Hidden fees and price increases

Why is the price of my streaming subscription increasing?

The streaming service provider may decide to increase its rates, but it must clearly notify you before implementing the increase.

You must know about any price change in advance, within the time limits specified in the subscription contract. In addition, you must have the option to cancel without charge if you do not agree with the new rate.

Example: Your Irish streaming service increases its prices without notifying you. This is illegal. Request immediately to cancel your subscription or keep the old price.

How can I know what I’m really paying for in a video game?

Always check the conversion rate of the virtual currency used in the game into euros: this exchange rate allows you to identify the actual price of your virtual purchases.

Virtual currency in video games

In some video games, you can purchase virtual items such as skins, weapons, bonuses, diamonds, etc. These purchases are made using a virtual currency specific to each game (credits, gems, points, etc.). Such purchases are known as in-app purchases.

However, the virtual currencies often mask the actual value of purchases in euros.

As a player, you must convert your money into this fictional currency. But here’s the catch: the exchange rate between the two varies depending on the packs offered. And the unit cost often goes down as to encourage you to buy more.

Difficult conversion between virtual currency and real currency

It is not always easy to understand the real price of each in-app purchase. On the one hand, items purchased in-game are displayed only in virtual currency, with no clear indication in euros. On the other hand, virtual currency packs do not always correspond to the exact amount needed for a specific item. As a result, you must buy several packs to obtain this item, which often leaves you with an unusable balance. This encourages you to buy another currency pack to top up your balance.

Such practices are considered misleading because they play on your confusion between real and virtual money. In particular, they encourage young players to spend money.

Prices must be displayed in euros

Consumer law requires to display all prices clearly, intelligibly and in euros (including all taxes). In other words, you must be able to know before paying how much a virtual item in the game costs. You should not have to make any calculations or conversions, even simple ones.

European and French authorities consider the failure to display the actual price a misleading commercial practice. The law provides for penalties in such cases.

A few tips to avoid confusion

• Always check the price in euros when you top up your virtual wallet. This will help you estimate the item’s real value.
• Do the maths once: for example, how much are 100 units of virtual currency worth in your game? Make a note of this for future reference.
• Be wary of small leftover amounts of virtual currency: they often encourage you to top up to “get your money’s worth”. But do you really need it?
• Monitor your children’s purchases: check the spending settings and activate parental controls if possible. A card payment made by your child will be difficult to contest if you authorised the payment!

Finally, if you are living in France and notice that apps do not clearly show in-app purchase prices in euros, you can report this to the French Directorate General for Competition, Consumer protection and Fraud control (DGCCRF). You can submit reports on the SignalConso platform.

Please note: Europe is considering further regulating these in-app purchases in a forthcoming European Digital Fairness Act.

Why are the prices of some tickets rising rapidly?

The price of concert tickets, sporting events, and even other products or services (transport, travel bookings, etc.) can rise rapidly due to dynamic pricing.

This system adjusts prices according to demand. The more people want to buy, the higher the price can rise.

The practice of dynamic pricing is more widespread in concert ticketing. For one artist, the ticket’s price can rise from 135 euros to 350 euros and more in just a few minutes.

For fans, this can quickly become frustrating. As demand increases, so does the price, making it difficult to get a ticket at a reasonable price.

Legally speaking, no European legislation prohibits dynamic pricing. However, it is monitored for its effects on competition, especially when one player dominates the market. The European Digital Markets Act regulates large digital platforms precisely for this purpose. Competition law could intervene if it deemed a dynamic pricing practice abusive.

Our advice:

• To avoid paying too much, you need to decide whether to buy as soon as tickets go on sale or to wait. Demand may eventually drop, allowing you to take advantage of better prices. It’s up to you to judge the dynamics based on the artist and the type of tickets on sale for example.
• Compare several platforms before buying, but be careful of pitfalls when purchasing tickets for concerts, festivals and other events!

Please note: A sudden price change may also result from price personalisation.

My favourite sporting event has disappeared from my streaming subscription: what should I do?

Especially if you purchased a pack, you cannot necessarily request to cancel or reduce the price of the subscription, but you can try to invoke the legal guarantee of conformity.

If your paid subscription service removes certain content or features, the price will not decrease. This can be frustrating if you have a commitment to a fixed term!

Our advice:

• Check your contract and its terms and conditions. However, most contracts do not include clauses allowing you to request early termination or a price reduction in this situation.
• Otherwise, invoke the legal guarantee of conformity. The deleted content may have caused you to subscribe in the first place. Try to request a price reduction or the immediate termination of the contract. You do not need to request the return of your programme if the platform has removed this content. Make it clear that the removal of this content constitutes a substantial change to the subscription. Inform the provider that this content was the main reason for your subscription to the service.

However, if the provider considers the removal to be minor, it may refuse your request. It is up to the provider to demonstrate that this change does not significantly affect the subscription. In practice, many streaming services argue that they continue to offer a wide range of other content in the subscription.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.