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(c) Elliott Publishing.

No Refund on a Rental
ChrisCrossings · November 6, 2001

Q: We are scheduled to travel to Italy later this month, where a group of us are renting a villa. But after the events of September 11, several of the women decided that they couldn't take the risk of traveling internationally because they are mothers.

I contacted the rental company to see if we could postpone our trip. I was told that due to its legal obligations to the homeowner, it will not allow us to postpone the trip and will consider it a cancellation. I have asked them if they even bothered to contact the owners of the villas, but they wouldn't comment. Is there anything that can be done? Do you have any advice?

-- Regina Jakubauskas

A: Take a close look at your rental contract. Under most circumstances, you can cancel a trip and get a percentage of your money back. It could be too late for that - many contracts stipulate that you must give at least a month's notice if you've changed your mind - so you might be out of luck.

If that's the case, you've got two more options. If you bought trip insurance (which is usually a good idea when you're on a big-ticket vacation), you can try to make a claim. Or, if you've paid for this vacation with your credit card (which is always a good idea) then you can dispute the charge with your credit card company. Make sure that you keep all the correspondence between the rental company and yourself for the credit card company's dispute resolution department. That's the first thing it will ask you for.

I'm troubled by the premise of your cancellation, though. You say that some members of your group don't want to travel internationally because they are mothers. I find this as absurd as saying the members of your group don't want to travel internationally because they are fathers. If you offer this as a reason to your credit card company or insurer, I'm pretty sure you'll get turned down. You need a better excuse.

Maybe you could say Italy is dangerous. The United States State Department in early October warned that "symbols of American capitalism" in Italy might be targeted for attack in the near future. It urged U.S. citizens to maintain a high level of vigilance and to increase their security awareness. It also said travelers should avoid contact with any suspicious, unfamiliar objects, and to report the presence of the objects to local authorities.

The Canadian Consular Affairs Bureau also advises travelers to be careful. "The events of September 11 in the United States and the military action in Afghanistan by coalition countries, including Canada, have raised the possibility of significantly increased dangers for Canadians abroad," it notes on its Italy report. "Canadian involvement may result in strong anti-Canadian sentiments and retaliatory actions."

Not to be insensitive to your concerns, but I'm unconvinced that traveling to Italy is dangerous. A villa is hardly a symbol of American capitalism. I'm also confident that you'll avoid contact with "suspicious, unfamiliar objects," and that you'll do your best to avoid stoking any anti-American or anti-Canadian sentiments while you're abroad.

Seems every time you pick up the newspaper or click online, you read another report about how fear is gripping the Western world and that travel is the first casualty of the war on terrorism. A survey by Yesawich, Pepperdine & Brown, for example, suggested that Americans remain "nervous" about traveling internationally, and are likely to seek vacation alternatives closer to home. But I would caution you to not believe everything you read. Italy isn't Afghanistan. You may even be safer in Europe than if you stayed home, what with the likelihood of another wave of attacks.

My advice: Go to Italy. Don't let a couple of terrorists ruin your vacation.

Christopher Elliott's column appears on weekly on Ticked.com. All e-mailed questions to ChrisCrossings become property of Ticked.com and may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion. You may reach Elliott at chris@ticked.com. Or visit his home page at http://www.elliott.org.