Michelle Couch-Friedman is the founder and CEO of Consumer Rescue.
She is a consumer advocate, reporter, travel writer, mediator, and trained psychotherapist. Additionally, Michelle is the travel ombudsman columnist for The Points Guy, a contributing author at Fodor’s Travel, and the former executive director of the nonprofit Elliott Advocacy. During her six years managing all aspects of that organization, she resolved thousands of cases for troubled travelers and other consumers.
Michelle is a public speaker, and her expert guidance has been cited in MarketWatch, Consumer Reports, Travel & Leisure, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Popular Science, CNN, CNBC, Boston Globe, CBS News, National Geographic, Travel Weekly, Reader’s Digest and more. You might even catch Michelle reporting on a situation on TV. 🙂 She is also a member of the Society of American Travel Writers.
Today, Michelle spends as much time as possible fiercely defending consumers while traveling the world solo and with her family.
SubjectsFixing travelers’ problems, cruises, national parks, road trips, and European travel. Consumer scams, consumer education.
Skills
Writing CreditsThe Points Guy, Fodor’s Travel, Consumer Rescue
As author, unless indicated otherwise.
When Harry B. and his wife boarded Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas, they were looking forward to a relaxing tropical getaway. Buying $10,000 of skincare products definitely wasn’t part of the plan, but that’s exactly what Harry inexplicably did when the cruise ship made a port stop in the Bahamas.
Harry — whose last name I’m concealing because he is highly embarrassed about what happened and believes he is a victim of a crime — suspects that to convince him to buy all that stuff, the merchant must have spiked the cocktails that were served to him with drugs.
However, as a consumer advocate who has fielded thousands of complaints from travelers with post-vacation buyer’s remorse, I suspect something a little less sinister as the culprit.
I call it … vacation brain.
Read
A comprehensive travel insurance policy can protect you against the financial ramifications of unexpected calamities before and during your vacation. So why do so many travelers suspect that travel insurance is a scam?
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's No Fly List contains the identities of known and suspected terrorists who are forbidden from flying into, out of or over the U.S. But did you know that airlines also have internal no-fly lists filled with the names of former passengers banned forever?
These four frequent travelers, who contacted my advocacy organization, Consumer Rescue, found out firsthand about airline-specific no-fly lists in decidedly unpleasant ways.
For some former airline passengers, their banishment was a predictable outcome of their bad behavior. For others, the reason behind their inclusion on a no-fly list was not as clear.
Here's what you need to know about those internal no-fly lists and how to avoid landing on one, because in my 10 years of experience working with consumers, I can confirm that a passenger's journey to an airline's no-fly list is almost always an unpleasant one-way trip.
Travelers beware: Sometimes a travel insurance mistake isn’t fixable – no matter how much money is at stake. But what about this one?
