Christopher Elliott

Christopher Elliott is a consumer advocate, multimedia journalist and customer service expert known for his practical advice and creative solutions to customer-service problems. He’s the founder of Elliot.org.

Elliott’s work is shaped by a drive to help people, drawing on the best traditions of investigative reporting and service journalism.

His relentless advocacy efforts, sometimes against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, have earned him a reputation as “every consumer’s best friend.”

He’s the author of "Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals" (Wiley), a manifesto for empowering consumers and encouraging corporate responsibility, and "How to Be the World’s Smartest Traveler" (and Save Time, Money, and Hassle) (National Geographic Books/Random House), the definitive manual for having a better trip.

Elliott is National Geographic Traveler’s reader advocate and a nationally syndicated columnist through Tribune Media Services, which distributes his work to publications from the Seattle Times to the Miami Herald.

He writes a weekly column for The Washington Post and USA Today and is a personal finance blogger at Mint.com. His family is on an open-ended journey around the world, covering the adventure for Nationalgeographic.com and the Huffington Post.