Streaming: Netflix customer successfully defends itself against price increases

A German Netflix customer has successfully resisted the price increases of the streaming giant and gets his money back for several subscription years. For the millions of other users, this judgment is not a guarantee of a similar entitlement to reimbursement.

In the specific case, the Cologne Regional Court decided that Netflix wrongly made several price increases, said the lawyer and YouTuber Christian Solmecke as representative of the plaintiff.

It’s about clicking on a button

The man had completed a subscription for 11.99 euros, which became several more expensive from 2017 to 2021 and finally cost 17.99 euros. It was controversial whether the “Approval price increase” button was appropriate for this. According to the decision, Netflix has to repay around 200 euros.

“A click on a supposedly approving button is not sufficient if the user does not even recognize that it should be a contract offer,” explained Solmecke (Az.: 6 S 114/23, 154 C 225/22). A spokeswoman for the Cologne Regional Court confirmed to the German Press Agency that such a judgment had now been made in a lawsuit against a large streaming provider.

Netflix: “Decision falls out of the framework”

“The decision of the Cologne Regional Court is out of the framework,” said a Netflix spokeswoman for the decision. “Other courts have decided on the contrary in the same situation and have recognized our previous price increases in Germany as effective due to the express consent of our members.”

It is unclear to what extent other Netflix customers can rely on the Cologne judgment. The lawsuit was received in 2022. The court explicitly referred to the three -year termination period and rejected older claims from 2017 and 2018 for this week due to this week. According to this scale, claims from 2022 can be reclaimed today. At the next price increase last year, Netflix then modified the wording of consent.

Consumer advocates: “strong signal effect”

In the judgment, consumer advocates see a “strong signal effect” for all Netflix customers who were affected by a price increase. “The court found that the price increase by a pop-up window within the platform does not easily lead to an effective change in prices. Rather, it depends on the overall circumstances and whether there is an effective offer for an amendment contract,” said Erol Burak Tergek from the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center.

Tergek emphasized that the judgment only has an impact between the parties and not for all customers of Netflix. Those affected in a similar starting situation must therefore reclaim too much contributions after an ineffective increase in price and, if necessary, sue. “

Lawyer Gabriele Bernhardt from the Baden-Württemberg consumer center was pleased with the judgment. “This is a small further step towards strengthening consumer rights in the case of subscription contracts: It is a stop sign for companies that you are not allowed to increase prices with flimsy consent.”