10 more ways to reclaim your money

An early booking is usually rewarded with a lower price. Unfortunately this summer many flights were cancelled due to the coronavirus sweeping the globe.

In the case of a cancellation by the airline, or a red travel code for the destination of the flight, you have the right to reclaim your money. Many airlines have been offering vouchers in these cases. But you are not obliged to accept a voucher. You have the right to opt for another flight (the first flight with seats available), to rebook your trip or to get your money back.

Be wary of the date on which your trip got cancelled. If you were informed of the cancellation more than two weeks before departure, your right to receive a refund expires.

If you used a booking platform such as Skyscanner, this party is responsible for handling the cancellation. Reach out to them to negotiate a fitting solution.

Find an example letter that you can send to the airline or booking platform here.

The benefits are aplenty when it comes to online shopping. It’s quick, simple and can be done from the comfort of your own home. Dutch webshop Bol.com even guarantees same day delivery for some items. But what to do when an ordered product doesn’t get delivered? Be sure to pick Paypal in the list of payment options. Paypal’s terms and conditions can put your mind at ease. If a product isn’t delivered or doesn’t match the description on the webshop, you can get a full refund on your purchase.

Returning an item that doesn’t satisfy you to a shop is easy. But what if you’ve made an app purchase that you want to return? Works the same! If you’re dissatisfied with an app, you can return it in the Apple Store as well as in the Google Play Store. We’ll tell you how.

For Apple Store purchases you have fourteen days to return the app and get your money back. You can do so by following the steps below:

1. Go to reportaproblem.apple.com
2. Log in with the Apple-ID you made the app purchase with
3. Look up the app you’d like to return
4. Click the ‘Choose Problem’ dropdown
5. Select an issue from the menu or write a brief description of the problem
6. Submit your form

The Google Play Store applies a shorter return period of 48 hours. Reclaim your money by going through the following steps:

1. Go to your account in the Google Play Store
2. Log in with the account you made the purchase with
3. Scroll down to ‘Order History’ and select the app you’d like a refund for
4. Click on the three vertical dots on the right side of the app
5. Click ‘Refund’ and select an option that applies to the app or type a brief description of the issue
6. Send your request

If you weren’t able to request a refund within 48 hours, you can contact the app developer. You’ll find their details on the app page in the store. Unfortunately apps don’t have an overall refund policy, so the chances of getting your money back might be slim.

Public transport organisation Connexxion believes that a ride on one of their buses should be comfortable and relaxing. If that wasn’t the case for you, you can fill in a form on their website. Some scenarios warrant the right to get your money back.

You’re quickly transferring some money and mindlessly going through the steps, and whoops, before you know it you’ve filled in the wrong account number. After confirming the transaction, you find out you’ve transferred money to a stranger. Most banks, encouraged by the consumers association, have installed an IBAN-Name Check. This feature checks whether a name and an account number correspond. An error pops up if this is not the case. Unfortunately, not every bank has added this feature, so sometimes mistakes do happen.

Luckily there’s a solution! Ask your bank to transfer the money back to you, in other words, to reverse the transaction. Your bank contacts the recipient’s bank. If the recipient refuses to transfer the money back to you, you’ll have to take legal action to get your money back. You can contact your bank to get the recipients contact details.

Is your bank at fault when it comes to an incorrect transfer? Contact them as soon as possible. Your bank is required to reverse an incorrect transfer immediately. You can reclaim possible financial damage from your bank.

Imagine you’re selling a book and you stamped it online. The recipient contacts you a couple of weeks later, saying the book hasn’t been delivered. This is when you contact PostNL. If something went wrong stamping your package, and PostNL is at fault, you’re entitled to get your money back. Fill in the reimbursement form up until fourteen days after sending your package, if your request for a refund is accepted, you’ll receive the money within two weeks.

Dutch paper AD revealed in 2018 that one in three traffic tickets ended up being unjust after the recipient challenged the fine. Do you feel like you might have received an unjust fine? We’ll explain how you can challenge a fine.

There are two ways to challenge a fine: digitally, on the website of the Dutch central judicial collection agency, Centraal Justitieel Incassobureau (CJIB) or by letter to the district attorney. This letter should include your personal details, the number stated on the fine and the reason you’re challenging the fine.

After your objection has been made, three of the following things can happen. Either your objection can be declined, amended or granted. A declined objection means you’ll have to pay the fine. Is your fine amended? You’ll receive a different ticket, with a (probably) lower penalty. And lastly, is your objection granted? Congratulations! The fine will be destroyed.

You might not agree with the decision made. You can then go to the subdistrict court, within 6 weeks after the decision of the public prosecutor, to challenge the decision. You must, however, pay the fine first, to provide a guarantee. After you’ve paid, the fine can be destroyed, changed or you might still have to pay. Still don’t agree with the decision made? Then as a last step you can lodge an appeal with the Court of Appeal in Leeuwarden, provided the fine is 70 euros or higher.

Were you a Facebook user between the 1st of January 2010 and the 1st of January 2020? You might be eligible for compensation. According to the Dutch consumer association, Facebook collected user data during this period. Facebook even made money by sharing the data with third parties, without asking for permission. And lastly, Facebook promised it’s users that use of the platform would always be free. Whereas in fact users “paid” Facebook by sharing personal details, such as gender, age, residence and other personal information they shared with their friends on the platform. Also collected by Facebook was data about which apps users were using and what websites, apart from Facebook, users were visiting. This information was shared with app developers. Curious to see if Facebook should compensate you? Find out here.

Our summer full of festivals was ruined by corona this year. But cancelled festivals are not a new phenomenon. What are your rights after having bought a festival ticket?

The festival organisation is obliged to refund your money as soon as possible. If the organisation postpones the festival to a later date, you can decide to agree to it, or ask for a refund.

The organisation is responsible for your refund. Do you feel like you’ve been waiting for a while now? It’s often helpful to send them a registered letter. The organisation has 14 days to refund your money without extra collection costs. If they fail to do so, you can ask the disputes committee (Geschillencommissie in Dutch) for advice, provided that the organisation is a member of one. If they’re not, you’ll unfortunately have to solve the problem yourself. If the amount you’ve spent is more than 175 euro, you can phone a lawyer to find out how to get your money back as quickly as possible.

Find a sample letter here.

Phone plans can be expensive, but did you know you can negotiate the price? Many providers would prefer to offer you a discount rather than losing your business to one of their competitors. They’re especially likely to offer you a discount if you’ve been a customer for a while or if you and your partner both are both contracted with one provider.

You can phone them yourself to negotiate. Follow the steps below:

1. Go over your current contract
2. Check if your provider has any promotions
3. Decide on your negotiation target
4. Do not accept the first offer they make you

Feel nervous about negotiating yourself? Or don’t have time? We’re here to help!