price increases
Reclaim up to 226 euros from Netflix: Warentest provides a sample letter for reimbursement
Those who have followed Netflix’s price hikes for years may be eligible for a refund.
© Jakub Porzycki / Picture Alliance
The Berlin Regional Court ruled at the end of February that price increases for Netflix subscriptions were ineffective. If the ruling is upheld, veteran Netflix customers would be entitled to refunds. Warentest has prepared a sample letter for the corresponding requirement.
Netflix’s Terms of Service is very clear: “We may, in our reasonable discretion, change the price of our subscription offerings from time to time to reflect the impact of changes in the total costs associated with our service.” However, the Berlin Regional Court does not see it that way. A judgment (Az. 52 O 157/21) states that this passage is far too unclear and does not take the interests of customers into account fairly. The consequence: the past price increases would be inadmissible, customers could demand back too much money paid.
The legal experts at Stiftung Warentest see it that way and, despite the ongoing appeal, expect that “the Court of Appeal in Berlin, which is responsible for the appeal, and the Federal Court of Justice will confirm the verdict.” This is particularly interesting for customers who have had the same subscription for a long time and have always accepted previous price increases.
Up to 226 euros plus interest
Warentest has calculated that someone who has paid a Netflix premium subscription since the end of 2016 could claim up to 226 euros plus interest from Netflix as soon as the judgment is confirmed. And that’s not even a lot of work: A sample letter from Stiftung Warentest with detailed information should help Netflix send a watertight letter.
+++ Also read: Consumer advocates win in court against Netflix: No groundless price increases +++
Warentest assesses the risk as minimal. Netflix could cancel the subscription of customers who approach the company with claims. However, according to the experts, there is nothing wrong with simply opening a new account afterwards. With a repayment of 226 euros, the premium subscription for 17.99 euros could be paid for a whole year.
Delivery by post
The letter should be delivered by post. Warentest gives the address “Netflix International BV, Karperstraat 8-10, 1075 KZ Amsterdam, Netherlands”. The European headquarters of the US company is located there. The company doesn’t seem to be responding to emails sent to [email protected].
For Stiftung Warentest, however, the letter is also considered to have been delivered if customer service acknowledges receipt of the e-mail automatically or with a rejection. The experts write that it is illegal not to accept e-mails to the address given in the imprint.
pay close attention to time periods
In discussions, users point out that the periods of the price increases must be observed precisely when filling out the letter, otherwise the amount of the claims will not correspond to the facts. Be sure to pay attention to when exactly the prices have changed. This can be found for the past twelve months at the address “https://www.netflix.com/BillingActivity“, you can find the remaining periods on the credit card statement or on the account statement, for example.
You should take a closer look in June 2019, May 2021, July to December 2020, and October 2017. There were changes to the prices here.
source: Stiftung Warentest