Class action lawsuit against Extraenergie: Consumer advocates are going to court because of illegal price increases in July 2022.

Class action lawsuit against Extraenergie: Consumer advocates are going to court because of illegal price increases in July 2022.

According to a report by t-online.de, the energy supplier Extraenergie massively increased the prices for electricity and gas in July 2022. Consumer advocates believe these price increases are illegal and have filed class action lawsuits before the Hamm Higher Regional Court in order to obtain refunds for the affected customers. Extraenergie had increased prices despite existing price guarantees, which consumer advocates consider to be inadmissible. The provider's justification for breaking the price guarantees has already been described as unsustainable by the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court.

Consumer advocates estimate that more than 100,000 customers will be affected by the price increases. Registered consumers who join the class action lawsuit brought by the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv) can, if successful, receive compensation or refunds without having to go to court again. Participation in the class action lawsuit also does not bar claims for refunds.

The impact of these unlawful price increases can be significant. On the one hand, affected consumers could be financially harmed if they had to pay the increased prices. This could lead to reduced purchasing power and a reduction in consumption. On the other hand, trust in energy suppliers as a whole could decline, which could damage competition and consumer confidence in the industry in the long term.

It remains to be seen how the court will respond to the class action lawsuits and what impact this will have on the affected market. However, it is to be expected that a decision in favor of consumer advocates could potentially lead to a wave of further lawsuits against similar practices by other energy suppliers.