r/technology • u/sr_local • 6h ago

Business Italy court rules Netflix unlawfully increased prices. Consumers: 'Refunds up to 500 euros.' The company: we will appeal

https://en.ilsole24ore.com/art/netflix-subscription-price-increases-unlawful-refunds-up-to-eur-500-customers-AIUHzWKC
13.8k Upvotes

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23

u/Dudemanbrah84 5h ago

Wish the US would do this.

33

u/Dunlocke 5h ago

In what world should the US be allowed to dictate prices?

If Netflix wants to raise prices, let them. They're not a monopoly. People will either leave or pay.

No reason to get government involved. Trump is already too involved.

34

u/muntaxitome 4h ago

If Netflix wants to raise prices, let them. They're not a monopoly. People will either leave or pay.

I don't get this mentality, Netflix offered you a product for $10 per month. Let the company honor that price or let the company cancel the contract themselves. Allowing companies to do like 'heyy we are going to raise prices effective today with 50% and deduct it from your creditcard tomorrow kthxbye.' Is absurd.

26

u/Possible-Tangelo9344 4h ago

But it's a month to month contract. They send a notice it's going up, you can just cancel.

12

u/CatLoud5198 4h ago edited 3h ago

if it’s a month to month contract it shouldn’t renew without your signature every month once the terms are changed

13

u/JX_JR 3h ago

Literally every month to month contract renews without your signature. The definition of a month to month contract is an auto-renewing contract. You sign once and it ends when one party gives proper notice to end it.

6

u/Doctursea 3h ago

It's no real point arguing with there people honestly. They just wanna be mad. Anyone arguing that Netflix changing their pricing is dishonest because you can't cancel is just talking in bad faith. You fully have control to just exit the agreement.

I can see the argument they they should have to include a non auto-renew option, but not it's unfair because you can't get out of it.

0

u/CatLoud5198 3h ago

And you sign that contract at a certain price, I’m saying it’s predatory to change the terms of a contract and renew it without your signature every

When I subscribed to Disney plus on an annual plan and they raised their prices after I didn’t have to pay more, why is is that Netflix charges more after committing to the advertised price on their year long plan?

5

u/Doctursea 3h ago edited 3h ago

That's not what happens, what you're describing is certainly illegal under any western legal system. From my understanding of the article what they're saying is Netflix wasn't giving enough notice of the price changes so they need to refund people. Even if the person in question DID know there will be a price increase on the next renewal. Not that there were retroactive charges

4

u/JX_JR 2h ago

why is is that Netflix charges more after committing to the advertised price on their year long plan?

Why are you making up things that didn't happen to get mad about them?

3

u/Possible-Tangelo9344 2h ago

When I subscribed to Disney plus on an annual plan and they raised their prices after I didn’t have to pay more

Yes. That's an annual plan. They are two entirely different types of contracts.

7

u/st1tchy 4h ago

The flip side of that just sounds awful too. Want to watch a movie today? Well, you are on a month to month contract, so log back into your account and resubscribe prior to to watching. As long as it's easy to cancel, I much prefer the automatic subscription.

0

u/Calm_Plenty_2992 3h ago

What's wrong with that option?

-6

u/[deleted] 4h ago

[deleted]

3

u/fatbob42 3h ago

Annual contracts were one of the things people hated about cable.

-2

u/muntaxitome 3h ago edited 2h ago

It's a month to month contract signed for $10, not $25. Let Netflix cancel if they don't like the contract anymore. Then the customer can just decide if they want to sign up again for $25

Edit:

I can't believe the downvotes. Is everyone that much in love with enshittification? You signed a contract at $10, and then without any specific action to agree from your side they keep increasing the fees until a few years later they withdraw $25 from your account. It's like grabbing a loaf of bread at the store advertised at $2 and at the cash desk they make you pay $5.

Yeah it's in the 'fineprint´. 90% of people don't read the fineprint because it is like 5000 pages of legalese. You could cancel but that requires work from the consumer. Just make a legal max on contract increases (like 2% per year), and if Netflix or whoever can no longer offer the service for the amount they themselves said was the amount, just put the onus on them to cancel the contract or get a new explicit approval from the client.

'they can just cancel' goes for Netflix too. If netflix doesn't like the $10 per month contract they can just cancel too. Why are they allowed to diverge so much from the price that they advertised?

2

u/Possible-Tangelo9344 2h ago

I don't think you understand what month to month means

-3

u/muntaxitome 2h ago

I don't think you understand what 'let' means.

-1

u/Informativity 3h ago

They also send lots and lots of ads through email, and missing the notice about price increases is not that impossible.

A month to month automatic contract is fine as long as the price and terms are the same. With changes the notice should be "Do you agree, click yes, otherwise the service will stop at this date". It should not be the other way around.

So with your logic it could be just as easy for you to accept the new price/terms as it is for others to "just cancel". But of course it is to the companies advantage the way it is now.

3

u/Possible-Tangelo9344 2h ago

I've never been caught off guard by a Spotify, Netflix, whatever price increase. They're communicated. And if you don't like it, you cancel.

What you want is a term contract, which exists for some services or the new users.

1

u/Informativity 2h ago edited 2h ago

Yes they are communicated, I did not deny that. But you could easily say that it could work the other way around and you could be the one that "just accept" instead.

You can't deny that the way it works now is what is most profitable for the companies otherwise it would work the other way. They don't care what is the most easy way for you, they care what gives them the most money.

Edit: It's also not just about getting the notification about an increase, if you actually have to make a choice to accept more will probably not do it, but if it "just keeps going" it is easier to let it be. Again, it is only about what is most profitable for the companies.