be considered lost for 45 days at which time I would be compensated.
Finally after 50 days, I received an email from Alitalia October 17th that my luggage was considered lost and I would be compensated $1579. I could expect a check within 5 days. After 5 days, I started to call Alitalia customer service, which verified that the check was approved and mailed. A few more weeks went by and still the same answers from Alitalia.
I contacted Elliot Advocacy in December. I received an email within a day from Elliot Advocacy and asked to provide my address, as the original check was returned undeliverable by the Post Office. I did this and was informed that the check would be on its way.
After about a week and no check, I contacted Elliot Advocacy again informing them I did not receive a check. Within a day I was contracted by a representative from Alitalia and told my check was returned undeleverable. We confirmed the address again and the Alitalia rep said she would hand write the address and mail the check. After about 7 days, the check arrived.
Ten Stars for all at Elliot Advocacy.
Jeff R.
A big thank you to Elliott Advocacy for helping me get a refund from priceline after my refund request was initially denied by their customer service department. The hotel I was supposed to stay in did not have any rooms available (despite my reservation & payment) and I was forced to book a room elsewhere at 1:30 am.
Elliot Advocacy listened to my side of the story, asked questions and sent an inquiry on my behalf. The next thing I knew priceline changed their tune and told me a refund is on the way.
In this day of large corporations pushing around the working class it's re-assuring to have an advocate around who can stick up for you, if needed.
Our Heart felt thanks to Elliot Advocacy for the help getting resolve in dealing with La z boy. It is to our understanding Elliott Advocacy reached Eli Winkler @ La Z Boy where all our repeated attempts for resolve were being rejected and unanswered.
My Fiancé and I went to La Z boy October 2018 to purchase some new furniture. The company is NOT the same as in the old days.
We ended up purchasing 2 identical recliners and trusted what the sales girl stated, saying that If ever any problems, La Z boy stands behind their products and top preference is customer satisfaction.
We waited 7 plus weeks for the 2 chairs to arrive only to find that they were not as we expected after visiting the gallery.
They were not made properly - the 2 identical chairs had different shaped cushions with missing stuffing and crevasses in many places unlike the web pictures and models on display at the stores.
The reclining mechanisms did not function as they should almost tipping you over when reclined and your feet can't touch the ground when sitting in the chairs.
These chairs should have NEVER made it past their stated displayed policies " all pieces are inspected " before leaving the warehouse.”
Our repeated argument was they should have NEVER been delivered to a customer the way they were and worst La Z boy expects the customer to agree to have a tech come in the home after 10+ days of not having furniture to attempt to rebuild them and make them work as they should have when sent out of the factory. Don’t forget their policy states - every pc is inspected before release.
We are grateful to have found Elliott Advocacy, after numerous phone conversations and emails attempting to appeal to La Z boy; they were trying to force us to keep the furniture that was delivered with multiple manufacturer defects .. both mechanical and cosmetic.
We finally got an email from escalations in corporate office stating that they would take the chairs back and give us a FULL refund instead of forcing us to keep the furniture and attempt to have their technician REBUILD the chairs in my living room which to us was unfair and unacceptable; again the furniture should have never left the factory and been delivered to us in this manner to begin with.
Many Many thanks again to Elliot Advocacy for assisting us in getting a fair and proper resolve. We are hoping that La Z Boy will be following through with their word and soon to send us our refund. The chairs were picked up from our home on December 18, 2018
Bryan & Gina
Very fast at responding to emails, helped me get my refund that I deserved for a cancelled reservation.
I waited 5 months to resolve an issue with an undelivered item from a box store. After spending hours of phone calls and emails, both the store and delivery company denied refunding the money for the item which never delivered. Then found Elliott Advocacy online and filed a claim for help on Saturday. They responded and took action immediately on the same day. I've got a phone call from the company the next day morning and they refunded money. Thank you Elliott Advocacy!!!
I am thoroughly delighted with the work of Dwayne Coward and Elliott Advocacy. In a nutshell we booked a car rental in Edinburgh, Scotland, through Expedia and when we went to pick up the car (Audi or similar which turned out to be a Kia Stinger) the rate had doubled. A true bait and switch. The onsite personnel refused to honor the Expedia price. Upon our return we contacted Expedia a number of times but although they were responsive to our concerns no remedy was forthcoming. We even asked Trip Advisor and two Edinburgh government consumer affairs departments for help with no result. Finally, after Googling and finding Elliott Advocacy and telling them our sorry tale a letter from their associate Dwayne to Expedia resulted in the following response from Expedia:
"Hertz has confirmed that the car type you received at the time of the rental is within the car class as reserved. In regards to the discrepancy in the rate, Hertz will be issuing a refund back to the credit card that was used at the time of the rental.
At Expedia, a positive customer experience is important to us, and we regret that our Customer Support Team was unable to satisfactorily resolve your concern during your initial contact.
We apologize for any inconvenience you experienced as a result of the issues you encountered with your reservation while travelling, and thank you for the valuable feedback you have shared."
Again great thanks go to Elliott Advocacy and their staff for their very important work on behalf of trusting consumers.
Thank you, thank you! After being downgraded by Air France we received a letter saying we were owed a refund. Michelle helped us follow up on the paper trail showing that it had gone to the cruise company and not us. After 6 months back and forth corresponding we finally received our refund! I always read your column in the paper and now tell all my friends what a wonderful advocate you are!
We had a bit of a complex VRBO situation that boils down to being rented a shared space without being told for a long period of time (months). VRBO initially chose not to help us based on their conclusions from the details of our case.
After we explained our situation to Michelle, she took the time to understand our predicament and reached out to VRBO on our behalf. She was able shed light on misunderstandings and VRBO reversed their initial findings.
Michelle was awesome to work with and Elliott Advocacy is providing a very critical service to maintain corporate accountability.
I didn't know where to turn after waiting going around and around with Delta Auto Protect for refunds on 2 policies I purchased. The auto warranty policies were for my parents vehicles that they recently purchased. I thought I chose a reputable company. After attempting to use the warranty for the first time, I quickly realized I had made a terrible mistake. My father took his vehicle to the dealer for a repair and the service manager (who I know on a professional level) attempted to call for approval for 3 days straight. Upon the 3rd day, I made a call to Delta for them to tell me they had tried calling him back numerous times. I know that was a lie because they didn't even have his name correct. The agent assured me he would hang up with me and immediately call the dealer. The next morning, I called the dealer and again, he said he never received the call. After getting nothing accomplished, I told him to cancel both policies as I didn't like the way they were handling our service request. (I work at an independent repair shop and would never dream of making my customers wait as long as they did to get an approval or denial.) Once I said the word "cancel" all of a sudden they went to work. They even told me the work wasn't covered under the policy but they would make an exception for this one time if I just kept the policies. I went around and around with the agent and told him I didn't want the repair covered, I just wanted the policies cancelled. (I could see the writing on the wall.) I had to be transferred to a different agent and he wasn't friendly at all. Finally I got him to understand that I wasn't going to accept anything but a cancellation. According to the contract, I had every right to cancel and was entitled to refunds on both policies. I was emailed the cancellation forms, which were completed immediately. I was told we'd receive payment via check in 2 weeks. After a month of calling and emailing and getting told one random excuse after another, I didn't know what to do and I was exhausted. My parents didn't deserve this and I felt terrible. I searched the internet and came across another person that had the same issue and Elliott Advocacy contacted Delta and were able to help get the funds back in the customers hands. I decided to do the same and I'm happy I did. It still took 4 months but we finally received the refunds.
Firstly I obtained the email address of the ceo of EasyJet from this site .i wrote a letter of complaint regarding the manner and wrongful interpretation of EU law regarding family members visiting the UK .
They had barred a family’s member from boarding the plane on the conclusion that a visa was required whilst travelling to the uk .
They ejected the family member from the boarding gate.
Easy jet complaint system stated that they would revert back in 28 days .
They did not , again I complained and they asked me to submit all expenses in August.
I did that and heard nothing then yet again I wrote to the CEO of easyJet and I was referred to ecustomer support .
I then set out the law in writing to the same executive support officer.
I then contacted Elliot advocacy who exerted more pressure .
EasyJet then contacted me with a proposal of costs settlement and mor important an apology!
Keep at them !!
I rented an apartment from a company called Paris Attitude for a 2-month stay in Paris. In my last days the apartment lock malfunctioned, barring my re-entry with my key. Both the company and the apartment owner were unresponsive, forcing me to rent a hotel room. The next day the offending lock was removed by the owner's locksmith. Not only did they indicate they would not reimburse for the hotel room, they also indicated they would be keeping my security deposit to cover the cost of replacing/fixing the lock. Of course I did nothing whatsoever to the lock to cause it to malfunction, and left the apartment in pristine condition. In response to my dismay at nonpayment of money due to me, Paris Attitude only indicated that I should take the matter up with the apartment owner; the apartment owner also abdicated responsibility and said I should take the matter up with Paris Attitude. I was caught in the middle and short nearly $500.
I contacted Elliott Advocacy, who was prompt and thorough in gaining insights into my situation. Within one day of their contacting Paris Attitude on my behalf, I received an email from Paris Attitude indicating the near $500 would indeed be coming my way. THANK YOU ELLIOTT ADVOCACY!
My husband and I stayed in Miami the night before a cruise at a hotel close to the port. I used a gift card that was given to me by a friend for the one night hotel stay. Imagine how surprised I was when the hotel charged 2 nights on the gift card instead of one!! We stayed an extra 20 minutes trying to get it resolved, and were assured it would be corrected. A month later, after numerous calls and e-mails to the hotel and having the hotel's customer service line hang up on me, I contacted the Elliott Group, sent the necessary information, and within a few days, the issue was resolved and I was issued a refund. Michelle Friedman is awesome! I can't say enough good things about her and the Elliott team!
I had a hassle with Vueling Airlines and turned to Elliott.org for help. They responded immediately and shepherded me through the process of resolving the dispute. It was eventually decided in my favor and I was recompensed by Vueling.
Michelle from Elliott, was terrific. Lots of good advice, support and encouragement....AND follow-up! Rare these days.
Thank you, Michelle, and thanks to Elliott.org!
I just wanted to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Elliott Advocacy for their amazing work.
I recently stayed one night at the Extended Stay - White Rock in Rancho Cordova and a few days after my check out I noticed an additional $250.00 charge on my credit card (somehow charged before my stay even occurred). I called and found out they had falsely levied a smoking fee on me although I do not smoke at all. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to resolve the issue myself, I turned to Elliott Advocacy.
From the very first email I sent, Michelle Couch-Friedman was prompt with her response and lent such valuable expertise to the situation. She advised me to start conversing with the hotel manager via email to get each interaction documented - which proved extremely important because the manager stated to the company I booked the hotel through (Expedia) that I had not contacted them regarding this matter, despite my multiple phone calls. Once it was established that they were not willing to communicate with me in writing, Michelle reached out to them directly and less than 48 hours later the $250.00 fee was reversed!
I am SO thankful for the folks at Elliott Advocacy, and cannot thank Michelle enough for helping me right this wrong.
I had booked a vacation with my wife to Florida in February of 2018 using round-trip tickets from Philadelphia to Orlando with American Airlines. When we arrived at the terminal to depart, we were informed by AA staff that they could not locate my wife's ticket because she was bumped off of the flight and assigned to another one and we were never notified of any changes prior to this. She was then forced to pay the cancellation fee of $200.00 and to pay with her own CC another $379.70 to get back on the same flight as me. We were informed by the airline staff that mistakes like this have happened before and upon our return, just file a claim with their Customer Relations Department with the original tickets and credit will be issued within 30 days or less. We were notified by e-mail that they did nothing wrong and refused reimbursement. We then contacted my wife's credit card company to "dispute their charge that was on her statement" and it was eventually removed but ordered put back on by AA. I then contacted the Elliott Advocacy Group as I always read their weekly column in the local Philadelphia Inquirer Sunday newspaper regarding travelers getting screwed over in various ways. After several go-arounds and submitting all of the attached documentation as proof of our claim, their representative contacted AA on our behalf and argued our case. Shortly thereafter, we received a phone call from AA profusely apologizing for their own mistake and stating that reimbursement will take place within 7 days. Thank God for organizations like this who look out for and work on behalf of the "little guy"who have nobody else to turn to in cases like this other than lawyers and small claims courts which then take up even more money and time to right a clear wrong because you have companies who flaunt their power and wealth and think they can get away with it. WAY TO GO DWAYNE COWARD OF THE ELLIOTT ADVOCACY GROUP! Nice work. We are forever grateful.
Elliot Advocacy was a huge help with a recent issue we had with a company who installed the incorrect stair lift for my 94 year old mother. Aid4Mobility, also known as The Chair Lift Store, "claims" that my mother purchased an indoor chair for her outdoor lift to "save money. Further, they claimed that she "knew" she would have trouble with the lift which we did almost from the beginning. In fact, what had happened is that this company was scamming my mother, took her $2500 and kept trying to charge her to fix the chair when it broke down. I contacted Elliott Advocacy to help me, and one of their staff gave me the name of the Director of Compliance at the company who made the lift and within 20 minutes she was on the phone with me. As I type this, a new carriage and chair is being sent to us, it will replace the indoor lift, an outdoor lift cover will be sent out, rather than the flimsy cover A4M gave us, and someone will supervise the work of replacing the unit to ensure they no longer continue to scam us by damaging the lift in any way. Finally my mother can get down the stairs to her doctor's appointments and to go out to dinner with us. Thank you.
These guys were amazing!! I had an issue with a child travelling as a "tween" - old enough to travel independently on some airlines and not others. I bought a ticket on what I thought was Iberia, and it turned out to be a partner airline that did not permit travelers under 14 alone. Elliot persevered and helped my get some compensation for the second ticket I had to purchase on the spur of the moment - incredibly grateful.
They stuck with me even though I had a softer case - and used their leverage to give me hat feels like justice.
Thank you Elliott!!!!
So pleased with Elliott Advocacy. I booked a trip to India through Travelocity, and then received notification that the first leg of the trip had been canceled. The alternatives that Air India provided did not work with my schedule, so I wanted to cancel the entire trip, be refunded, and start over. My calls to Travelocity got nowhere - they kept claiming that they "couldn't reach" Air India, but would keep trying. Meanwhile, my trip is coming up! So I wrote into Chris' Washington Post chat, and was directed here. Within seriously three days, I have received a refund from Travelocity. Not sure what you did or how you did it, but thank you!
On the morning of July 3, 2018, I boarded a Greyhound bus at Arcata, California to arrive in Oakland at 4:25 p.m. A few miles from Arcata, the bus broke down on Highway 101. The driver contacted her supervisor and was told there was mechanical help on the way. After over an hour, the driver said Greyhound bringing a replacement bus from San Francisco, which was about 6 hours away from where we were stranded. No other options to rescue us were offered.
In order to be out of harm’s way, and yielding to the passengers’ insistence, the driver was able to pull into the small town of Myer’s Flat. We were in need of food and water for the long wait, plus it was unsafe on the highway. I realized that the time it would take for the replacement bus to arrive in Oakland would be after midnight. I had planned to walk from the Oakland Greyhound station to BART to near my home in Berkeley, but the thought of a midnight walk made this original plan untenable. I had no other choice but to take a local bus back to Arcata, secure a hotel for the night and schedule my return with Amtrak for the next day.
Not only an inconvenient experience for me (and for the other passengers), this situation also added unanticipated expenses of an overnight stay plus transportation costs the next day.
I wrote a letter to Greyhound on July 7 asking for a refund, and a follow-up on August 21. I never received any response. I contacted Elliott Advocacy who gave me contact information for Greyhound executives, but they did not respond to my request either. Only through Elliot’s subsequent diligence and persistence did Greyhound relent and agree to reimburse my bus ticket, which was only $58.20. It was not the amount that was significant but the principle of Greyhound's refusal and dismissal of their passengers' satisfaction. Elliott Advocacy is truly a vital service to the public; thank you!
My friends and I rented an apartment using Booking.com in New York City for a weeks stay. We paid in full. We made arrangements to meet the apartment Manager at a café close to his house to pick up the key. When we arrived we called him and he was completely unreasonable, yelled at us, refused to meet us with the key and left us standing on the sidewalk at 9pm with no reservation.
I approached Elliot Advocacy when, after one year of circular communications with Booking.com and my credit card Chase, I was weary, frustrated and had been denied a refund several times. Though everyone I spoke to was empathetic they were ineffective.
Response to my initial email to Elliot Advocacy was immediate and concise and follow up emails helped direct me to decision makers. With their help, I obtained a refund within 2 weeks. I cannot thank them enough for their attention to detail, professionalism and guidance. I am a professional in the travel industry myself and recognize their hard work in holding Companies and suppliers in this industry accountable.
Maz from California
I can say Elliot Advocacy team members are extremley helpful and offer quick responses. I stayed at country inn in Ohmaha that I booked through Hotwire for a total of 55$. However there was a 250$ charge that took a few days before anyone could explain it . turns out it was a smoking charge but I hadnt smoked period! After going back and forth the hotel had no evidence but the asst. Manager insisted that someone smoked weed and the charge would remain. Fortunately I saw other people with the same problem reach out Elliot advocacy. They were able to reach a solution with the hotel manager and have the fee reversed. It was such a relief to know I wasnt alone and there are companies that help the consumer get a fair solution.
Had opened an account with Venmo to send money to my daughter using my checking account. After they sent her the money, they said my bank wouldn't verify the routing and account numbers I had indicated. I re-verified my account for them but days later they sent me an e-mail requesting a copy of my I.D., something I was not comfortable doing. I told them I wanted to settle up my account and just pay them the money I owed them, but they kept demanding to see a copy of my I.D. I must have dealt with at least 6 different customer service reps and they all kept insisting I couldn't pay them without sending my I.D.
I wanted to give them the money I owed, but I did not want to send my I.D. They refused to give me contact info for anyone in management. I did not want this debt to affect my excellent credit rating. This went back and forth for a month with no resolution.
I found Elliot Advocacy online and they responded to me immediately. I gave them all the documentation I had and they reached out to Venmo on my behalf. The very next day I got a call from a supervisor at Venmo who quickly solved the problem.
Am so very grateful to Elliott Advocacy!
I went online to Priceline and selected all inclusive and beach/ocean. I selected all cities, knowing nothing about cities in Jamaica.
I put my bids in until one was accepted for $1500. This was for my 16-year-old son and I. I called the hotel because I saw nothing about the beach or all inclusive.
After a super long wait on hold, the receptionist came back to tell me they were an adult-only business hotel, an hour and a half away from the beach with only breakfast included.
The cab to the beach would have been over $100 each way. I was shocked.
I bought travel insurance. But that only covered $700. So, I was really freaked out.
I called Priceline and the hotel immediately to cancel.
Priceline said no and the hotel said they had no way to help me since I didn't book through them,, even though my son wasn't allowed to stay there because he is a child.
While searching Google for answers, I found The Elliot Agency and Michelle.
Michelle is so kind and amazingly was able to secure a refund.
What a huge relief. I'm so grateful to Michelle and The Elliot Agency for the advocacy and outstanding results. Thank you so very much.
Now we can afford to go to some place that us all inclusive with the ocean right there! Thank you, Michelle. Excellent advocacy!
In January 2017 we paid our deposit for an upcoming trip with Uncommon Journeys leaving in October 2017. We paid the remainder of the trip in July 2017. We were notified in September 2017 that the trip was canceled. We asked Uncommon Journeys for a refund. After countless unanswered attempts to get a response from Uncommon Journeys we contacted Discover Card for a refund. Discover Card refunded the full trip amount but a month or so later rescinded the initial deposit refund. Again we attempted to contact Uncommon Journeys and our numerous attempts went unanswered. We contacted Michelle on September 8, 2018. Michelle guided us and we finally were told on October 24, 2018 that Discover Card will refund the initial deposit. We tried to get a refund for almost a year and when we contacted Michelle, we are going to get our refund and it took about seven weeks. We know we never would have received this positive outcome if it weren't for all the help we received from Michelle. We can never thank Michelle enough.
I had an unfortunate airline experience that I was unable to adequately resolve with the airline or my credit card company. (My seat was downgraded from business class to middle seat coach for a 12 hour flight.)
I reached out to Elliott Advocacy for further direction as to how I might proceed. With the advice and suggestions made by Michelle Friedman, I forged ahead with my pleas for compensation. Following their advice for a paper trail and recommended 3 Ps of patience, perseverance, and politeness, I received a credit applied to my credit card. It was exactly 51 weeks to the day I traveled that I my credit was applied. (It was not the full amount I requested, but I at least feel vindicated.)
I sincerely thanked Ms Friedman for her assistance and moral support throughout my nearly year long quest to get back what I felt was rightfully mine.
When you ask the Elliot Advocacy Group to intervene, it's basically the equivalent to a letter written on a lawyer's letterhead; nine times out of ten that alone will intimidate a solution. Michelle was extremely helpful in finding out what was happening when a hotel (who's website had gone dark for two weeks) attempted to charge me a night's stay after I cancelled 37 days before my visit!
Michelle was patient and spent days going back and forth between me and the hotel. I honestly don't think I would have been able to solve this issue without them. Thanks!
On a recent trip to Oahu, we booked a tour through Viator for a food tour of Oahu. We arrived at the proper time and place and the tour guide did not show. I e-mailed Viator and also called the company and was sent directly to voice mail. I left a detailed message and return number and waited. No response to e-mail or phone call for 2 weeks. I got my information to Elliott and within 3 days, I had a return e-mail from Viator telling me they indeed cancelled the tour, were returning my monies, and even gave me a voucher for another trip because they had not informed me of the cancellation. Thank you Elliott for bird dogging my problem.
I have submitted a flight delay compensation to Volotea. They agreed to pay me one year ago but never paid. I have tried every method but Volotea just did not respond to me anymore. Fortunately I knew Elliott from website. I wrote to them and they offered to help me to contact with Volotea. Several weeks later, I received the compensation. I think I can never got my compensation without Elliott.
Last December I booked a hotel room through Cancelon and I was billed by Cancelon and the hotel. After almost one year of unsuccessfuly trying to resolve this double billing issue, I appealed to Elliott.org. Within days after Elliot got involved, Cancelon responded and within one week, I was not only fully reimbursed but was given an additional $100 (for pain and suffering, I guess) and numerous apologies. I cannot thank Michelle enough, not just for the resolution, but also for her professionalism throughout the process. We need more organizations like Elliot.
We had a nightmare vacation on Celebrity cruises (5/2018) because the cruise had been advertised as Wheelchair accessible (as well as the ports); and it turned out neither was the case, but we didn't discover this until already aboard the ship. This resulted in a heartbreaking vacation, especially when we were not able to receive any help from either Celebrity Cruises or VacationsToGo (our agent) upon discovering the problem. As a result, we were not able to travel with my wheelchair to half the ports during the cruise. When we returned home we reached out to our travel agent to try and resolve the problem with the cruise line and got nowhere; as the travel agency and the cruise line took turns blaming each other for the error.
After a couple of months of getting a run around from the travel agency, we reached out to Elliott.org (9/2018) after being provided their information from another person on our cruise who also had been mislead about the cruise. Per Elliott.org requests, we tried exhausting every idea we had before asking them to help or advise us. Once we realized we were just going in Circles with agency and cruise line, we contacted back Elliott.org to see how to proceed next.
An Angel responded (Michelle) and took charge of the insanity that had been going on for a few months. Within 48 hours, I was receiving a call from the Executive Office at Celebrity Cruises who wanted to apologize and resolve the situation as best they could. Ultimately we were refunded for a portion of our cruise to cover the ports were unable to visit, but most of all the cruise line and the travel agency finally apologized for the errors and took ownership of the errors.
None of this would have been possible without Michelle at Elliott.org. I don't know how to Thank her enough, but she truly was our guardian angel. I will now be an elliott.org fan for life and if ever there is anything we can do to help them; were here. We need more agencies like Elliott.org who look out for marginalized consumers who have been taken advantage of or left lost in a system that makes no sense to them. The whole crew at Elliott.org earned their wings 1000 times over.
My family (12 of us) rented a beach house in Rehoboth Delaware this summer. Following our stay the owner refused to give our security deposit back because we “left garbage by the curb and it had an odor”. The garbage was bagged well and all but three bags fit in the large garbage cans that were provided for the house. We followed the outlined rules, but were not provided with other important information about the HOA rules. She kept telling us about payments she made and extra fees she paid but would not share proof. Elliott Advocacy fought for us with both the owner and VRBO. They were able to help us get our entire deposit back. They were amazing, professional, and understanding. I highly recommend them!!
I couldn't get this hotel to reimburse me for a mysterious "smoking fee" that appeared on my checking account. The hotel was not receptive when I contacted them. They firmly stood by this fee that I was wrongfully charged. I went to Elliott Advocacy for help and was so excited that they were able to get me a refund.
I was unable to get a credit from the Popcorn Factory that I had in writing from them. They kept telling me they had processed it, but it never showed up. I remembered seeing Elliott in my Sunday paper so thought I would give it a try. They followed up for me and finally my credit came through. Easy effort on my part with successful resolution. I would highly recommend them.
I had a months long charge from SAS that I had been disputing. Paperwork went back and forth, with no resolution. I remembered that each week in the Sunday paper, there is a column that addresses problems that travelers are trying to resolve, so I wrote to the column.
The people at Elliott listened to my 3 month old issue with SAS for a sizeable amount of money. Elliott immediately got involved in my case, and within a week - 1 week - I finally received a credit from SAS to reverse an inaccurate charge from them. I never got any explanation from them-just the credit.
I'm pretty sure nothing would have happened without the assistance from Elliott and Dwayne there, who was really helpful.
My family had a flight cancelled over the summer, and we were promised a reimbursement that never came. As soon as I completed the agency's form, Michelle Couch-Friedman responded to get all of the pertinent information. She contacted Frontier the next morning (Monday--the next business day), and our refund was on the way that morning. I am very impressed with how efficiently and promptly everything was resolved. Thank you so much for your assistance!
-A. Singer, Orlando, FL
I had a huge cell phone bill for an international call. I supposedly called Jamaica and talked for 120 minutes. Since I have never made an international call off my cell phone, never talk for more than a few minutes, barely know where Jamaica is, know no one there, I knew it was not a call I made. When I called Verizon customer service, they said their fraud dept said the call WAS made from my phone and that someone may have used my phone. I told her, at the time the call was made, I am in bed, and I am the only one who uses my phone. Danielle was very sympathetic and could only credit my account $40 by signing me up for other services.
I contacted Elliot's group and Michele said to communicate with Verizon on the chat so that there is something in writing. Chat person was sympathetic, and said they made a request to the financial dept. for a credit, and I would get a response in 7 business days. In eight business days, I DIDN'T. I contacted Michele again with the chat. Bang! in less than 2 hours I get a call from the executive offices of Verizon, crediting me for all the overages. A goodwill gesture for being a long time Verizon customer, who has never made international calls.
I was so appreciative of not having to spend weeks to be credited. Unfortunately there is no explanation about that international and other mysterious calls that appear on my phone log that I know I did not make . Verizon insists that those calls were made on my phone.
Elliott Advocacy was such a huge help to me when Sears refused to help me with the shattered lid on our washer due to a manufacturer's defect and the replacement lid being on backorder. When Sears wouldn't do anything for me, Elliott stepped in and contacted them on my behalf and I received a brand new washer 2 days later! I can't express my thanks enough to them for all their help!
Thank you Elliott Advocacy! Ordered benches from Tidewater Workshop and never got them after 3 months of waiting. Never got return calls or emails either. After Elliott contacted them, I have received 2 emails and a delivery date. Thanks so much.
I want to thank Elliott and his team for helping me work out a issue with priceline.com. I had booked a reservation that said free cancelation available but priceline was refusing to honor. They also cancelled my original reservation without returning my money to me and refused to reinstate it. Elliott and his team were so kind, they reached out to priceline for me to work something out to help me. Thank you!
My wife and I had rented a unit in Florida for 3 weeks in 2019. After sending a down payment, the property owner cancelled our agreement. I reached out to Elliott Advocacy for assistance in getting some relief for the injury caused us by this cancellation. The staff of Elliott was very helpful in inducing a settlement of our claim. They followed up with us in an efficient and diligent manner.
I would recommend this organization to any traveler who has experienced abuse by a business in the travel industry.
After almost 3 months of trying to get a refund for a cancelled Norwegian Air flight that I booked through Travelocity, I contacted Elliott as a last resort. Within a week of requesting assistance from Elliott I was contacted by Travelocity and issued a full refund by Norwegian Air. It shouldn't take third party intervention to get a refund for something as straightforward as an airline cancelled flight, but as I learned from my experience, it can be an extremely convoluted process and I am very grateful that Elliott was there to help! I would highly recommend using Elliot for the resolution of travel issues.
I had an ongoing dispute with vrbo and sedgwick properties where steve sedgwick canceled my stay, refused a refund, and I paid by check-so bye-bye $8800! vrbo sided with the homeowner and closed my case. After prodding from Elliott advocacy, they reopened my case and vrbo refunded my $8800. I'm extremely pleased with their support obviously! And if you feel like a situation may be hopeless and you are in the right, continue on with your cause with Elliott advocacy there to help you!
I was extremely pleased with their response time after I contacted them. We made reservations that were non refundable through Booking. com. The hotel was not suitable for our disabled daughter and we did not stay the 4 days we booked for. They took on our case, advocated for us and although we did not get a complete refund, but 50% seemed fair.
A sign of a well run organization is how it handles special situations. When your Chase Visa organization sides with a Westin organization, there no recourse but to ask for help. My problem was a $208.13 overcharge from Westin to my Visa account. My voice was lost in all the noise and my requests for reimbursement went against me.
This is where Michelle Couch-Friedman came in on my behalf and approached Westin with the facts:
1. The Westin's check out time on my confirmation was a special 3:00 pm for that weekend.
2. I checked out at 1:46 pm, handed my key card in and received a printed invoice showing time and date of my departure.
3. My Visa account was charged an extra night's stay to the tune of $208.13.
4. Tried getting help from Westin's billing department. All I got was a list of my charges and no response to my telephone calls.
5. Worked with Visa and put the amount in dispute. They received a copy of my Westin invoice and approached Westin.
6. I lost the dispute because Westin copied my signature onto the overcharged invoice and said they had proof I was in the room.
7. Michelle pointed out the facts to Westin that the special checkout time was 3:00 p.m. as stated on my confirmation and I gave her cell phone records showing my location was not in their rooms.
8. Westin has admitted a their error. Their normal checkout time was earlier and when my second invoice was produced, it showed I had overstayed ignoring the special 3:00 pm checkout time. I am still waiting on Visa.
To me, the real problem is when you give your signature to get a room, you trust they will use it wisely. There seems to be no recourse to present your dispute when there is a problem. I had the correct invoice when I walked out of their lobby but Westin gave Visa a different amount. Visa went with Westin charges because they showed my signature on the incorrect invoice which said I knew I was responsible for all additional charges.
I was on the phone with customer service this morning with National Car Rental for 1 ½ hours to no avail. I emailed a corporate contact that you had listed and received a phone call from the local office this afternoon because of it. In the space of 5 minutes, got everything resolved plus a discount to my satisfaction, and the person who called couldn’t be nicer or more apologetic—a huge change from my call to CS this morning. Don’t know what I would have done without your contact list. A HUGE thank you!!!
We had a very frustrating experience with AirBnB host and then AirBnB itself. After a couple of weeks of getting nowhere with their internal process, I contacted Elliott and the result was a full refund and apology from AirBnB within 2 days. They far surpassed my expectations and I would highly recommend them to anyone with a travel issue.
I have a five month long tale of woe dealing with Verizon.. My dealings with their customer service required (no exaggeration) over 20 hours on the phone mostly on hold. Their fails would be a comedy of errors except I’m not laughing. Basically, I had no Internet service for five months, was billed for $350 for services not provided, was told I would not have to pay because they admitted I’d had no service, only to get billed two weeks later and threatened with debt collection activities for having an overdue bill of $350. My service was suspended. The cherry on top was when I called in response to the last demand for payment I was told they had no record that my service had not been working nor that customer service had told me my bill was excused!
If you’ve dealt with Verizon you know that virtually the only way to contact them is via telephone. Even Twitter customer service which I tried over the past months ultimately would tell me they would put me in touch with someone by phone.
I did get one bill from an address in Florida that asked me to respond by snail mail. I am mobility disabled so it’s a real hassle to get to the mailbox, and besides, without Internet service my printer doesn’t work.
In desperation I turned to Elliott.org/Elliott Advocacy and was pleased to find a list of customer service email addresses. I picked the person who looked most likely to be in charge of the issues I had had and sent them an email. Ninety minutes later I received a phone call, an apology, and an assurance that this person would personally contact me in the next day or two to make sure my issues were resolved. Half an hour after the phone call I received emails advising me my account had been credited for the months I had receive no service. A few minutes later I received another email telling me my service was being restored.
I’m a realist and I know there is no guarantee my Internet service will be adequate, but at least I know I’m not being billed $350 for services that were not provided. I thank Elliott.org/Elliott Advocacy for providing the online information that allowed me to resolve my problem with Verizon, and I highly recommend them for anyone having a consumer issue.
OMG!
I literally was searching for a consumers reporting agency and came across Elliott Advocacy. I wrote them that morning on 7-24-18 concerning my issue with my GE Appliance washer and was contacted by the end of that day. They asked me to send them all of my correspondence with GE Appliance and they took it from there. I received a called from a GE Appliance representative on 7-26-18. My issue was resolved by the end of that same week on 7-27-18 and I just received my refund check yesterday on 8-16-18 in the amount that I paid for thr washer. I was too happy for them to pick the defective one up.
I did a Google Search for "consumer advocate" after two weeks of frustrating conversations with Hertz representatives. That's how, by a strike of luck, I stumbled onto the Elliott Advocacy Web site.
We rented a Dollar car at Frankfurt airport through http://www.autoeurope.com
We were charged $213.16 upfront for the 6 days rental (6/13/18 - 6/18/18) and received a voucher form autoeurope with the details of the rental. On first page of the voucher, highlighted in blue was: "Insurance Optional".
After a 14 hours flight from California to Germany we arrived at the Dollar counter in Frankfurt which was deserted and we were directed to the Hertz counter next to it. We presented our voucher but were told that we could not rent the car without purchasing CDW and theft insurance from Hertz. We initially refused because the Chase Sapphire Reserved Visa card we used to pay for rental covers CDW and Theft worldwide but they would not rent us the car. We told them we rented cars all over the world from South Africa to Costa Rica without problems but they did not budge and we were FORCED to accept their insurance (we could not walk away because we had already pre payed for the rental). The cost for their insurance was 246.96 euros and Theft Protection 106.50 euros which after taxes and exchange rate became a charge of $510.44 on top of the initial rental charge.
Once at the hotel I went back to more carefully read the voucher
One the first page highlighted in blue in big letters it says: "Insurance Optional"
Also on the first page: "Your rental excludes: Collision Damage Waiver and Theft Protection. Auto Europe recommends you to check with your credit card company that you are adequately covered for this rental." (which we did, and knew our credit card would cover us in Germany)
Only on the third page (in the fine prints): "If taking a basic rate credit card coverage is only accepted from either a US issued Gold/Platinum Mastercard or Canadian issued Gold/Patinum Visa. Only accepted for rentals less than 28 days and must provide written proof that the car is fully covered for Germany or worldwide. Failure to provide this documentation and/or the appropriate card, the insurance will be mandatory."
We thought therefore that we had been greatly misled by the first two points into believing that
the insurance was optional
in case we wanted the coverage we could use the one our credit card provided
Since the insurance cannot be both "OPTIONAL" and "MANDATORY" we thought we had ground to ask for a refund of our insurance charges.
We bought up the issue
Directly with Hertz on Twitter (got nowhere except for a long series of apologies for the inconvenience)
Writing to autoeurope that committed to try and resolve the issue with Hertz but then became silent for a couple of months.
Opening a credit Card Dispute but we were told by the credit card company that the credit card dispute would not hold since we signed the transaction and approved the payment in order to get the car so there was nothing they could do.
After all this I contacted Dwayne C. Coward at Elliott Advocacy. He thoroughly looked over all the material I had and, after a few email exchanges, intervened for me.
I firmly believe that nothing would ever have happened without his help.
Today I received his email with the good news that Hertz reversed the insurance charges. Thank you, Dwayne! Thumbs up to Elliott Advocacy!
I accidentally stumbled onto the Elliott Advocacy Web site when I was desperately trying to communicate with Choice Hotels. It was the best "stumble" I ever had.
After my husband, Tim, spent one night at a Quality Inn hotel in Pleasant View, TN, our credit card bill showed a separate $60 charge. I contacted my credit card company, who facilitated a three-way conversation with the assistant manager of the hotel. She informed us the charge was for two pillows that were missing from Tim's room. My husband and I were both devastated by this accusation, since he may very well be the most honest person in the world. Tim is 76 years old and was riding his motorcycle on the Blue Ridge Parkway for the last time. He called it his "last hurrah," since long-distance trips are getting a little too difficult for him. He had a wonderful time, wonderful memories -- until this happened to ruin it.
Despite three weeks of desperately attempting to contact the general manager of the Quality Inn and it's corporate office, Choice Hotels, no one would respond to me. Michelle Couch-Friedman at Elliott took up my cause and met the same wall of resistance. On July 14, Michelle published a story, detailing the entire incident. That story elicited an avalanche of responses from readers who were outraged by both the accusation and the non-responsiveness of the company. On July 16, the project manager from Choice Hotels called me at home, apologized to both Tim and I and admitted it should have been handled immediately. He voided the $60 charge and offered us a future credit, which I refused. All I ever wanted was validation that Tim did not steal the pillows and a refund of the charge. Although, honestly, by that time, I really wanted the apology as well. This situation had taken a terrible emotional toll on both Tim and I.
I firmly believe that nothing would ever have happened without Michelle Couch-Friedman at Elliott Advocacy intervening. Like me, she refused to give up the fight; and, through her efforts, we finally won. Thank you, Michelle; thank you Elliott Advocacy. You are true champions!