GoKawiilEdgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR An Italian court has ruled that several of Netflix’s past price hikes were unlawful.
Affected subscribers in Italy may be entitled to refunds and reduced subscription prices.
The ruling comes just after Netflix raised prices again in the US, but Netflix is appealing.
While Netflix subscribers in the US are still reeling from yet another round of price hikes, the streaming service has just been told to give some of its users the exact opposite treatment. A court in Rome has ruled that several of its past price increases in Italy were unlawful, potentially entitling affected subscribers in the country to refunds and lower current prices.
Are you going to tolerate Netflix's latest price hike? 1193 votes Yup. I don't love it, but I'm not cancelling over this. 16 % I probably won't cancel, but I may move to a lower tier. 12 % I'm going to try and cancel for myself and just get on a friend's plan. 10 % Nope. $20/month for standard is just too greedy. 62 %
According to Ars Technica, the case was brought by Italian consumer group Movimento Consumatori, which argued that Netflix had raised prices in ways that violated the country’s Consumer Code. The issue was that Netflix’s contracts reportedly didn’t properly explain in advance why those prices or other terms might change in the future. In other words, the platform hadn’t adequately justified the price increases before imposing them — a feeling you might share wherever you live.
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That ruling covers four hikes imposed between 2017 and 2024, and it could amount to a decent chunk of change for some long-time subscribers. Movimento Consumatori says a Premium customer who has been paying continuously since 2017 could be owed as much as €500, while a Standard subscriber could be due about €250. Even users on the Basic plan saw a small increase in that time.
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