REFUND

HOUSTON – As families with no electricity tried to stay warm last week, some of them checked into hotels with heat. Third-party booking sites like Travelocity, Expedia and Priceline let people reserve and pay for rooms online, but when people showed up at hotels last week, they found them closed with no power. A manager at the hotel tells KPRC 2 they were closed because they had no electricity for three nights. Worthington tried to cancel her reservation and request a refund online, but she says her refund was denied. But at the end of our shift, we found the Hampton Inn closed because it had no electricity.

HOUSTON – Now that we’ve got electricity, many of you are asking If you can get a credit or refund for cable and internet service you couldn’t use this week because of the power outages. Can you get a credit or refund for cable and internet service you couldn’t use when power was out? In some cases, customers may have power but not their Xfinity services because electricity has not been restored in the area of our network that serves their neighborhood. If you had electricity but no cable or internet, you can request a credit. Comcast said though, in some instances, it was the commercial power from Centerpoint that was down that caused the loss of services into customers’ homes even if the customers’ electricity was on.

HOUSTON – If you received a refund or a discount from your car insurance company, you may want to hold on to it. At least one company is making customers pay it back if they decide to leave for another insurer. We told you in April how a lot of insurance companies were refunding customers since roadways were virtually empty in march and April. Houstonian Kelsey Lok’s policy expired in July, but she got her refund in June as a $150 credit on her bill. In July, Lok found a better rate with a different insurance company.

That is why it is in your best interest to pursue getting your money back now. Currently, there are no regulating agencies investigating this issue, demanding that ticket sellers or airlines refund customer’s money. But with enough pressure, agencies like the Texas Attorney General and/or the Federal Trade Commission just might. That is why no matter where you purchased tickets, to increase your chances of getting a refund, you should take these 4 steps:1. You can “cc” the Texas Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission and yours truly on that letter.

Ticketmaster, Live Nation and AEG are calling these events postponed and claiming that if they are rescheduled, the customer is not entitled to a refund. Currently, there are no regulating agencies investigating this issue, demanding that the tickets sellers refund customer’s money. But with enough pressure, agencies like the Texas Attorney General and/or the Federal Trade Commission just might. You can “cc” the Texas Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission and yours truly on that letter. Send those same details to these agencies as complaints:Texas Attorney General Consumer Protection DivisionFederal Trade CommissionThe Houston Better Business Bureau3.

HOUSTON – As Texas reopens, many parents are still waiting to find out if summer camps will be allowed to open. The program has 30 campsites around Houston that host several thousand children from 3 to 18 years old every summer. “I believe that camps are going to operate in smaller groups,” President Mike McDonell explained. Like at a lot of other camps, some parents have already paid in full. Every camp is different, but most camps are still in limbo waiting to find out if the state will let them open this summer.

These are amenities most homeowners pay for in their HOA dues. Now, some of you want to know if you will get a break or a refund for the amenities you can not use. She pays $720 every quarter in HOA dues. Just like auto insurance companies are giving customers back some of their premiums, Kahne believes HOA’s should refund homeowners part of their dues. Homeowners have the right to see the HOA budget if you request it.

That means Astros fans and season tickets holders are hanging on to tickets for game dates that have already passed, wondering when they will get their money back. Fans dividedIf it were not canceled, this year would have been Jaime Zamora’s 22nd consecutive Astros’ opening day. “The Astros ticket prices aren't cheap, you do the math, and that's more than ten thousand dollars that the club is holding onto,” Yee said. “And for some season ticket holders, it's even more than that.”What about individual tickets? If you had a ticket to an Astros Spring Training game that was canceled, click here to find out how to get a refund.

HOUSTON – Ticketmaster and its parent company LiveNation appear to be easing up and relaxing a stringent refund policy that stuck thousands of consumers with the cost of event tickets, even when the events were canceled on the originally scheduled date. We told you about Phyllis Bailey’s efforts to get a refund when the March concert she planned to attend was rescheduled for August. She wanted a refund instead, but Ticketmaster declined her request. Ticketmaster told her she wasn’t eligible for a refund because her tickets would “still be good” for the new show on March 24, 2022. For cancelled shows fans can choose to receive up to 150% of their ticket value as Concert Cash, and for rescheduled shows they will receive Concert Cash once they attend the new date.

Now, many of those ticket holders are left waiting on refunds that may never come. When Live Nation or Ticketmaster canceled shows and concerts, instead of using the word “canceled,” the ticket sellers said the events were just “postponed.” Once rescheduled, even if the customer cannot attend on the new date, the companies won’t always refund the ticket price. Canceled concerts, refunds deniedIt happened to Houstonian Phyllis Bailey. When Bailey contacted Live Nation to get a refund of the $222.14, a representative told her the show was simply postponed until August 11. Live Nation told her she could get a refund.

GALVESTON – One local couple booked what they hope would be a fun cruise. However, they did not expect an adventure to get answers from the Carnival cruise line. On March 30, the couple learned that Carnival was canceling the trip on Facebook than they received an email. To try to get more information on their refunds, they turned to Facebook and were shocked at what they read. "Carnival was responding, telling some people it could be 3-6 months, telling others well it could be 6-9 months," Debbie said.

Most airlines now are waiving change fees. Travel must start by Dec. 31, 2020, or within one year of the date the ticket was issued, whichever is earlier. No change fees for all tickets purchased between March 1-31, 2020. Guests who cancel their reservation can request a refund of their travel insurance premiums from Travel Guard, if eligible, here. If interested, guests holding these prepaid reservations who choose not to travel may opt to receive Choice Privileges points for future travel.