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Tales from Consumer Advocacy Land
Real stories. Real rescues. Real advice.
Hello friends! Welcome to November — or, as I like to call it, Christmas time kick-off! 🎄
Traditionally, November 1 is the day I put up all my holiday decorations, and they usually stay up until January 31 😛 I’m looking forward to the most wonderful time of the year!
👀But before I get to decorating, let’s see what’s new in Consumer Advocacy Land.
Last week’s article about the Royal Caribbean passenger who sued the cruise line for a $405 car wash and detailing has been generating a lot of attention. In fact, on Facebook alone it was viewed by over 200,000 people — and they had a lot to say. You can see and join the Facebook conversation here.
The article was also picked up by some media outlets and YouTube channels.
Unfortunately, despite my editorial decision to use only the passenger’s first name in the article, the writer from The Royal Caribbean blog contacted the courthouse and asked for details of his case against the cruise line. That outlet chose to publish his full name and hometown.
One of our readers asked me why I allowed Eric to remain anonymous in my article. I want to make it clear that he never asked to be anonymous. He gave me permission to use his full name. I chose to conceal it because I have seen how terrible keyboard warriors can become. I don’t mind people having strong opinions about the cases I write about. In fact, I encourage readers to share their thoughts, questions, and observations about the articles that appear on Consumer Rescue. But I don’t want my reporting to make someone a target of harassment. Of course, I can’t control what another media outlet does. However, when I omit a person’s last name from an article, I don't make that decision lightly.
One thing that became clear from the Royal Caribbean blog’s article about Eric is that he included incorrect information in his court case, claiming in multiple places that his cruise occurred in April 2025 (it occurred this year). At the same time, he included supporting receipts dated April 2026. I believe his AI program made that error, and he didn’t review it before submitting the case.
I’ll be watching for the outcome of this hearing. I’m curious to see whether RCCL sends its attorneys to court or ignores the case entirely. Stay tuned…
‼️All new today: If you are a Medicare beneficiary, then you should have received your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC), and hopefully you didn’t toss it. We have about 5 weeks left of Open Enrollment, and it’s crucial that beneficiaries carefully review their ANOCs before December 7.
Consumer Rescue’s registered Medicare counselor, Abe Wischnia, has some important insight into the ANOC and why you must not ignore it.
Then over at The Points Guy, I have my newest investigation into how scam call centers are tricking Google into promoting their phone numbers in AI Overviews and AI Mode by hacking into U.S. government sites and even Google-hosted platforms. This article is a real eye-opener about just how dangerous the search results are right now for travelers.
Of course, I have a few articles you may have missed the first time around as well.
Enjoy! 🤓
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This Week’s Fiascos and Fixes 🔍
📫By now, Medicare beneficiaries should have received their Annual Notice of Change (ANOC). Have you overlooked yours?
Here’s why you need to review your ANOC — before it’s too late.
📞Scammers have discovered a new and nearly undetectable way to steal travelers’ money — and this novel scheme is lurking online in plain sight. In fact, you might have already seen it yourself without even knowing it.
✈️We’ve all heard the stories of air passengers getting banned from flying for aggressive and outlandish behavior. But Marko K. found a more harmless and unique way to get banished permanently by an airline. After threatening a mid-air starvation strike to protest the cost of airline food, he landed directly on Scoot’s no-fly list.
When Ebola broke out last May in Uganda, Isador Lieberman immediately canceled his upcoming KLM flight to Entebbe. He says a KLM agent assured him that, under the circumstances, the airline would refund his nonrefundable $9,188 ticket.
But two months later, KLM gave Lieberman a new assurance — it only owed him $146 for the flight he canceled.
⛴️A Florida couple came home from their last Royal Caribbean cruise with thousands of dollars in unplanned purchases. They say a dangerous scam is operating out of a beauty shop in Nassau, the Bahamas. The couple is hoping that by telling their story, they can prevent other cruise ship passengers from falling prey.
But is this just an extreme case of buyer’s remorse?.
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Until next time 😃
Don't forget! Consumer Rescue is just a click away. One of us is always here to answer your questions.
You can get direct consumer advocacy assistance here
What's your problem? Private Facebook group.
Ask Abe (Your registered Medicare counselor)
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. ❤️ |