We’ve received a lot of requests from other European travellers using the Deutsche Bahn railway line here in Germany and so far all requests submitted via our system were successfully handled by the service center, even if people lived abroad.
However, today we received the first request from a traveller living in the USA. Being security focused, the traveller indicated that he wasn’t comfortable submitting his banking details via the website (also, he didn’t know what IBAN meant). The big question, then: Will he still receive his refund for enjoying a four hour train delay in Germany?
After speaking with the Servicecenter Fahrgastrechte, we found that they will process and handle all claims – distance doesn’t matter. In terms of the missing information we were informed that the service center would first try to call the client regarding the account details and would send a follow-up letter afterwards. While this significantly increases the processing time (I would expect 8-12 weeks overall once mail is involved), the overall outcome would still be positive.
If you have experienced a train delay or cancellation and would like to request a refund, feel free to use our online system – wherever you are.
Hint: Use Google Translate if the german terms are not clear to you, simply look at the very bottom of this page (in the footer) and click the „English version“ link below the copyright.