Oops! I didn't mean to buy insurance CNN
(Tribune Media Services) -- When Gary Kawesch books airline tickets through Orbitz, he finds a $24 charge for travel insurance that he never bought. Or thought he never bought. Can he get a refund, or is he stuck with something he never meant to order?
Q: I recently booked a flight through Orbitz, and a few weeks later was surprised to see a $24 charge on my credit card for travel insurance. I called the 800 number listed next to the charge on my statement and was told that the charge was through a company that works with Orbitz to provide travel insurance.
I checked the Orbitz site and discovered that they sneakily default a checkbox on your online reservation to include travel insurance -- in other words, you need to actively uncheck this or else you will buy the insurance.
Of course, I didn't notice this on my recent online flight reservation. And I've used Orbitz many times before, and have never unchecked anything and have never been charged. So obviously this is a new revenue-generating scheme. And it is very underhanded. I contacted Orbitz and the insurance company, without resolution. Each blamed the other entity. Can you help?