Arbitration bodies: Minimize hassle, effort and costs in the event of trip and flight cancellations

Arbitration bodies: In which situations they can help

When journeys and flights are canceled, disputes often arise afterwards between the provider and those affected. It is not uncommon for these disputes to end up in court. In order to de-escalate such a situation and ensure clarity on both sides as quickly as possible, there are arbitration boards that mediate between the parties. Another advantage: They are free alternatives, while legal disputes can often be associated with unpleasantly high costs. So if you find yourself in a situation where a bus, train or plane is delayed or canceled, you can also get your rights through an arbitration board.

However, it is important that you have made your own attempt to clarify things with the provider concerned before reporting to an arbitration board.

Airlines, buses, trains and ships: who handles which cases?

One of the largest such institutions in Germany is the Arbitration Board for Public Transport in Berlin (SÖP). According to its annual report, the arbitration board processed around 30,000 cases in 2022 alone.

The SÖP helps with all problems of this kind, regardless of whether it is a bus, train, car or plane. However, there are also arbitration boards that specialize in more specific concerns. For example, the local transport arbitration board in North Rhine-Westphalia, which, as the name suggests, primarily deals with cases in local public transport. Just like the SNUB – the slightly more complicated name stands for Dispute Neutral Uncomplicated End. The SNUB also takes care of local transport concerns, but in Lower Saxony and Bremen.

If you have problems with airlines, you should contact the SÖP, explains the European Consumer Center on its website. If the airline in question is one that is not a member of the SÖP, then you should contact the Air Transport Arbitration Board at the Federal Office of Justice. If you have problems with trains, long-distance buses and shipping companies, you should also contact the SÖP.

It is best to submit a completed application form to the relevant arbitration board. These can be found on the providers’ websites. The Federal Office of Justice writes on its website that from the time the application documents are fully submitted, the relevant body must submit a mediation proposal to the applicant within 90 days. Christof Berlin, head of the arbitration board for public transport (SÖP), explains in an article on gmx.net that a large number of applications are clarified after a short time because the cases are then simply very clear.

Success and costs of an attempt at arbitration

According to Christof Berlin, head of the SÖP, the arbitration board achieves a solution in most cases. He emphasizes that their success rate has consistently been over 80 percent over the years and is currently almost 90 percent.

Arbitration via the above-mentioned authorities is generally free of charge. However, if it turns out that it may be a deliberate deception or something similar, fees may of course apply. According to the information on the website of the Federal Office of Justice, a request for arbitration is considered abusive if it is obviously hopeless even for a person without legal expertise.

Editorial team finanzen.net