Trip refund still missing; goose-shaped night lights arrive

The wait continues for Karen Dolinick, who has yet to receive a refund for her canceled trips to Europe.

The Orland Park resident and a friend paid American European Travel $1,783 each last year for a Nov. 24 trip to Italy.

That trip was canceled by the New York-based travel agency, which blamed computer issues. The company rebooked the two on similar trips to Italy scheduled to depart in March and April, but it canceled those tours too, saying too few customers had signed up.

Tired of getting the runaround, Dolinick and her friend asked the travel agency to refund their money. When the money didn't show up in their bank accounts, Dolinick and her friend emailed "What's Your Problem?"

They weren't the first travelers to complain about American European Travel. The Problem Solver wrote columns about the company in November and December after receiving a deluge of emails from disgruntled customers. In each case, the readers' trips had been canceled and their refunds were slow in arriving.

When the Problem Solver inquired about Dolinick's refund for the April 13 column, American European Travel's chief executive, Hans-Joachim Blank, emailed to say Dolinick's money would be processed April 16.

But April 16 came and went, and neither Dolinick nor her friend received their $1,783. On Friday, Dolinick contacted the Problem Solver again asking for help.

"I did call twice to the phone numbers I had," she said. "One number has been disconnected. The second time, I reached someone and asked if they had received my latest emails. They said they could only forward them after 2:30 p.m. to the New York office."

What that meant, Dolinick wasn't sure.

So, the Problem Solver emailed Blank. In response, Blank said the refund is processed through a bank in Europe, which has caused a delay.

"I know 100 percent that the reimbursement of Ms. Dolinick and her friend is in processing," Blank wrote Friday. "But today and coming Monday are legal holidays in Switzerland and other European countries. No one is working."

He said the refunds for Dolinick and her friend would be made Tuesday morning.

The Problem Solver will provide another update when they arrive.

Geese have landed

There's much better news for Cynthia Reynolds, who has been trying for months to obtain night lights shaped like blue geese to give to veterans who served aboard the USS Honolulu, a World War II ship nicknamed the Blue Goose.

Her original order of 60 night lights from a Chinese company wound up inexplicably shipped to an unknown address in Russia.

When the Problem Solver first wrote about Reynolds in February, the Frankfort resident had disputed the $180 charge through her credit card company and was reimbursed. Reynolds then ordered another 60 night lights from a different Chinese company.

Those night lights also appeared to get lost en route. According to tracking information, the box was stuck in Shanghai for weeks, Reynolds said.

She had all but given up on ever seeing the geese, and had considered finding yet another supplier. Then she received a large box from the postal service Monday afternoon. Inside were her 60 blue goose night lights.

"Can you believe it?" Reynolds said. "The flock of geese has completed its long journey home."

Reynolds was ecstatic. She plans to distribute the night lights to veterans of the USS Honolulu and their families.

"My Blue Goose guys will be so happy," Reynolds said.

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