Consumer mass claim encounters legal hurdles

WAMCA: high expectations, difficult reality

For example, Professor Xandra Kramer expresses her concerns about the effectiveness of the Dutch Act on the settlement of mass damage in collective action (in Dutch: Wet afwikkeling massaschade in collectieve actie, abbreviated to WAMCA), on which this claim will probably be based. 'The intended effect of the WAMCA, facilitating the handling of mass claims, has not yet been achieved,' says Kramer. The act, which has been in force since 2020, enables to collectively recover damages through the courts. But practice has proven to be challenging: 'So far, only one final court ruling has been issued in which damages were claimed and this claim was denied. Procedures are complex, long and require a lot of preparation.' According to Kramer, the number of WAMCA cases has been decreasing. ‘In the first few years, there were around thirty cases annually, in 2024 only fifteen. So far, only five have been filed this year.’

Strict requirements, slow progress

There are several reasons why mass claims are legally complicated, says Kramer. For example, an attempt must first be made to reach a settlement before proceedings can be initiated. In addition, strict requirements apply to the admissibility of claiming interest organisation and for the external financing of such claims. These rules are intended to prevent abuse, but make the threshold for legal action high.

‘Still important for consumer interests’

Nevertheless, Xandra Kramer also sees positive aspects to mass claims: ‘Thanks to the WAMCA, consumer cases end up in court at all.’ In addition, these collective claims can have an indirect effect. ‘A claim can serve as leverage to persuade companies or governments to change their behaviour or policy.’

Financing remains a concern

The current claim against Booking.com works according to the principle of “no cure, no pay”, whereby participants give up to 25 percent of their compensation to the external financier. Although this is viewed critically in Europe, there is a risk that consumers will mainly serve as a profit model, Kramer sees few alternatives: ‘It is actually the only way to finance such a procedure. Then the question is: do you want something or nothing as a consumer?’

Whether the mass claim against Booking.com has a chance of success remains uncertain. According to Xandra Kramer, the WAMCA offers a powerful tool for consumers in theory, but practice shows that the tool is sluggish and rarely leads to actual compensation. At the same time, legal pressure via this route remains an important signal to the market.