Complaining to ARN step by step, and what ARN does not do

Allmänna reklamationsnämnden (ARN), Sweden's National Board for Consumer Disputes, describes itself as a public agency that examines many kinds of consumer disputes. Legally, ARN is a body for alternative dispute resolution within the meaning of section 4, first paragraph, of the Swedish Act (2015:671) on alternative dispute resolution in consumer matters (section 1 of Ordinance (2015:739) with instructions for ARN; the sections cited below refer to that ordinance). Flight disputes are handled in the travel area, which according to the agency's own information covers among other things delayed and cancelled flights, incorrect bookings and delayed, damaged and lost baggage.

It is important to keep two routes apart. Article 16 of EU Regulation 261/2004 says that each Member State must designate a body responsible for enforcing the Regulation, and that a passenger may complain to such a body about an infringement of the Regulation. That is an enforcement route. ARN instead examines your individual dispute with the airline and takes a position on your claim. ARN also states that compensation under Article 7 of the Regulation can only be claimed from the airline that operated or was to operate the transport; if your application concerns such compensation, that is the airline it must be directed against. If the dispute concerns a package holiday, ARN states that the organiser is liable for faults in the trip, including faults in the transport included, such as flight and baggage delays.

The board's decision in a dispute is called a recommendation: on application by a consumer, the agency is to recommend a resolution of the dispute (section 3). The agency's recommendations and dismissal decisions are notified to the parties in writing and state the reasons that determined the outcome (section 24). ARN itself states that the decision is a recommendation on how the dispute should be resolved, and that anyone who is not satisfied with the decision can go to court.

Legally, this means two things. First, the decision cannot be appealed: the agency's decisions in disputes cannot be appealed, and the same applies to its decisions in reconsideration cases (section 37). Second, the decision is, even when you win, a recommendation by ARN's own description, not a judgment. ARN says most companies follow the decision. If the airline does not follow the recommendation, the Swedish Consumer Agency (Konsumentverket) says you can apply for a summons in the district court. That is a new examination of the dispute, not an appeal, and the losing party in court may have to pay the other party's legal costs.

ARN examines the dispute and issues a recommendation on how it should be resolved. The agency does not pay out the money, and an ARN case is not court proceedings. The procedure is written and the parties have no right to attend the meetings (section 19), and ARN states that no hearings are held with the parties. This has practical consequences: written documentation can be put forward, while a dispute that rests on what someone said at the gate is harder to bring to light here.

Nor can anyone promise how the case will end. ARN says normal processing time is about six months and that priority cannot be given. The agency also says it has recently received an unusually large number of cases, which may mean it takes longer. The SEK 150 fee is not refunded if the case is dismissed. So expect to do the groundwork yourself: a clearly stated claim, booking details, the airline's written rejection and a short account of what actually happened to the flight.