An Italian court has told Netflix to refund customers after finding that several subscription price hikes failed to meet legal requirements.
Prices for Netflix plans increased multiple times between 2017 and January 2024. Consumer group Movimento Consumatori said a court agreed with its challenge, concluding the way those increases were applied did not comply with Italian rules.
As a result, the court ordered the streaming service to repay subscribers who were impacted by the rises.
According to Reuters, some users could be due refunds of up to around €500 (just over $576) for the Premium plan, and up to about €250 (around $288) for the Standard plan.
Netflix said it plans to appeal the decision, arguing its terms are consistent with Italian law.
Lawyers Paolo Fiorio and Riccardo Pinna represented consumers, and said: “For the Premium Plan, the unlawful increases applied in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2024 amount to 8 euros ($9.22) a month, while for the Standard Plan the total is 4 euros a month.
“A Premium subscriber who has paid for Netflix continuously from 2017 to the present day is entitled to a refund of about 500 euros, while a Standard subscriber is due a refund of about 250 euros.”
Beyond refunds, the Rome court also instructed Netflix to publicise the ruling on its Italian website and in leading national newspapers.
The aim, the decision said, was to ensure customers understood the price-increase clauses were void and that they could seek reimbursement for the additional amounts charged.
So what led the court to conclude Netflix breached the rules?
The court found the increases were unfair because the contract terms allowed changes without setting out a valid reason for doing so.
Judges said this ran contrary to provisions in Italy’s National Consumer Code.
The ruling also indicated that compensation could be available where applicable, and that subscribers may be entitled to a reduction on the price of their current Netflix plan.
In a statement, Netflix said: “We take consumer rights very seriously and believe our terms have always complied with Italian laws and practice.”
Netflix remains one of the world’s biggest streaming services for films and television.