Germany’s top civil court voids Amazon’s Prime price clause. Old members pay less for now

Germany’s Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) ruled on 1 October 2026 that the clause Amazon used to raise the price of Prime in 2022 is invalid. The case number is III ZR 205/25. The consumer group Verbraucherzentrale NRW brought the case and had already won at the regional court and the higher regional court in Düsseldorf.

Prime got more expensive in September 2022

In September 2022 Amazon raised the price of Prime in Germany from €69 to €89.90 a year. The monthly plan went from €7.99 to €8.99. Amazon relied on a clause in its terms that let it change prices during a membership.

The court found the clause was not transparent enough under section 307 of the German Civil Code. From its wording customers could not tell whether they were allowed to reject a higher price or could only cancel their membership, the legal news site LTO reported.

Old members pay less for now

Amazon said it disagrees with the ruling. For now it is moving affected long-time members back to the old price, according to LTO. The difference for an annual member is €20.90 a year.

Money already paid is a separate matter. Refunds run through a class action at the Higher Regional Court in Hamm (case I-13 VKl 1/25), filed in December 2025. About 145,000 people have signed up in the official register, and it is still open.

Streaming services face similar cases

The consumer group VSV has brought similar claims against Netflix, Apple TV and Wow, LTO reported. The BGH ruling does not cancel their clauses automatically, but it shows how strictly the court reads price-change terms in subscriptions.

Prime matters to marketers far beyond video. It drives shopping habits on Amazon and, more recently, Prime delivery on merchants’ own shops. Amazon also faces pressure over its ad business in the United States, where the FTC says it raised ad auction prices in secret.

Any company that sells subscriptions in Germany should check how its terms describe price increases and what customers can do when the price goes up.