⛑️Consumer Rescue Presents 🛟
Tales from Consumer Advocacy Land
Real stories. Real Rescues. Real advice.
It’s generally a bad idea to buy high-priced jewelry on your cruise
Happy Thursday Friday, friends! ❤️
🫣Sorry, folks. I meant to send this message to you yesterday, but my Thanksgiving guests arrived prematurely, and I had to abandon those plans. Please pretend that you received this message on Thanksgiving Day! 😛 Thank you!
🦃 And if you’re in the United States — Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble, Gobble! 🦃
I thought you might just enjoy some brand-new Tales from Consumer Advocacy Land after your Thanksgiving feasts. I also wanted to tell you who I’m thankful for: all of you! It’s been another fabulous year here at Consumer Rescue, and I couldn’t be happier that you’re all here with me. Thank you! 🙏
Let’s dive right into this week’s fiascos and fixes.
I often hear from travelers who have made big-ticket purchases on vacation, only to regret it once they get home. In today’s first featured article, I’ll tell you about the latest cruise passenger to contact me after returning home with an expensive and — it seems — misrepresented piece of jewelry. This traveler says he was bamboozled into paying $16,000 for a diamond necklace that turned out to be worth shockingly less.
Can he return it for a full refund now that he’s home, or is he just stuck with this expensive souvenir? Find out today. 💎
✈️ Then, over at The Points Guy, I have a cautionary tale about all the ways air travelers get denied boarding their flights. Many would-be passengers contact me, sure that airline staff have bumped them from flights and that they are owed involuntary denied boarding compensation. Unfortunately, for most of these passengers, the facts tell a different story.
💍 Also, today, I’m sharing an important story that you may have missed the first time around. If you’re carrying valuable items, for instance $158,000 in jewelry, on your flight, it’s critical that not only are those items insured, but that you never gate-check such items. Airline liability is limited on domestic and international flights and will never cover the loss of such items. Unfortunately, no one told this passenger those facts before she handed over all her jewelry to someone she thought was a baggage handler. 😳
I hope you’ll relax in a comfy chair, serve yourself a hefty slice of after-Thanksgiving- dinner pie, and enjoy! 🥧🥂
This Week’s Fiascos and Fixes 🔍
A passenger returned home from his latest Royal Caribbean cruise with a $16,000 diamond necklace he purchased on the ship. But all was not as it seemed. He says salespeople inside the Effy jewelry shop aboard Utopia of the Seas wildly overinflated the value of that necklace.
When Locklear took his sparkly souvenir to a local jewelry appraiser, he received shocking news.
(Michelle Couch-Friedman, Chief Fiasco Fixer and founder of Consumer Rescue 😜 )
Each of these travelers showed up at the check-in counter expecting to soon be airborne, but instead found themselves grounded. From passport problems to suspected illnesses and self-created messes, these would-be flyers were all rejected at the airport.
Here's what happens when passengers are denied boarding — and tips you can use to avoid the same.
(Michelle Couch-Friedman, Ombudsman for The Points Guy)
Traveling with $158,000 worth of anything is a risky endeavor. Rose C. found out just how risky it can be when all her high-value jewelry went missing during her recent JetBlue flight.
She believes an organized crime ring targeted her, ultimately forcing her to gate-check the bag that contained the jewelry. Her theory? This move allowed the thieves to help themselves to her gems before the flight even took off.
Now she wants to know who will pay for her loss. (MCF)
Expensive car rental mistakes are easily avoidable with just a little research and preparation. Yet week after week, the Consumer Rescue case files show that many car rental customers do neither. By the time I hear from these blindsided travelers, that oversight has led to hefty fees and other unpleasant repercussions.
As we head toward 2026, here are the most common mistakes car rental customers make and what you can do to avoid them. (MCF)
The comment section is open 💬🗣️
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‼️FYI: Tightening security on Consumer Rescue
I wanted to mention that this past week, I’ve been testing out some new security systems on the Consumer Rescue site. These are meant to keep bad actors out while allowing legitimate readers to move freely around the site. This process takes a bit of trial and error to get the balance right, and I went a little too far at one point. 😬
I immediately began hearing from readers who couldn't access the site or were being challenged to prove their humanness 🤓. I very much appreciate it when readers email me with these alerts, as it helps me adjust the settings. I believe I’ve found the correct security level right now, but please let me know if anything seems wonky.
🌏If you’re based in the United States or Canada and aren’t using a VPN (a system that hides your IP address), you shouldn’t be given a challenge or get blocked from anything on the Consumer Rescue site.
If you are using a VPN, you might be challenged. The challenge should just involve moving a puzzle piece into place or identifying an image. In some cases, if you are located in a country I’ve identified through our systems as a source of unusually high break-in attempts, you might be temporarily blocked. In that case, you can email me directly, and I can whitelist your IP address.
The good news is that no bad actors have gotten in (although they’ve tried repeatedly and in different ways). My efforts are preemptive. Unfortunately, the reality of running a website in 2025 is that there are many virtual burglars constantly looking for ways to break in and wreak havoc.
🚪🪟My goal is simple: keep Consumer Rescue’s internal “doors and windows” locked tight and the bad guys out!
Until next time 😃
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Of course, you can always reach me at [email protected]
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. ❤️ |