A ruling from the Rome court reopens the chapter on increases in Netflix subscriptions and does so with potentially very large effects. The judges have in fact declared illegitimate the contractual clauses that allowed the platform to unilaterally change prices between 2017 and January 2024, accepting the action promoted by the Consumer Movement. According to the decision, the increases applied in the years 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2024 would have been introduced without indicating a justified reason in the contracts, in violation of the Consumer Code.
What happens now? Well, the users involved could obtain a refund of the sums paid in excess, as well as a reduction in the current price of the subscription. The ruling is immediately enforceable and requires Netflix to directly inform customers, including those who have canceled the service in the meantime.
How much subscribers can receive
The figures vary based on the plan subscribed to and the duration of the subscription. According to estimates by the association’s lawyers, for the premium plan the accumulated increases reach around 8 euros per month compared to the original price. Those who have remained subscribers since 2017 could receive a refund of close to 500 euros.
For the standard plan the overall increase is around 4 euros per month, with a refund that can be around 250 euros. The basic plan is also included in the decision, in particular for the 2 euro increase introduced in October 2024. The ruling also establishes that subscribers are entitled not only to a refund, but also to a reduction in the current price to the same extent as increases deemed illegitimate.
Class action ready and possible appeal
The Consumer Movement has already announced that, in the absence of automatic refunds, it will proceed with a class action to protect all users involved. The association has set up an online form to collect memberships (which can be subscribed to at this link) while the potential audience is very large: in just a few years, Netflix has gone from around 1.9 million customers in Italy in 2019 to over 5 million in 2025.
Netflix, for its part, said it would appeal against the decision, arguing that its contractual conditions were in line with Italian law. The legal battle, therefore, is not over. In the meantime, however, the ruling opens the way to refunds, price reductions and possible compensation, with effects that could involve millions of subscribers, even those who have already closed their accounts.
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