Netflix loses court battle over raising prices the past 7 years and ordered to pay refunds

A court in Italy has ordered Netflix to pay back subscriptions after ruling that price increases did not comply with Italian law.

Netflix subscriptions had risen between 2017 and January 2024, but Italian consumer advocacy group Movimento Consumatori has now said that a court upheld its motion that the price increases did not comply with regulation.

The court has also ordered the streaming giant to reimburse people who were affected by the increases.

Some subscribers could be entitled to a refund of up to €500, just over $576, as a result of the ruling for a Premium plan, and €500, or $288, for the Standard plan, according to a report in Reuters.

Netflix has said that it is now planning to appeal against the court's decision, saying that it thinks that its terms are in accordance with Italian law.

Netflix said it intends to appeal the decision (John Lamb/Getty)

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."

In addition to ordering Netflix to reimburse customers for the increases, the court in Rome also ordered Netflix to publish the ruling on its Italian website, as well as in major national newspapers in Italy.

This was to ensure that consumers were informed that the clauses with the price increases were void, and that they could claim the reimbursement from Netflix over the price increases.

But why did the court find that Netflix had breached the code with these increases?

Subscribers may be entitled to reimbursement (SimpleImages/Getty)

According to the court's decision, the increases were not fair because the changes were allowed without the contract stating a valid reason why.

This was also in breach of the National Consumer Code in Italy, the court ruled.

In addition to the reimbursement, the ruling that there could be compensation where it applies, as well as that subscribers would be entitled to a reduction in the price of their current subscription to Netflix.

In a statement, Netflix said: "We take consumer rights very seriously and believe our terms have always ​complied with Italian laws and practice."

Netflix is one of the largest streaming platforms for film and TV.

UNILAD has approached Netflix for comment.