Life Travel Columnists Christopher Elliott

Christopher Elliott

An extra $55 for taxes on my car rental?

Q We booked a 10-day vacation package in Cancún, Mexico, through that included air, hotel and a rental car. Taxes were included in the price of the rental car.


I’ve written two emails to, but both have gone unanswered. When I called the company, a representative told me the $55 charge was a deposit that would be returned to me. But a call to Hertz confirmed it was a tax and no refund was due.

I have booked 12 to 15 rooms through, have had good service and would consider myself a good customer. That is why I can’t understand why they would ignore my email and lie to me over the phone. There is not a lot of money at stake here, but I would at least like to receive a reply as to why I am not being reimbursed.

Wayne Enquist,

Fergus Falls, Minn.


When your itinerary doesn’t match reality, one of your options is taking the matter up with your online agency when you return. But it isn’t your only choice, nor should it be your first one.



Sending a brief, polite email to once you returned home was a good idea, and I have no idea why it didn’t respond. Normally, when you send an email through its website, companies such as send an automatic response and assign your query a tracking number.

If you don’t receive either, then it’s a safe assumption that the company didn’t receive your email.

I’m not surprised by the subsequent phone problems.

For what it’s worth, I don’t think the representative was lying to you. He probably had no idea what the $55 was for, or was confused. But the bottom line is, the $55 was yours.

If continued ignoring you, I think you might have taken up this case with your credit card company. A competent bank would have found a good reason to reverse the charge.

I contacted on your behalf, and it refunded the taxes and fees that should have been included in the price of your vacation.

Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler.

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