☹️🚢Instant regret: Cruise passenger buys a $3,100 "magical device" during a port stop

 ⛑️Consumer Rescue presents🛟

Tales from Consumer Advocacy Land

Real stories. Real rescues. Real advice.

Happy Sunday, friends! ❤️

This evening, we start out with a truly cautionary tale.

I often hear from people — especially cruise passengers — who have come home with high-priced, unwanted purchases they impulsively made in an unfamiliar city. Only after they’re thousands of miles from the merchant do they realize they don’t want the “thing” (whatever it may be — jewelry, skin care devices, time share, paintings, carpets, etc) — you name it. Even worse, the item is completely overpriced and nonrefundable.

Many of these cruise ship passengers tell stories that involve high-pressure sales tactics and coercion. Some have even reported suspicions of being drugged or plied with alcohol to lower inhibitions and make the purchase go more easily.

In today’s story, there is none of the darker side of shopping in cruise ports. Our traveler simply realized moments too late that she did not want the $3,100 “magic wand” she had just agreed to buy. She asked the salesperson at the Earth shop in the Dominican Republic to rip up the receipt with her signature on it, but he refused. Which was particularly ridiculous because he didn’t even have the device in the shop to sell her — the transaction was purely on paper.

I’ll tell you what happened next and how you can avoid finding yourself with a bad case of buyer’s remorse that could ruin your cruise. 🚢

Of course, the big travel news this weekend is Spirit Airlines' shutdown yesterday, which left thousands (possibly millions) of customers stranded. If you or someone you know is caught up in this situation, I’ve updated my article about how to get a refund from a bankrupt airline to include information specifically for Spirit Airlines’ customers.

Here’s what to do if your airline goes bankrupt and leaves you stranded

And related to air travel, over at Fodor’s Travel, I tell you about your rights at U.S. airports now.

And as always, I have a few stories you might have missed previously.

Enjoy!

Don’t forget: if you’re interested in my personal adventure in preparing my house, and (hopefully) selling it quickly after nearly 3 decades of living here, my new feature “Life, Lately " is in a separate section below. You can read about the ups and downs and the emotional roller coaster I’m currently on. Last week’s edition generated a lot of reactions, and I’ll share those and more today. Who knows what will happen next? 🤣

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In the last edition of Life, Lately, I told you about getting stuck in the crawl space under my deck — for 2 ½ hours. I received a ton of emails about that post. You all had a lot to say😃. (The story is at the bottom of last week’s newsletter, linked above.)

I wanted to tell you something about this platform that you may not know. In fact, I wasn’t quite sure how it worked until recently.

We can all chat together directly under the newsletter. This platform is also private, so don’t be shy; your comments won’t be blasted onto the internet. Only subscribers to Tales from Consumer Advocacy Land can participate or see that part of the newsletter. So join me in the comment section. I’m happy to answer any questions there. The picture above the sections shows how to comment.

I appreciate all your encouraging emails last week. Some readers were concerned that I was in danger under that deck with no way out. The truth is, if my life had been in danger, I could have kicked out the lattice work quickly. However, that would also have significantly damaged it, while I’m supposed to be getting the house ready to sell. Digging my way out was the most practical solution to my entrapment.

Another of our readers cautioned me to be careful because I seem to have developed a habit of letting doors slam behind me. He reminded me of my fiasco in Paris last fall when my hotel room door shut on me at midnight, locking me out in my PJs. He’s right, I should be more aware of self-locking doors. 🤓 Thanks for that reminder, Jerry!

Many of you shared advice about downsizing after 26 ½ years — what to keep, what to donate, and, of course, what to toss. (Thank you for those words of encouragement.)

I’m not going to sugarcoat this…it is really hard — especially because I’m a very sentimental person. I have bins and bins of memorabilia from each stage of my children’s lives… from the day I brought them home from the hospital until now. And today they are 24 and 22… I just opened one bin and found a tiny diaper for babies up to 5 pounds (my girls were very little). I remember putting that diaper in the bin because I wanted to keep it as a reminder of how small they were. And now it’s in another bin, going with me to the next place. I can’t part with it…

And then there are things like this:

On a trip to Puerto Vallarta in 2003, my oldest daughter was just one year old. She picked this little turtle out from a street vendor’s cart. From that moment on, for the rest of the trip and some weeks afterward, she treated it like a real pet. She carried it around, talked to it, and wrapped it up in a blanket.

As her attention to it dwindled and then disappeared entirely, you guessed it, I put it in a bin for safekeeping. Even though it wasn’t special to the baby anymore, it had become special to me. I wanted to remember that day strolling the outdoor market in Mexico. I didn’t have the heart to toss it then, and I still don’t. So that little turtle will be moving with me, too.

I realize I can’t bring nearly three decades of hardcopy memories with me. That’s not downsizing at all.... I need to become more brutal with the task at hand. But I am really not good at this.

So what would you do with this?

Not surprisingly, I don’t have a VHS tape player… and without one, this is useless. It’s just taking up space, but somehow it seems sacrilegious to put it in a garbage can. Will my 28-year marriage be cursed if I toss it away? What do other people do with this type of outdated technology that contains precious memories? Many of the people in that video, including my dad and mother-in-law, are no longer with us.

Nope, I can’t throw it away either. (PS. Yes, I have a digital copy, but this is the actual tape from that day.)

So, it is taking me extra long to pack up the house and get it ready for my realtor to show. I open up closets and boxes and start strolling down memory lane. Before I know it, two hours have gone by, and I’ve not accomplished much.

I am making progress, though. The donation truck (a company that benefits veterans) has been stopping by my house nearly every day. They’ll be back tomorrow again. I also have a giant dumpster in my driveway AND a storage pod. I definitely have all the tools I need to do this. I just need to get serious.

This evening after work, I’m going to become more disciplined, less sentimental, and get this done. Wish me luck!

Don't forget! Consumer Rescue is just a click away. One of us is always here to answer your questions. 

Of course, you can always reach me at [email protected]