...well, this is like any other loan to an acquaintance --  nothing really any different. Do you have any evidence at all that this was a loan instead of a gift? I know from watching years of Judge Judy that if you don't have any written evidence (a signed note from the borrower), that you're pretty much shit out of luck when it comes to taking any sort of legal action for payment. I guess your best bet in that case is to keep bugging her about it and hope she pays up. An expensive lesson in any case.

Been there done that & never again!

Sorry for your situation.  Remember that in the future whatever problem they have is not your problem.  This is true in dating as well.  You can feel empahty but dont give them any money.  I doubt that you will get your money back.  Let her know nicely that if she does not communicate with you that you will let her name out on TER.  She has probably done this before.  Never agian ok !

You do not have any great options!

Very sorry to hear that you have had to deal with a charlatan and a scam artist There is no sense to start giving you lessons or to read you the riot act, as  I am quite sure that you feel terrible inside and this kind of matters shall not be discussed with friends and relatives, so this kind of venue is your only outlet to vent out and to seek advice, plus warning others.

Someone wrote that you can submit a review and that is not the case on TER, unless you write a bogus review which will be pulled, if that Charlatan catches it and complains about it. There are a couple of other options available which are too unsavory for this amount of money (I am not belittling the sum, but in the grand scheme of things, not worth it to consider a legal avenue) and I am not even inferring or insinuating causing any harm to anyone! Capiche?

Your only bona fide option is to expose her and to hurt her where it may hurt her, i.e, in her bottom line $$$. The way to do this is to post your experience with her on the local TER message boards of every city that she plans to visit and hope that the post does not get pulled (check with the Mods) You have pretty much lost that money, which she can falsely claim was a gift or payment for services already rendered (you said that you had seen her in the past) You have no cause for a breach of contract, as there is seemingly nothing in writing.

Just do your best to expose this parasite and scum! There are many niceer Providers out there who deserve to get the business which this type of leech does not deserve! Good luck to you, CS~

Well first, you might consider canceling the credit card you gave her the number for.

You might try contacting the airline the ticket was booked for.  I would doubt they would have given her a cash refund.  What some airlines will do is, keep the amount of the ticket in like their frequent flyer account so they can use the funds at a later date.  If that's what happened, maybe you can get them to instead credit your card.  You might have to go up a level to a supervisor as well.

sounds familiar to a recent situation in Chicago

A soon to be retiring provider kept a client's deposit after an aborted appointment. When accused of keeping the deposit, all she did was talk about how great her reviews and reputation were. He eventually got his money back, weeks later.

Is she based in Phoenix?

Aah, reading this makes me feel so blessed - once a provider put my trip expenses on HER credit card.
Of course, it was paid back, with a little interest.
I miss her, and then some.

Hope it all works out well for you.