Nobody at GE could hear it. (Illustration by Dustin Elliott)
🥁 Five visits, one rockin’ washer — The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act says a manufacturer that can’t repair a product after a reasonable number of attempts owes you a replacement or a refund. The fight is always over what counts as “reasonable,” and the company gets to define it by sending technicians who run tests nothing like the way you use the machine. Here’s what happened to one of our readers.
On Backchannel, I have a reporter’s notebook from Germany’s Black Forest and I have a question for you about the greenest thing a hotel ever did without telling you. I’d love to get your comments.
For Members Only: A federal judge just cleared one of the biggest debt relief cases in years to move ahead, and the allegations describe a $100 million operation built on fees collected before anyone’s debt was settled. A federal rule bans nearly all of it, and hardly anyone has heard of it. So what does the rule say? — Christopher Elliott
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My GE washer is a heavy metal drummer, but I didn’t buy tickets to the show
Laura Bartholomew’s new $1,856 GE Spacemaker washer rocks so hard on spin cycles that it slams into her laundry room walls. Five technicians came out, ran controlled tests with no water or with four matching towels, and each reported the machine was working properly. GE closed her case because nobody could duplicate the banging, and the $75 debit card it sent doesn’t cover her trips to the laundromat. Can she get GE to honor its warranty?
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Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection covers consumers and their travel dreams, backed by Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company’s financial strength and security. Choose travel insurance designed specifically to your trip and travelers, plus the fastest claims payments in the travel insurance industry. Get more information at Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection.
📌 Here’s what you missed this week
Catch up on the latest stories from the Elliott Report
My GE washer is a heavy metal drummer, but I didn’t buy tickets to the show
Six months after installation, a $1,856 GE Spacemaker washer still bangs into the walls of Laura Bartholomew’s Ventura, Calif., laundry room on every spin cycle. Five technicians ran controlled tests with no water or with four matching towels, reported the machine was working properly, and GE closed her case.
My tour operator promised a price lock — and then broke it
Michael Hughes prepaid a Spain and Portugal tour 10 months early under Overseas Adventure Travel’s Good Buy program, which advertises protection from cost increases. After Air France canceled his flight, OAT billed him $670 more and gave him two conflicting explanations for the charge.
When your Daryl Hall concert is canceled but the refund is out of touch
Robert Logan paid $489 for a pair of StubHub tickets to a Daryl Hall show in Denver, and after Hall canceled it he called six times and got the same promise to escalate the refund in four or five days. His bank turned him down too, saying the Fair Credit Billing Act’s 60-day window had closed because he bought the tickets in June.
Is it worth paying extra for a “risk-free” vacation?
Celia Dunlap paid $805 for travel insurance before a 40-day Southeast Asia tour, and when the operator cut the trip to 10 days the policy didn’t cover her cancellation, leaving her with a nonrefundable $4,500 ticket. The Atlantic hasn’t produced a hurricane all season, and Caribbean bookings through one insurance marketplace are running 21% ahead of last year anyway.
Have we forgotten the lessons of 9/11?
Gateside by TSA PreCheck lets vetted travelers without tickets clear the checkpoint at 13 airports, and it arrives alongside the end of the shoe rule and a review of the liquids limit. A 2019 GAO audit found that none of nine vulnerabilities identified through covert testing had been formally resolved.
Pace the frontier? In travel, AI is already making our lives miserable
Air Canada’s chatbot told Jake Moffatt he could claim a bereavement discount after he flew, which wasn’t the airline’s policy, and the airline argued to a tribunal that the chatbot answered for itself. Algorithms already set your airfare and rank who gets the last seat out of a meltdown, and nothing requires anyone to tell you where you stand.
Is travel insurance useless in a crisis? Here’s what you need to know
Janice Lintz filed a claim after civil unrest in Nepal closed the airspace and canceled her flights, and her credit card policy denied it because no one had classified the protests as terrorism. Security memberships are absorbing the demand that insurance won’t, with one provider reporting nonmedical evacuation requests up 31% in a year.
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Cavalry Elite Travel Insurance takes the worry out of travel by providing 24/7 access to medical and security professionals combined with the best medical evacuation and security extraction services. Cavalry gets you home safely when you need it most. Learn more at Cavalrytravelinsurance.com
💬 Today on Backchannel: What’s the greenest thing your hotel never told you about?
Let’s shed a little light on this story.
I spent the past week around Freiburg, at the southwestern corner of the Black Forest, reporting a story on sustainable tourism. The environmental work that adds up there is close to impossible to photograph. The hotels doing the most tend to say the least about it. So what’s the greenest thing a hotel ever did for you that you found out about later, or never found out about at all? Give me your feedback on Backchannel.
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EMBARK Beyond is a luxury travel advisory dedicated to creating thoughtfully designed experiences that go beyond a destination. Focused first on client needs, we have built (and continue to build!) relationships with the world’s most sought-after lifestyle and fashion brands to open the world - beyond imagination - to our clients. Find out more at EMBARK Beyond.
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