My Experience with FlixTrain and EU Rail Passenger Rights

I want to make a post on my experience with FlixTrain EU Rail Passenger rights, in case this helps anyone stuck in a multi hour delay.

I took a train from Hamburg to Berlin earlier, using FlixTrain. Where unfortueantly my train was delayed for 4+ hours. I would like to say that FlixTrain is mostly punctual, and I believe they're actually better than DB, I've had more good experience than bad experience with FlixTrain.

Around 2 hours in with no sign of the train, I decided that it's enough waiting and it is better for me to take a DB train to Berlin. I decided to contact their customer service, to get the company's approval. I don't believe this is needed by EU law after a certain amount of delay, and I could've just bought the ticket and sent Flix the invoice. But I wanted to be safe and have something to stand on if Flix tried to wiggle their way out later. The customer support agent, who was very helpful, initially tried to put me on a Flixbus, I politely but firmly declined. By law I'm entitled to re-route myself under comparable conditions, and trains and buses aren't comparable. The agent then told me to purchase a 2nd class ticket on DB and send Flix the receipt. By law there is no price limit on this alternative ticket, my DB ticket was multiple times more than the Flixtrain ticket, owing to this being a last-minute ticket.

Once I got home, I submitted a claim to Flix for the price of alternative ticket, my lunch
(refreshments), and a claim for 50% of the Flixtrain ticket price due to arriving more than 120 minutes late. While I did get everything I was entitled to by law, this wasn't an easy process. Flix (like other budget carriers like Ryanair and Easyjet), uses a delay & deny tactic. Which can be extremely frustrating. The key is to not take it personally and be kind to the support agent while standing firm on your demands, the agents are often the ones who will fight to get you the compensation & reimbursement.

By law Flix had 30 days to respond, which they didn't. I had to follow up with an email. However, this did get my DB ticket reimbursed.

But they denied my claim for refreshments and delay ticket reimbursement, citing company policy and because I didn't "check in", which isn't possible as the train wasn't there. I sent Flix a number of emails after, where I cited the relevant law and stated that the law overrides company policies, but received similar responses denying the claim on company policy grounds. During this process, sometimes Flix will simply not respond to an email for weeks, and it takes 1-2 reminders for them to reply, with a response citing company policy.

What worked at the end was an email which points out that they have not defended their legal position, and that I will take it to the regulators if I don't receive a response addressing my concerns. Days later, I received an email from Flix stating that my claim will be paid, and that this constitutes their final position on the matter.