A group of small businesses have lost their legal case to force energy company Vattenfall to refund millions of euros in what the companies said were “unjustified costs”.

The companies, united in foundation Stichting Nuon-claim, argued Vattenfall was liable for charging them too much for their electricity over a period of several years. Vattenfall took over Nuon in 2009.

The class action case, which dates back to 2020, revolves around some 5,000 clients who were liable for a charge per kilowatt on top of their regular bill once the energy market was liberalised in 2002.

The foundation argued that Vattenfall was not allowed to charge an extra fee because its members received no service or product in return for the money.

However the court ruled that Vattenfall could levy the extra charge and had not acted outside the law. If the court had found in Vattenfall’s favour, it could have cost the company €400 million.

The case has been followed closely in legal circles because it is the first to be ruled on under new mass claim laws in which the plaintiffs were calling for compensation.

The WAMCA law allows judges to decide if a large group of people, companies or other organisations have the right to compensation and how much in a single case. Dozens of such cases have started since the legislation came into force.

Lawyers say the case is not likely to have an impact on future class action cases because the court ruled against the plaintiffs on substantive grounds rather than the compensation claim.