DIY
€0 — you keep 100% of the compensation.Why this tool — and when is a claim agency the better choice?
The tool writes the same rebuttal letter for free — you keep 100% of the compensation. For some situations (see below) a claim agency is the better choice.
Side by side
Cost
DIYAgency
25–50% commission + sometimes admin and legal fees. Most rates double on legal escalation.Time to payout
AgencyDIY
Direct from the airline to your IBAN as soon as they pay.Agency
Sometimes within days (factoring) — otherwise months, with the agency fee as an intermediate step.Control over your case
DIYDIY
Full — you send it yourself, you see all correspondence.Agency
Assignment (transfer of your claim) or power of attorney: the agency becomes your representative. Some agencies give little feedback.Legal escalation
AgencyDIY
Tool provides no legal representation. For the kantonrechter (small-claims court — claims up to €25,000) you don't need a lawyer — you can do it yourself — but it takes time.Agency
Agencies have in-house or partner lawyers. A real advantage with complex or recalcitrant airlines.Language support
AgencyDIY
Tool is Dutch + English. For contact in another language you have to translate the letter yourself.Agency
Teams who routinely communicate with airlines in multiple languages.Complex rejections
AgencyDIY
Tool covers 7 common standard objections with fixed CJEU case law. Rare defences need a human.Agency
For rare cases, like codeshare liability, agencies have specific experience.Multiple passengers
DIYDIY
Up to 6 passengers in one form — each with their own name and IBAN, one shared address. One letter for the whole group.Agency
One file for the entire booking; the commission scales per passenger on success.Peace of mind
TiedDIY
You stay in control — pleasant for some, awkward for others.Agency
Set-and-forget: file and wait for payout.Middle road: legal-expenses insurance
TiedDIY
With the tool you keep 100% of the compensation and the reins. The letter can include one procedural sentence reserving your legal-expenses insurer as an escalation path — control now, escalation in reserve.Agency
An agency takes over the case (assignment or power of attorney) and keeps 25–50% on success. No room for your own legal-aid route.Fees: AirHelp fees, EUclaim fees, Flightright fees, Consumentenbond Flight Claim Service, AirCashBack comparison.
What does the practice say?
According to Radar (AVROTROS, Sept. 2025), one-third of eligible Dutch passengers get no, or no full, compensation from the airline after a direct claim.
The European Consumer Centre confirms via Kassa (BNNVARA, Jan. 2026): «Only between 20 and 40 percent of passengers entitled to compensation for a delay actually receive it.»
A published win-rate statistic for EU 261 small-claims cases is not available — Rechtspraak in cijfers reports total counts and lead times by area of law, but no per-topic outcomes. Meanwhile, EU 261 judgments are freely searchable at uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl. And Consumentenbond says: «You don't need a lawyer for this process.» For an ordinary delay claim the work is the same every time: a few standard steps the tool can automate.
Realisation-rate statistics (% of eligible passengers who actually get paid after a direct claim) — not a kantonrechter win rate.
When is a claim agency the better choice?
Honest steelman — there are three scenarios where the agency's commission is worth its money:
- Legal escalation needed. If the airline keeps rejecting the claim despite a solid rebuttal letter, agencies have in-house or partner lawyers. For the kantonrechter (claims up to €25,000, see Rv art. 93) you can do it yourself, but it costs evenings.
- Flight with a layover on a foreign carrier. If your flight is operated by two different airlines — for example a KLM ticket where part of the flight was operated by Delta — the legal question of who is liable is: . Agencies have more experience with this.
- Carrier-bankruptcy risk. Factoring agencies (such as AirCashBack) pay you out directly and absorb the risk that the carrier goes bankrupt — at the cost of a higher commission. AirCashBack comparison has the rates of the factoring players.
What do claim agencies actually do for 35%?
For a standard case (delay on an EU departure, standard objection from the carrier) the work is:
- Process the online form.
- Send a standard claim letter to the airline.
- Wait for the rejection.
- Send a standard rebuttal letter referring to Sturgeon, Wallentin-Hermann, Krüsemann, or Pešková.
- Airline pays; commission is withheld.
Step 4 is exactly what this tool is good at: rebuttal letters with Court of Justice (CJEU) case law are tractable to automate. The tool picks the right rulings from a fixed list and may not invent anything. That's why it's free.
Agencies do earn their commission in hard cases — see the scenarios above. But for an ordinary delay claim the work is standard, and that's where agencies make their margin.
Sources: Guardian/Observer 2018 on the scale of the commission model; IATA Consumer Issues on the industry's stance against claim firms; Aviclaim ↔ Consumentenbond on the Consumentenbond-EUclaim captured-channel issue; Reisrecht price comparison for an NL price comparison.
- AirHelp fees — AirHelp fees page
- EUclaim fees — EUclaim fee FAQ
- Flightright fees — Flightright costs
- Consumentenbond Flight Claim Service — Consumentenbond Vluchtclaimservice (partnership with EUclaim)
- Guardian/Observer 2018 — Observer investigation 2018
- IATA Consumer Issues — IATA Consumer Issues
- Reisrecht price comparison — Reisrecht price comparison
- Aviclaim ↔ Consumentenbond — Aviclaim ↔ Consumentenbond
- AirCashBack comparison — AirCashBack comparison page