Overview
- The Bundesgerichtshof in Karlsruhe held on Thursday that Amazon’s 2022 Prime pre‑adjustment clause is invalid because it did not clearly explain customers’ rights when prices rose.
- Amazon said it will temporarily revert to the old Prime prices for accounts that began before 15 September 2022 and remain unchanged, and it will notify affected members before their next charge.
- Already paid surcharges will not be refunded automatically; consumers can sue individually within limitation windows or join the Verbraucherzentrale NRW’s Sammelklage at the OLG Hamm, which has about 145,000 people registered.
- The 2022 increase raised the annual fee from €69 to €89.90 and the monthly fee from €7.99 to €8.99, so typical individual recovery estimates are modest (cases cited up to roughly €60) but aggregate exposure could be large.
- Legal experts and consumer groups say the ruling strengthens challenges to similar one‑sided subscription hikes at other streaming and subscription services and will force firms to use clearer contract terms or different adjustment procedures.