Apex woman loses $2K on canceled vacation; Troubleshooter gets her a full refund

APEX, N.C. (WTVD) -- The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the travel industry and consumers who invested money on trips now canceled.

Apex resident Julia Daum booked a trip for September 2020 well before COVID was even in the headlines.

"The only hesitation was September and hurricane season, so when I booked it I paid in full plus I paid the insurance, just in case we had a hurricane hit, " Daum said.

Daum paid in full for the trip to Cozumel through Bookit.com, an online travel company, but the company canceled the trip as soon as the COVID pandemic hit the US.

"It said your trip was canceled due to the COVID situation which surprised me because the trip was not until September and they were canceling in March."

Daum assumed she'd get a refund, but that didn't happen. Instead, bookit.com closed its operations and told customers to seek refunds on their own.

Duam contacted the resort and her insurance but both told her she was out of luck, so next on the list her credit card company.

"Because it was outside the timeframe, they said there was nothing they could do because I paid in full December and it was already April or May...by the time I contacted them because I kept thinking I was going to be reimbursed by the company or insurance," Daum said.

Out all of that money, Daum reached out to Troubleshooter Diane Wilson.

"I had nowhere else to turn honestly, and I've seen your show before I and I just said, 'I'm going to give that a chance.'"

Which it's a good thing Daum did as Troubleshooter Diane Wilson contacted Capital One and Daum got great news, the total cost of the trip refunded which amounts to nearly $2,000.

"I do not think I would have gotten my money back had you not gotten involved. Tons of thanks to you," Daum said to Wilson.

Capital One provided this statement:

"In cases where a customer finds an error on their billing statement, Capital One will initiate a merchant dispute on the customer's behalf. After reviewing the information that was provided, we have made a determination to refund Ms. Daum for the full amount of her trip."

Right now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still many restrictions in place. So before you book anything, be sure to read the fine print. Take a look at the cancellation policy and what protections you have if the company goes under or if they cancel the trip. Also consider buying COVID travel insurance.