My mother-in-law had a very bad encounter with Priceline and needs your help. She booked a package deal to San Diego that included round-trip airfare, a rental car and a hotel stay. She found out literally right after she booked it that the hotel was in a bad part of town.

We called Priceline and went through several people to see if we could have the entire trip credited back. We explained we planned on rebooking a more expensive package. After much arguing, a Priceline manager agreed to credit everything.

Priceline eventually credited all but the airline tickets. The company refuses to honor the manager's word. Is there anything we can do?

Paul Cantrell, Albuquerque, N.M.

Did the manager speak out of turn? Priceline's vacation packages are highly restrictive. Each component — air, car rental and hotel — has its own refund rules, so unless the manager researched each one while you were on the phone, he wouldn't have been able to offer a blanket refund.

Then again, this could have been far worse. If your mother-in-law had used Priceline's "name-your-own-price" service, which allows you to bid for an airline ticket, car, or hotel room, she probably wouldn't have been able to get any refund.

Still, I have to wonder about a thing or two. Priceline's vacation package site lists the name of the hotel. Why not investigate the neighborhood before you book?

I'm not surprised Priceline backed away from its original verbal agreement. The representative shouldn't have promised you a full refund. Instead, your mother-in-law should have reviewed Priceline's terms and done her due diligence on the hotel before she clicked the "buy" button.

Still, a promise is a promise. I contacted Priceline on your behalf. "Good news," a representative responded a few days later. "We were able to obtain a refund from the airline for the air portion of this package."

— Christopher Elliott