Dropping F-bombs has never resolved a case. (Illustration by Dustin Elliott)
Before we get to today’s newsletter, a quick “thank you.” Our fall fundraiser started yesterday and we’ve raised 7% of the money we need to keep the lights on at our nonprofit. Here’s how to support our advocacy.
✉ These complaints are DOA — Our advocates read every request that comes through the help form, and a discouraging number are sabotaged by the person who wrote them, usually in the first paragraph and usually with a single word. I’ll tell you what they are today. The reader we still call F-Bomb Girl supplied one of them. Here’s what to avoid when you complain to a company. Also, check out our latest podcast, in which we reveal two more words that’ll guarantee failure. (Warning: This content is intended for mature audiences only.)
On Backchannel, Jacqueline Wilson has been locked out of her own Vinted earnings for a month, and the rejections come back faster than anyone could have read her documents.
For Members Only: A North Carolina buyer spent 10 days trading messages with what looked like a licensed used-car dealer, then wired $77,300 for a Lexus GX 550. The dealership had no record of him, the order or the car. How do you know the dealer’s website is the real one? Also, don’t miss my Forbes exclusive story about hotel safety. — Christopher Elliott
FEATURED ARTICLE
These 7 phrases will doom your consumer complaint
Threaten to sue and your file goes straight to in-house counsel, where goodwill refunds don’t exist. Tell an airline you’ll never fly it again and you’ve answered the one question the agent was weighing before deciding what your $340 is worth. Which words are killing your own case?
THE PODCAST
Here are all the F-File words (and a few more we had to bleep out)
We have the actual words and real cases. Warning: This podcast is intended for mature audiences only. Listener discretion is advised. Here’s the full episode. Listen — if you dare.
ELLIOTT CONFIDENTIAL
7 Phrases That Will Sink Your Next Consumer Complaint
FORBES EXCLUSIVE
Is your hotel room safe? Here’s the mistake you’re making right now
A wave of resort security amnesia is sweeping through hotels, turning savvy travelers into easy marks. Here’s how to stay safe on your next trip.
OUR UNDERWRITER
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.
🍼 “You empowered me to keep fighting”
Elizabeth ordered the wrong water bottles from a company, and despite its money-back guarantee, it wouldn’t issue a refund.
So she turned to our advocacy team. We contacted the company on her behalf and gave her the tools she needed to escalate her case.
This morning, she got her refund.
“You empowered me to keep fighting,” she says.
We couldn’t help people like Elizabeth without you. During our fall fundraiser, you can help us keep fighting. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today.
📌 Here’s what you missed this week
Catch up on the latest stories from the Elliott Report
Honest pricing works in travel. Just ask Airbnb.
U.S. airlines collected $2.1 billion in checked bag fees in the second quarter alone, and the industry says a fare that includes the bag and the seat would confuse travelers and push prices up. Airbnb moved to all-in pricing in April 2025 and its revenue rose 17% last quarter.
How Queenstown, New Zealand, is creating a greener adventure capital
Shotover Jet has built a prototype electric jet boat and can’t get it light enough to deliver the 360-degree spins its customers pay for. Charging a fleet would draw a megawatt on a river that floods up to 16 times a year, and the Ngāi Tahu iwi that owns the operation has told it to move off fossil fuel anyway.
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.
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.
OUR UNDERWRITER
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
💬 What you’re saying on Backchannel
Hey, what happened to my Vinted wallet?
Jacqueline Wilson’s Vinted wallet was flagged for identity verification more than a month ago, and every bank statement she uploads comes back rejected within seconds, too fast for a person to have opened the file. Vinted tells her the rejection is coming from Adyen, its payment processor, and that it can’t override the decision, and Adyen sends her back to Vinted. Who has to fix a glitch that neither company will claim? Here’s our team’s advice on Backchannel.
OUR UNDERWRITER
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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