When incompetence becomes indistinguishable from a scam

[JonathanH883153]

INCOMPETENCE MASQUERADING AS A SCAM #1:

Expedia-AARP.com sent me an email offering a 10% discount for a hotel stay. Book before 12/31/25 and stay anytime before the cutoff date in 2026. I booked a 10-day hotel stay -- but there's nowhere to enter the coupon code (PACKYOURBAGS) on the reservation or payment page. 

I attempted to resolve this with their chat representative. She referred me to the "terms and conditions" page which plainly states that there's a link to click on the reservations page to enter the coupone code. There is no such link. There is no option anywhere on Expedia-AARP.com to enter a coupon code when booking a hotel.

INCOMPETENCE MASQUERADING AS A SCAM #2

Harford Insurance offered a free travel tote in return for requesting a quote and providing an email address. I did so several months ago. No travel tote. This is low-level, used-car-salesman level lying.

MY RESPONSE:

My AARP membership renews next month. I've turned off automatic renewal. Easy way to eliminate incompetence masquerading as scams from my life.

[AARPConsumerCare]

We hope you stay with us, @JonathanH883153. We're sorry to hear you're having trouble redeeming the offer you received from Expedia. We are listening and would like the chance to help as soon as possible. Please send us a private message or visit: https://help.aarp.org/s/article/contact-aarp to chat, text, or speak with a representative who can get you in touch with our Member Relations team, they're part of AARP Services, and act as liaison for AARP service providers.

We're also sorry to hear you didn't receive the travel tote offered by The Hartford. To follow up on your gift, please contact The Hartford directly at: 1-800-684-5518. Diana G.