CINCINNATI — As September draws to a close, we are happy to report that several Cincinnati-area families we featured this month now tell us their problems have been resolved.
September started with our report on the tragic case of Bobby Alan Fields, whose Deer Park family was unable to have a funeral or burialwhen he passed away.
"I just don't understand," his brother Kenneth Fields told us.
The problem: Fields' doctor would not sign the death certificate, which is happening more and more these days due to the risk of lawsuits, according to the Hamilton County Coroner's office.
But after we reached out to the coroner's office and the Ohio Medical Board, and left several phone messages for the doctor, authorities stepped in and convinced the doctor to sign the papers.
Fields will now finally be laid to rest, his family tells us.
Burial delays, luckily, are very rare. It's not common for us to get that type of complaint.
Airline ticket refunds
The more common complaint WCPO received from viewers in September concerned people trying to get refunds for pandemic-canceled airline flights, concerts, and events.
Ashley Edwards and her husband, an active-duty serviceman, were waiting months for an airline refund for a COVID-canceled trip.
The former Sharonville couple told us that American Airlines wanted to charge them a $400 penalty, even though the military would not allow them to take their island vacation last year due to the pandemic.
After we contacted American Airlines, we are happy to report that the Edwardses received a full refund.
Concert ticket refunds
We have received many, many complaints this year about canceled concerts, and the difficulty of getting refunds.
Unfortunately, even TV stations are unable to help if the tickets came from a third party reseller – those sites never had the original tickets, or the money.
One case where we were able to assist in September, though, involved Amy Lovelace of Mount Lookout.
She wanted to back out of the Cincinnati Billy Joel concert, not wanting to be packed in with thousands of people during a month when the COVID delta variant was spreading rapidly.
"We just aren't feeling as safe as we were three or four weeks ago, when we got the notice that the concert indeed was going to be on," Lovelace told us.
Good news: after we contacted Great American Ball Park, promoters agreed to take back the tickets and refund her money.
We wish we could help everyone who contacts WCPO with a consumer issue, but it's impossible due to the dozens of complaints we receive every week – sometimes more than 30 in a single day.
But we try to steer viewers to agencies that can help, such as the Better Business Bureau atwww.bbb.org,and the Ohio Attorney General at 800-282-0515, so you don't waste your money.
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