Getting compensation for delayed flights just got easier

The student creator of a website designed to help drivers fight parking fines has now set his sights on airline compensation too.

Student Joshua Browder, who has helped thousands of people fight parking tickets with his DoNotPay.co.uk website, has now expanded it to flight compensation too.

DoNotPay.co.uk was launched in August as a simple, free way to help drivers put together a case for unfair parking penalties.

It’s been a resounding success and at last count the site has attracted over 54,000 disgruntled drivers seeking help

Hot off the success of the site, Browder has been busy building a new, completely free reclaim tool for flight delay compensation to fight back against airlines trying to dodge pay outs to passengers which he says will offer an alternative to fee-charging services that are already available.

Browder told loveMONEY: “From running DoNotPay, I discovered not only that airlines are unwilling to pay compensation, but also that greedy individuals are charging large commissions to obtain these funds. I aimed to make it completely free and allow customers to get 100% of what they're entitled to.”

How it works

The new tool can be used to put together a case for compensation for delayed flights that meet the criteria for claims under EU law in a matter of minutes.

It works by first determining if a passenger is eligible for compensation through a series of simple questions.

Under EU law your flight must have departed or arrived (or both) from an EU country, must have been delayed by more than three hours and must have occurred in the last six years. In addition the delay can’t have been to do with bad weather or a terrorism threat.

Should your claim tick all the right boxes, you can begin to put a case together to get 100% of what you’re owed back.

You’ll need a few further details like the airline you travelled with, the approximate length of delay, flight number as well as where you travelled to calculate the exact amount owed (from six different possibilities).

Then you just need to hit a button to generate an appeal. Browder has helpfully dug out the hidden claim addresses of all the major airlines so that users can send their claim with just a click.

The new tool has only been live for a few days but it's already been successful in helping people get even with airlines, with at least one user reporting they've made a successful claim for compensation using the site.

Plans for the future

Browder says he’s received half a dozen offers to buy his site, but he’s turned them all down.

He explained to loveMONEY that he wants to maintain control to help DoNotPay grow and create tools that can help as many people as possible.

Browder says a large number of new tools are already in the pipeline and next up is one to help passengers claim for delayed trains.

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