5 Ways to Deal with Latest Hotel Scam

Some hotels benefit from 'overbooking' at your expense. Here are 5 tips to avoid the latest travel scam.

You arrive at your hotel only to be told it is overbooked and the room you reserved is not available Even in a downward economy that has seen room occupation rates at an all-time low, people are still being walked down, experts say.

So what if it happens to you?

Refuse the room. Instead of immediately agreeing to the alternative accommodation, politely stand your ground and remind the hotel that you have a guaranteed reservation.

Try to find out the real story . When a hotel says your room isn't available, it doesn't necessarily mean the hotel is full.

Invoke your status . If you're a frequent guest, and you're in danger of being walked down, this would be a good time to reveal your program membership card or any other clout you might have.

Use humor. You may not feel in a humorous mood, but cracking a joke just might help. Hotel employees often go out of their way for people who are friendly.

Be nice. When faced with an involuntary downgrade, you may not be feeling very nice either -- but putting on your diplomatic hat could make the difference between being downgraded and upgraded.

See to the details.  If you're being moved, ask for perks such as taxi fares and complimentary breakfast.

By following these steps you may not end up with a room in the hotel you booked but neither will you be downgraded to a lesser hotel either.

Check Out that Credit Card

People sure stay busy trying to cheat us, don't they?

A friend  went to the local gym and placed his belongings  in the locker.  After the workout and a  shower, he came out, saw the locker open, and  thought to himself, 'Funny, I thought I locked  the locker.'

Hmm?  He dressed and  just flipped the wallet to make sure all was in  order. Everything looked okay - all  cards were in place.. A few weeks later  his credit card bill came - a whooping bill of  $14,000!

He called the credit card  company and started yelling at them, saying that  he did  not  make the transactions. Customer care  personnel verified that there was no Mistake in  the system and asked if his card had been  stolen.

'No,' he said, but then took out  his wallet, pulled out the credit card, and yep  -  you  guessed it - a switch had been made. An  expired similar credit card from the same bank  was in the wallet. The thief broke into  his locker at the gym and switched cards. 

Verdict:  The credit card issuer  said since he did not report the card missing  earlier, he would have to pay the amount owed to  them.

How  much did he have to pay for items he did not  buy? 
$9,000!   Why were there no calls made to verify the  amount swiped?  Small amounts rarely  trigger a 'warning bell' with some credit card  companies. It just so happens that all  the small amounts added up to big one! 

Make sure the credit cards in your  wallet are yours. 

Check  the name on the card every time you sign for  something and/or the card is taken away for even  a short period of time.

How to Safely Lock Your Car

I locked my car --- as I walked away I heard my car door unlock. I went back and locked my car again three times. I looked around and there were two guys sitting in a car in the fire lane next to the store. When I looked straight at them they did not unlock my car again.

While traveling, my son stopped at a roadside park. He came out to his car less than 4-5 minutes later and found someone had gotten into his car, and stolen his cell phone, laptop computer, GPS navigator, briefcase.....you name it...

He called the police and since there were no signs of his car being broken into - the police told him that there is a device that robbers are using now to clone your security code when you lock your doors on your car using your key-chain locking device..

They sit a distance away and watch for their next victim. They know you are going inside of the store, restaurant, or bathroom and have a few minutes to steal and run.

The police officer said to manually lock your car door- by hitting the  lock button inside the car, that way if there is someone siting in a parking lot watching for their next victim it will not be you.

When you hit the lock button on your car upon exiting...it does not send the security code, but if you walk away and use the door lock on your key chain - it sends the code through the airwaves where it can be stolen.

Something totally new to us....and real. Be aware of this and please pass this information on...look how many times we all lock our doors with our remote...just to be sure we remembered to lock them.....and bingo someone has our code...and whatever was in the car...can be stolen.