⛑️Consumer Rescue presents🛟
Tales from Consumer Advocacy Land
Real stories. Real rescues. Real advice.
Sunset in Boston, where the latest Vantage Travel bankruptcy hearing will soon happen
Happy Sunday, friends! 🤓
I hope you’re having a spectacular holiday weekend.
Today, I have an all-new update on the Vantage Travel bankruptcy case. Victims who rejected their claims in favor of a chance for a cash payout at the end are receiving the disturbing news that their claims are being challenged this month.
Find out why in our first featured article this evening — and what you can do if you’re one of those victims.
Of course, I have some other articles you may have previously missed:
Enjoy!
This Week’s Fiascos and Fixes 🔍
Last week, 100 former customers of bankrupt Vantage Deluxe World Travel received startling news that their claims are being challenged. Immediately, the panicked requests for clarity and assistance began rolling into the Consumer Rescue helpline.
I had been investigating and reporting on the collapse of Vantage Travel long before it actually filed bankruptcy. Three years after the formal filing, I'm still on the beat.
🏝️Two days before Lance Sathoff’s Mexican vacation with his family, he received a disturbing email. The message from Hilton said that the rate of their prepaid, all-inclusive hotel room had increased by $1,800. According to Hilton, they would need to pay that upcharge at check-in.
This traveler told me he had never heard of international mobile roaming charges… until he got hit with a $6,079 bill!
Can I help him out of this mess?
TripAdvisor is not in the business of long-term rentals, so if you come across one on the site, it's surely a scam. But first-time apartment hunter Haley Cline was unaware of this fact.
When a friendly "TripAdvisor-approved owner" emailed her about a spectacularly discounted year-long rental, no alarm bells went off. The scam only came into focus after Cline sent her initial $1,721 deposit via Bitcoin to the online predator.
Life, Lately 🏡
My new local Target thrust a goodie bag at me last week
I assume everyone here has moved at least once in their life.
Settling in requires looking around and trying to find familiar places or things.
Last week I decided to start finding my beacons — places that would be familiar. So I found my local Target.
The second I walked in the door, a friendly lady thrust a bag at me and told me it was a gift from Target. Of course, I asked why. She told me it was for all students returning to college.
🤓 At my age, I knew it was unlikely that this lady thought I was an incoming or returning college student. So I asked her why she was offering me this gift. She told me if I had children heading to university, I was also qualified. Ok! With two college students, I definitley qualified.
So you should also go to your local Target this weekend and grab one of these goodie bags! It has lots of stuff — including a charger cord and protein stuff.
That’s what I did this week to try to integrate myself in my new community. I was pleasantly surprised with what the universe offered me.
❤️And that's Life, Lately.
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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
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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. ❤️ |