AMSTERDAM, June 26 (Reuters) - Two Dutch consumer groups

said on Wednesday they are seeking affected customers for a

legal claim against Booking.com, one of the world's

largest online travel agencies, over what they described as

inflated hotel prices since 2013.

The Consumer Competition Claims Foundation (CCC) and the

Consumers' Association said in a statement that Booking.com had

allegedly been charging consumers too much for hotel rooms for

years, leading to "hundreds of millions of euros in damage to

Dutch consumers".

"We have done research and it shows that Booking has been

violating competition rules and consumer law since January

2013," CCC Chairman Bert Heikens said.

Booking.com did not respond immediately to a request for

comment.

In 2024, the EU's top court ruled that Booking.com's

restrictions against hotels offering lower rates on their

websites or on rival sites were unnecessary and could reduce

competition, but also that such clauses were not

anti-competitive under EU laws.