Netflix was defeated in a German court case involving subscription price increases. The Regional Court of Cologne declared the streaming platform’s recent price hikes invalid and ordered that a customer be refunded 191.60 euros, plus interest.
According to lawyers and consumer protection organizations, the ruling could pave the way for hundreds of similar refunds.
The case involves a subscriber to the premium plan, who paid 11.99 euros per month in 2017 and, after three increases, was paying 17.99 euros in 2022. The customer claimed they never gave valid consent to the increases and demanded a refund. The judges partially agreed: the increases from 2017 and 2018 were time-barred, but the amounts paid in the three years prior to the lawsuit must be returned.
Consent button considered misleading
The court criticized how Netflix implemented the price increases. Although users clicked the button with the message “I agree to the price increase,” the judges found the context misleading. According to the decision, the customer was not clearly informed that they could refuse the contractual change. The company’s approach was considered a violation of the principle of good faith.
“The affected customers could not recognize that they also had the option to reject the change,” explained lawyer Christian Solmecke, who represents the customer and now intends to use the case as a precedent for class action lawsuits.
For consumer protection agencies, the decision sends a strong signal. “The mere appearance of a pop-up window within the platform is not sufficient to validate a contractual change. It all depends on whether there is a clear and transparent offer for a new agreement,” said Erol Burak Tergek from the Consumer Protection Center of North Rhine-Westphalia.
However, he warns that affected customers will have to assert their rights individually.
Netflix disputes ruling and stands by its policy
Netflix, in turn, disagrees with the decision and says it will continue to defend its pricing policy. “Other courts have already ruled in our favor in similar cases, recognizing the validity of the increases based on users’ express consent,” said a company spokesperson.
Source: spiegel. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
