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Railway passenger rights form: Refunds can also be applied for via Bahn.de or the DB Navigator app

Photo: Sascha Steinach; / Steinach / IMAGO

Your own train didn't come at all? Or just so late that you could only reach your destination with a long delay? In such cases, it is almost always worth applying for compensation from Deutsche Bahn (DB). This is possible either offline using the so-called passenger rights form or paperless via the Internet, via the DB Navigator app or the official railway website Bahn.de. (Instructions for both ways can be found here.)

However, anyone who searches for online complaints via platforms such as Google is sometimes advised to visit websites dealing with the topic of refunds and compensation. The Saxony consumer advice center warns against such online application services, which are intended to be very reminiscent of the DB website, but often turn out to be paid offers. “The pages are structured similarly to the free websites for the corresponding service,” says Beate Landgraf, legal advisor at the consumer advice center. The problem: A third of the reimbursement amount is quickly withheld as a fee for applications via these simulated sites.

In other words: Depending on which service you get, poor refunds can be even more miserable for the customer. And even if the refund is a larger amount, you only get a part of it because there is a commission or processing fee.

Depending on the price of the trip, it's more or less money involved

In general, rail travelers will receive a maximum of half of their money back if they reach their destination with major delays for which the railway is responsible. If there is a delay of between 60 and 119 minutes in reaching the destination, 25 percent of the fare will be charged, and if there is a delay of 120 minutes, then 50 percent. If the compensation is less than four euros, it will not be paid out at all. If necessary, you can even claim taxi and hotel costs. The railway promises that you will receive feedback on your application within a month.

Expert Landgraf warns that third-party sites are “often opaque” and that people “don’t recognize, or recognize too late, that this is a paid service.” The consumer advocate recommends looking at the pages completely and checking the imprint to see which provider is behind it.

The same is also recommended for other services that can be applied for online. For example, when it comes to the topic of certificates of good conduct, there are companies that try to lure consumers to their websites instead of the official websites on the topic - in order to then profit from the confusion of site visitors. You can read more about this scam here at the network of consumer centers in Germany.

mbö/dpa