⛑️Consumer Rescue Presents 🛟
Tales from Consumer Advocacy Land
Hello friends! ❤️
Well, here we are — the last Tuesday of October.
My girls came home from school this weekend to hang out before my upcoming trip. We put up some Halloween decorations and watched silly TV. 👻🎃
This week, I’m headed to France to attend a journalist conference on a river cruise. I’ll report back in a few days to let you know what it’s like to travel through the airports during a government shutdown! 😜
🤬But before I get to packing my suitcase, I want to tell you about my recent, outrageous experience attempting to mediate a problem for an Ace Rent a Car customer, Carla.
Carla had the misfortune of renting a vehicle from Ace’s Tampa airport location, which has racked up hundreds of negative reviews on sites like TripAdvisor and Trustpilot.
A week after her two-day rental, she received a demand from a claims processor to pay $1,400 to repair damage to the vehicle. This all happened back in May, and she’s been battling the companies involved ever since. When she contacted Consumer Rescue recently and sent me the “evidence package” from Rockport Auto Claims, it instantly became clear that she was being falsely accused.
However, although the company’s own paperwork proved Carla’s innocence, Ace refused to look at it. Every employee I encountered — from the local agency to the corporate office — was hostile and unwilling to even consider my findings.
So, what can be done if a company refuses to participate in mediation? Find out today in our first featured article. (P.S. Get ready to be angry.)
Of course, as usual, I’ve got some ICYMI (in case you missed it) stories to share this afternoon as well.
Enjoy your evening!! ☕️🛋️😴
🛄✈️Now I need to go and get my bags packed and find my passport!
This Week’s Fiascos and Fixes 🔍
Not all predators in Florida have scales!
Ace Rent a Car at the Tampa airport blindsided Carla Lemker with a $1,400 repair bill after her last rental. Certain she hadn't caused any damage to the vehicle, Lemker asked Ace for proof — and then things got really weird.
Michelle Couch-Friedman, Chief Fiasco Fixer🤓
If you don’t smoke, I’m pretty sure you don’t pack cigarettes, marijuana, or a crack pipe when you go on vacation. Life-long nonsmoker Jason Gladden certainly didn’t bring any of that when he recently took his family to a baseball tournament. However, that didn’t stop his vacation rental host from charging the stunned dad a $250 smoking fee. (MCF)
Lee Smith believes she just had the worst Airbnb experience ever. And after you hear — and see — what she (and her cat) endured during the past month, I think you might agree.
Her tale is a harsh reminder of the risky nature of shared-space rentals. Lee assumed the Airbnb host had properly vetted the man with whom she would share an apartment. Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case. (MCF)
Like every savvy traveler, Kathy Mason inspected her recent rental car very carefully before driving it off the lot. The vehicle had no visible damage, and she says she returned it in the same condition just two days later. So it was a surprise when Enterprise sent her a $775 repair bill – two months after the rental was over. So what does Mickey Mouse have to do with any of this? (MCF)
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Until next time 🤓
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Your friend and loyal consumer advocate,
Michelle Couch-Friedman
Founder/CFF (Chief Fiasco Fixer) 😛
917-841-0583
The Consumer Rescue newsletter and the articles you read on the site are fine-tuned by a team of absolutely wonderful editors (and my friends): Art Ellis, Karen Roberts, Irene Rawlings, Wendie Feinberg, Tanya Anticevic, Jennifer Finger, Robyn Whittingham, Teri Bergin, Dwayne Coward, and Chip Elam. ❤️ |