Amazon Prime price increase declared invalid in Germany

Amazon has suffered a defeat in court proceedings against German consumer advocates. A class action lawsuit is now being prepared. If you join, you will receive a refund of part of your overpaid subscription fee for Amazon Prime.

Successful lawsuit against Amazon

In summer 2022, Amazon announced a price increase for customers with a Prime membership. The shipping and streaming giant justified the move at the time with “general and significant cost changes due to inflation.” The price for the service rose from 7.99 to 8.99 euros per month and from 69.00 to 89.90 euros annually. Like it in one Press release the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center is called, the Düsseldorf Regional Court has now declared the clause in Amazon’s terms of use on which the price increase is based invalid. The court follows the consumer advocates’ argument that “the price increase without the express consent of the customer is inadmissible.”

Customers may receive money back

However, the judgment is not yet legally binding. Amazon can and probably will appeal. Nevertheless, the NRW consumer advice center is already preparing a class action lawsuit. If the verdict is confirmed, customers should be able to get their overpaid subscription fee back.

If you pay annually, that is currently 62.70 euros. If you pay monthly, the amount to date is 28 euros. If you want to join the class action lawsuit, you can do so via Consumer advice website Sign up for the relevant newsletter. This will then inform you when the lawsuit register will be opened and customers can register. The lawsuit is potentially worth a three-digit million amount.

Further proceedings are ongoing

Another class action lawsuit brought by the Saxony Consumer Center against Amazon has been ongoing since May last year. It is about what the plaintiffs consider to be an inadmissible price increase from February 2024.

At that time, the Internet company increased the advertising quota on its streaming offering and removed some functions. At the same time, customers were offered the option of continuing to use the service in its current state for an additional charge of 2.99 euros. According to the plaintiffs, the consent of the users was also required for these changes.