The Hamm Regional Court has ruled in favor of a class-action lawsuit brought by the Federal Consumer Organization against ExtraEnergie GmbH. Consequently, all price hikes implemented by the energy supplier starting in late 2022 were deemed invalid, meaning customers are entitled to the originally agreed-upon rates.
The court rejected ExtraEnergie’s argument that the drastic increase in energy prices during the crisis made it unreasonable for the company to maintain the agreed prices. Instead, the court found that ExtraEnergie had knowingly accepted this risk when it formulated a price guarantee. The company, which operates under brands such as ExtraGas, PrioEnergie, and HitEnergie, had announced in the summer of 2022 that it would significantly raise prices for customers, even those who had agreed to a price guarantee.
More than 4,200 customers joined the class-action lawsuit and can now hope for reimbursements. However, it is not yet known whether ExtraEnergie plans to appeal the decision to the Federal Court of Justice. If an appeal is lodged, the affected consumers will have to wait longer. Nevertheless, consumers who registered themselves in the lawsuit registry by July 2026 are protected from the statute of limitations.
Ramona Pop, a board member of the Federal Consumer Organization, stated to Spiegel that no company should profit from a crisis. She added that the ruling demonstrated the effectiveness of class-action lawsuits in bringing consumer protection to the people, and urged for a swift reimbursement of funds to the customers.
