I used a similar service when I was told by KLM (same company as AF) that a cancelled flight of mine was outside of their control (it wasn't).
It was a special case because they cancelled the first out of 3 connecting flights and rebooked me onto a flight leaving the day before on that very day (had to stop what I was doing and rush to the airport to make it).
All other flights were on time and I technically arrived at my destination on time.
Luckily there had been a prior case that was tried at the EU court and the court ruled that you would get compensation if you end up leaving early.
After KLM rejected I decided to use one of those services as it seemed like a complex case to argue and lo and behold, about a month later I got my compensation (minus the fee I had to pay the service).
As far as I understand they have a group of lawyers and immediately threaten with legal action. I wouldn't be surprised if the airlines simply auto-approve the majority of claims made by these companies as that's cheaper.
I'd still try and claim the 'normal' way first as the fee for using such services is quite high (20-30%).
It was a special case because they cancelled the first out of 3 connecting flights and rebooked me onto a flight leaving the day before on that very day (had to stop what I was doing and rush to the airport to make it).
All other flights were on time and I technically arrived at my destination on time.
Luckily there had been a prior case that was tried at the EU court and the court ruled that you would get compensation if you end up leaving early.
After KLM rejected I decided to use one of those services as it seemed like a complex case to argue and lo and behold, about a month later I got my compensation (minus the fee I had to pay the service).
As far as I understand they have a group of lawyers and immediately threaten with legal action. I wouldn't be surprised if the airlines simply auto-approve the majority of claims made by these companies as that's cheaper.
I'd still try and claim the 'normal' way first as the fee for using such services is quite high (20-30%).