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Struggling to get a refund or voucher? Here's some advice

From vacation rentals, to air travel, to concerts...so many things have been canceled. The worst part is often trying to get a refund!

Chances are high that something you had planned to do in 2020 got canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But many people are growing frustrated because they’re still waiting for a refund.

From vacation rentals, to air travel, to concerts...so many things have been canceled. The worst part is often trying to get a refund!

Kathy Saafeld had to cancel her family reunion at a Vrbo beach house.

"A nine-bedroom house through Vrbo, and it ended up costing us $14,000." she said.

Vrbo offered a voucher for future travel, but no refund.

Eula Williams and Lanee Dailey had their Frontier airlines flight canceled. They received vouchers, but recently discovered the vouchers had already expired.

"By the time, I did get in touch with someone it was past the 90 days, and now they are saying there is nothing they can do about it, my money is gone."

And Michelle Harper was planning a summer filled with concerts.

"I personally bought Nickelback and the Doobie Brothers," Harper said.

When they were canceled, she contacted Groupon, where she bought the tickets, for a refund.

"They informed me they were only giving Groupon bucks for refunds. They weren't giving any money back to your cards or anything to that effect."

So, what can you do if your travel company or event won't give you a refund? Your best bet is to appeal, then escalate, and finally dispute.

Appealing can be as simple as calling customer service.

Escalating means contacting a supervisor and then sending an email to the company with a copy to the company president.

Disputing means filing a complaint first with your credit card, then the Better Business Bureau, and finally the state attorney general.

We are happy to report that after we worked with Williams, Frontier agreed to extend their vouchers. Groupon also agreed to refund Harper’s concert tickets.

We had no luck with Vrbo, which is only giving vouchers and no full refunds.

To protect yourself, try to buy with a credit card and not check or debit.

That way you can dispute a charge, so you Don’t Waste Your Money.

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