Article 1: Definitions In these terms and conditions (hereinafter referred to as “Terms”), the terms defined below have the following meaning:
1.1 “Agreement”: an agreement between the client and AIRCOMPENSATIONS, which is reached after the client’s acceptance of the Terms. For the provision of Legal Assistance Service, the Agreement is considered valid after the client has signed the Assignment Form or a Claim Request Agreement, in addition to accepting these Terms.
1.2 “AIRCOMPENSATIONS”: AIRCOMPENSATIONS SA, a company established in Romania, headquartered at Jud. Ilfov, Sat Merii Petchii, Comuna Nuci, Strada Lalelelor, Nr. 12.
1.3 “AIRCOMPENSATIONS”: a free online tool, available on the AIRCOMPENSATIONS website and in the mobile application, which allows the client’s email to be connected to AIRCOMPENSATIONS, in order to allow AIRCOMPENSATIONS to identify flight bookings and possible requests according to the Regulation on air passenger rights, in the respective email.
1.4 “Air Passenger Rights Regulation”: any law, regulation, directive, or similar, regardless of whether it is issued at the state, EU, federal, national or regional level, which establishes rules on monetary compensation, indemnification or reimbursement of passengers in case of overbooked, delayed or cancelled flights.
1.5 “Assignment Form”: the document by which the client, according to the terms and conditions stipulated in it, transfers ownership of the request to AIRCOMPENSATIONS.
1.6 “Claim Request Agreement”: a document provided by AIRCOMPENSATIONS to the client, which authorizes AIRCOMPENSATIONS or one of its affiliates or partners to act on behalf of the client. The document can come in various forms, including, but not limited to, a Power of Attorney or a Customer Support Agreement.
1.7 “Request”: any claim against an airline for monetary compensation, indemnification or reimbursement under the Regulation on Air Passenger Rights.
1.8 “Client(s)”: the person(s) who have accepted these Terms.
1.9 “Eligibility Service”: AIRCOMPENSATIONS’s provision of its last-minute eligibility determination service through specialized software. The eligibility service is performed individually, from request to request, in the AIRCOMPENSATIONS web form or for all flights found, if the client is connected to AIRCOMPENSATIONS. The Eligibility Service will inform the client about the likelihood of having an eligible request. An eligible request will have a high probability of being paid, and AIRCOMPENSATIONS will offer its legal assistance service for such requests, if requested by the client. Non-eligible requests will have a low likelihood of being paid, and AIRCOMPENSATIONS will not offer its legal assistance service for such requests. The Eligibility Service is currently only available for EC 261 claims.
1.10 “Compensation”: the total amount of money paid by an airline for a request, as compensation, out-of-court settlement, goodwill gesture, or otherwise, transferred to the client or to AIRCOMPENSATIONS after the client has accepted the Terms.
1.11 “Information Service”: is the provision of flight information by AIRCOMPENSATIONS, including information about airlines, airport information, other travel-related information, information about air passenger rights and consumer protection laws. The information will be relevant to the client’s travels, but will also have a more generic context, such as the ranking of airports or airlines or news about changes in air passenger rights. The information will be provided through electronic communications, including email, personalized electronic billboards, websites controlled by AIRCOMPENSATIONS, or mobile applications.
1.12 “Justice as a service”: is the pursuit by AIRCOMPENSATIONS of a claim, including, if necessary, through litigation.
1.13 “Litigation”: is only initiated at the customer’s request and not by the company AIRCOMPENSATIONS SA, but by specialized lawyers listed in the Lawyers’ Table, which can be checked here www.unbr.ro
1.14 “Fast legal route”: is a procedure for airlines that usually do not pay compensation, except when legal action is taken. In the event that AIRCOMPENSATIONS provides legal assistance service by offering a fast legal route, AIRCOMPENSATIONS will charge both the service fee and the litigation fee due to the increased risk and costs for AIRCOMPENSATIONS.
1.15 “Member(s)”: the person/people who have purchased AIRCOMPENSATIONS+.
1.16 “Price list”: the annex attached to these Terms, specifying the accepted currencies, payment methods and all fees charged by AIRCOMPENSATIONS.
1.17 “Regulation 261/04”: Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004 of the European Parliament and Council, dated February 11, 2004, establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and cancellation or long delays of flights.
Article 2: Agreement
2.1 After the customer has accepted these Terms, AIRCOMPENSATIONS agrees to provide the service, and the customer agrees to receive the Eligibility Service and Information Service.
2.2 After the customer accepts these Terms and signs either the Assignment Form or the Compensation Request Agreement, the customer agrees to receive the Legal Assistance Service, and AIRCOMPENSATIONS agrees to provide this service, unless AIRCOMPENSATIONS informs the customer without undue delay that AIRCOMPENSATIONS cannot provide assistance for the respective claim.
2.3 By entering into an agreement with AIRCOMPENSATIONS, the customer warrants that they have the authority and legal capacity to enter into the Agreement on their own behalf and, if applicable, on behalf of the people with whom they traveled. By signing the Assignment Form or a Compensation Request Agreement, the customer warrants that they are authorized and have the legal capacity to sign the Assignment Form or a Compensation Request Agreement on their own behalf and, if applicable, on behalf of the minors with whom they traveled.
2.4 The customer acknowledges that AIRCOMPENSATIONS only pursues flight compensation. The customer agrees that AIRCOMPENSATIONS will not accept travel vouchers and/or other services as compensation, and such an offer from the airlines will be considered a refusal to pay, unless AIRCOMPENSATIONS determines that the likelihood of a more favorable outcome for the customer is low and that in these circumstances, the best choice would be to accept such an offer.
2.5 The customer guarantees that the compensation has not been transferred to third parties and that no legal dispute between the customer and the airline on the same matter is pending or will be pending.
2.6 After signing the Assignment Form, the customer may not transfer the claim to any other party because the legal title over the claim has already been assigned to AIRCOMPENSATIONS. Any existing commitments or transfers, if any, must be canceled before signing the Assignment Form or a Compensation Request Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, if the customer has signed a Compensation Request Agreement, the customer can revoke the power granted in the Compensation Request Agreement by a written notification to AIRCOMPENSATIONS.
2.7 In the event that the customer receives direct payments or any other compensation from the respective airline after the conclusion of the agreement, the customer is obliged to inform AIRCOMPENSATIONS about this without delay. These payments are considered compensation and give AIRCOMPENSATIONS the right to claim the service fee and the litigation fee if AIRCOMPENSATIONS has filed a lawsuit before the respective customer has received payment from the respective airline.
2.8 After signing the Assignment Form or a Compensation Request Agreement, the customer is required to cease negotiations with the respective airline and direct any contact from the airline to AIRCOMPENSATIONS, to ensure that AIRCOMPENSATIONS achieves the best possible result.
Article 3: Description of legal assistance service
3.1 AIRCOMPENSATIONS raises the customer’s compensation request from the airline that operated the flight, based on Regulation 261/2004 or any other Regulations on air passenger rights in force, applicable to the customer’s specific air journey.
3.2 Flight data and information can be transmitted to AIRCOMPENSATIONS through the website, mobile applications, email, other electronic solutions, or via software supported by AIRCOMPENSATIONS or by phone.
3.3 To successfully pursue the claim, AIRCOMPENSATIONS requires the Assignment Form or the Compensation Request Agreement signed by the client, which the client can send to AIRCOMPENSATIONS through the web form, mobile application, email, or postal service. Upon receiving a signed Assignment Form or a Compensation Request Agreement from the client, AIRCOMPENSATIONS prepares a payment request and sends it to the airline that operated the flight without undue delays and manages all subsequent correspondence. For this part of the Legal Assistance Service, if compensation is paid, AIRCOMPENSATIONS will charge a service fee (see Price List).
3.4 If the airline that operated the flight does not pay the compensation within a reasonable time after being notified by AIRCOMPENSATIONS and provided the claim has been confirmed with adequate certainty, AIRCOMPENSATIONS may initiate legal action to pursue the claim. If legal action is initiated and compensation is paid, AIRCOMPENSATIONS charges a litigation fee in addition to the service fee, to cover the additional costs of the litigation (see Price List).
3.5 If a contracted legal representative is used for litigation, the client will allow AIRCOMPENSATIONS to grant the contracted legal representative access to all data communicated to AIRCOMPENSATIONS and allow the legal representative to transfer information about the case progression to AIRCOMPENSATIONS. If the competent court requires an authentication certificate, power of attorney, self-declaration of authenticity, Assignment Form, or other additional separate documents, the client agrees to sign these additional documents. If the client has already signed an Assignment Form and signs an authentication certificate, power of attorney, customer service agreement, or similar act, the client and AIRCOMPENSATIONS agree that such a claim is automatically transferred back to the client immediately before the client signs the respective authentication certificate, power of attorney, customer service agreement, or similar act.
3.6 If the contracted legal representative concludes that there are not sufficient prospects of success, the client will be informed about this and neither AIRCOMPENSATIONS nor the contracted legal representative will undertake further actions.
3.7 If AIRCOMPENSATIONS or the contracted legal representative initiates a lawsuit to pursue a claim, AIRCOMPENSATIONS will cover any costs incurred in the event of a loss of the lawsuit. If the lawsuit is won or if an agreement is reached between the airline and AIRCOMPENSATIONS, AIRCOMPENSATIONS will cover all incurred costs not covered by the airline.
Update for Romania: 29.07.2020
Paragraph 7 of Article 3 only applies in the case where the company AIRCOMPENSATIONS assigns the passenger’s (client’s) claim. The terms and conditions are supplemented with the current legislation in Romania.
AIRCOMPENSATIONS cannot directly sue the airline operator on behalf of the passenger, in accordance with current legislation. Being a limited liability company, we cannot act as a representative, in accordance with the provisions of Law no. 51/1995 regarding the organization and practice of the legal profession.
Moreover, according to the law, legal consultancy is a domain reserved for lawyers, through the forms of practicing the profession, and a lawsuit would involve legal consultancy and representation. The company can act on its own behalf if it assigns the passenger’s right to claim, this right thereby entering the company’s assets.
The company cannot claim in court a right found in the assets of another person, except in certain exceptional situations that are not applicable in the current situation. The legal relationship between AIRCOMPENSATIONS and the passenger (client) has as its object the amicable representation in front of the airline operator. Out of respect for its clients, in the event that the airline operator refuses to grant the passenger the due compensation, AIRCOMPENSATIONS proposes to the client several alternatives such as: 1. Assignment of the right to claim in exchange for a sum; 2. Recommendation of specialized lawyers in such situations, registered in the Lawyers’ Register.
Article 3.8: The client acknowledges that it is the exclusive decision of AIRCOMPENSATIONS to accept any out-of-court settlement offer, as the client has transferred the claim to AIRCOMPENSATIONS. In the event that AIRCOMPENSATIONS acts on behalf of the client based on a Compensation Claim Agreement, the client authorizes AIRCOMPENSATIONS to accept or reject out-of-court settlement offers based on AIRCOMPENSATIONS’s experience with the airline and the advice of external legal representatives.
Article 4: Fees and Payments
4.1 AIRCOMPENSATIONS offers the Eligibility Service, AIRCOMPENSATIONS Connect, and the Information Service free of charge.
4.2 AIRCOMPENSATIONS offers the legal assistance service free of charge, except in the case where AIRCOMPENSATIONS manages to collect compensation. In the event that the action is successful, AIRCOMPENSATIONS will transfer the agreed portion of the compensation to the client, subject to the applicable fees according to the price list.
4.3 Payment of the agreed part of the compensation to the client will be made according to the options from the price list.
4.4 If the client has provided incorrect or insufficient information required for the payment of the compensation, and the payment is returned to AIRCOMPENSATIONS, and the client, after several notifications and reasonable efforts from AIRCOMPENSATIONS to contact the client by means other than the email provided by the client to AIRCOMPENSATIONS, does not respond to correct or provide the necessary information for the payment of the agreed part of the compensation, AIRCOMPENSATIONS has the right to keep that part of the compensation that would otherwise have been transferred to the Client.
4.5 After AIRCOMPENSATIONS has paid the agreed compensation in accordance with the instructions and method selection provided by the client, AIRCOMPENSATIONS is not responsible for:
i) checks, prepaid debit cards, credit cards, and other losses in transit to the client;
ii) any effect of the client providing incorrect bank account information, incorrect address, or similar, including, but not limited to, compensation paid to an incorrect recipient. If the compensation has been paid to an incorrect recipient due to the client’s fault, AIRCOMPENSATIONS will not be obliged to actively recover it.
4.6 Interest cannot be claimed for the period between the inflow and outflow of payments. AIRCOMPENSATIONS reserves the right to keep any interest recovered from the airline.
4.7 AIRCOMPENSATIONS is not responsible for any type of compensation, damages, or similar, in the event that AIRCOMPENSATIONS is prevented from transferring the payment to the client due to an event that cannot be reasonably controlled, including, without limitation, strike, employer strike, natural disaster, war, riots, civil unrest, intentional sabotage, compliance with a law or government order, a regulation, provisions or instructions, accident, plant or machine failure, fire, floods, and storms.
Article 5: Personal data protection
5.1 AIRCOMPENSATIONS will primarily use the personal data provided by the Client for the purpose of providing the Eligibility Service, the Information Service, in accordance with the Agreement. AIRCOMPENSATIONS may also collect personal data for other purposes, such as statistics, administration and communication, IT administration and security, physical protection, authentication and authorization systems, support systems, coordination of internal projects and teams, and organizational activities. All personal data is collected in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (see Privacy Statement).
5.2 The Client provides AIRCOMPENSATIONS with personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation or other current data protection laws, with explicit permission to process personal data and use them in the context of the Agreement. AIRCOMPENSATIONS will transfer personal data to third parties only under the conditions listed below:
i) if the client has given his/her consent;
ii) if it is done for a purpose directly associated with the initial purpose for which the personal data were collected;
iii) if necessary for the preparation, negotiation, and fulfillment of the agreement with the client;
iv) if necessary due to a legal obligation, administrative or court order;
v) if necessary to establish or protect legal claims or to defend against legal actions;
vi) if it serves to prevent abusive use or other illegal activities, such as deliberate attacks, to ensure data protection.
Article 6: Data and information from the client
6.1 At AIRCOMPENSATIONS’s request, the client will provide AIRCOMPENSATIONS with all data or information necessary for the execution of the agreement. The client guarantees that the data and information provided are correct, complete, and true (see Privacy Statement).
6.2 The client agrees to fully indemnify AIRCOMPENSATIONS in all respects for all third-party claims including, but not limited to, incorrect communications by the client, the provision of incorrect data/information, and fraudulent behavior.
6.3 In case of incorrect data/information and fraudulent behavior, AIRCOMPENSATIONS reserves the right to terminate the agreement with immediate effect. If the agreement is terminated in accordance with this paragraph, the client will not have the right to any kind of compensation.
Article 7: Right of withdrawal
7.1 If you qualify as a consumer under EU consumer regulations, i.e. you are a natural person who undertakes a legal transaction for a purpose that is neither commercial nor an independent professional activity, you have a statutory right of withdrawal.
7.2 You can withdraw your acceptance of our agreement within 14 days of its conclusion (e.g., by letter, email) without needing to explain the reasons. To exercise your right of withdrawal, it must be communicated within the above-mentioned 14-day period and must clearly state that you wish to withdraw from the agreement. Due to the nature of the service provided, you cannot withdraw from our Agreement if we have informed you that the airline in question has accepted the claim, as in this case we have provided the service you requested, or if you have flown on any flights covered by the AIRCOMPENSATIONS+ Subscription. The withdrawal can be sent to:
or email: [email protected]
Article 8: Conditions and Terms Regarding Compensation Payment
8.1 Within a maximum of 30 days from the moment of cashing the compensation related to the Represented Client regarding the Flight, we will notify him to provide the bank details for the transfer.
8.2 The term mentioned in para. 1 above starts to run from the moment when the undersigned, AIRCOMPENSATIONS, knows that the amount received from the airline is the compensation related to the Flight, due to the Represented Client. Therefore, if the airline, at the time of making the bank transfer, does not mention payment details, the undersigned AIRCOMPENSATIONS will contact the airline for clarification within a maximum of 5 days from receipt.
8.3 Within a maximum of 30 days from the moment when the Represented Client transmitted to the undersigned the complete and correct bank details (Name, IBAN, etc.), AIRCOMPENSATIONS will make a bank transfer to the Represented Client including the compensation derived from the Flight Request, retaining the Price. The Represented Client cannot provide the bank details of another person, as the undersigned, under anti-money laundering legislation, will not be able to make this payment. The undersigned will notify the Represented Client within 30 days about the fact that he has transmitted incorrect bank details (incomplete/incorrect IBAN/etc.)
8.4 The aforementioned payment will be made in the currency in which the undersigned received the compensation from the airline. Therefore, if the undersigned received the compensation in EUR, he will make a payment to the passenger in the same currency. If the passenger declares that he does not have a bank account in that currency, the undersigned will make the bank transfer to the Represented Client in the currency indicated by him, at the B.N.R. rate set on that day (or on the previous day, for payments made before the communication by B.N.R. of the exchange rate).
8.5 If AIRCOMPENSATIONS does not receive from the Represented Client the correct and complete bank details within 3 months from the notification sent to the passenger regarding the request to transmit the bank details for the transfer (the notification mentioned in art. 8.1), AIRCOMPENSATIONS will have no liability for non-compliance by the Represented Client with the obligations mentioned in art. 8.1. above and/or delayed data transmission, and the entire amount of compensation (obtained compensation) will be retained by AIRCOMPENSATIONS at the end of the 3-month period.
8.6 For clarification and to avoid any confusion, it is mentioned that, according to art. 8.1 above, AIRCOMPENSATIONS will request the banking details of the Represented Client in order to carry out the bank transfer of the obtained compensation in his/her name. The client understands and agrees that AIRCOMPENSATIONS will retain the entire compensation (obtained indemnity) if he/she does not transmit to AIRCOMPENSATIONS his/her correct and complete bank details within 3 months from receiving the respective notification (request). Thus, the subject of the representation contract will be fulfilled and it will cease.
Article 9: Final Provisions
9.1 AIRCOMPENSATIONS is authorized to modify these Terms and the price list and to set additional conditions at any time and without notification. However, changes with a negative effect on the client will not apply to the client, except where the client accepts these new changes.
9.2 The laws of Germany apply to these Terms, the Assignment Form, and the Agreement between AIRCOMPENSATIONS and the client. However, the client always has the right to request the protection due under the legal provisions of the country where the client resides.
9.3 In the event that a provision of these Terms is or becomes null, illegal, or unenforceable, this will not in any way affect the validity of the other provisions.
9.4 The rights and obligations related wholly or partly to any claim filed may be transferred without restriction by AIRCOMPENSATIONS to any entity within the AIRCOMPENSATIONS group of companies and by AIRCOMPENSATIONS to third parties.
9.5 The English version of these Terms prevails in case of any discrepancy with any other linguistic version.
