Law firm for over 4000 UK Volkswagen customers urge company to enter talks
Volkswagen urged to enter talks on behalf of UK vehicle owners as thousands sign up for group legal claim
Posted on 15 October 2015
Leigh Day, the law firm leading the legal fight on behalf of UK consumers against Volkswagen have written today to the motor manufacturer following appearances by Volkswagen’s UK managing director, Paul Willis, before Parliament’s Transport and Environmental Audit Committees.
The law firm which is currently investigating over 4000 complaints against Volkswagen have confirmed that they have once again urged the company to enter into negotiations now, to agree a settlement scheme, so as to ensure that vehicle owners are appropriately and speedily compensated whilst minimising legal costs.
The letter sent today to the firm’s UK legal department, and to Mr Willis himself, also asks a number of questions, these are:
Bozena Michalowska-Howells from the Consumer Law and Product Safety group at Leigh Day said: “The reassurances given to UK drivers by Mr Willis were wholly inadequate and do not begin to address the many concerns that our clients have in relation to their vehicles.
“We are calling upon Volkswagen to ‘do the right thing’ by their customers and enter into talks as soon as possible to go some way towards addressing the immediate concerns expressed by Volkswagen customers.”
The law firm which is currently investigating over 4000 complaints against Volkswagen have confirmed that they have once again urged the company to enter into negotiations now, to agree a settlement scheme, so as to ensure that vehicle owners are appropriately and speedily compensated whilst minimising legal costs.
The letter sent today to the firm’s UK legal department, and to Mr Willis himself, also asks a number of questions, these are:
- Do affected cars have valid EU type approval?
- Will those vehicle owners who purchased their vehicle recently be offered a full refund of the purchase price? If so what, if any, conditions will be applied to this offer?
- Will Volkswagen be covering all the costs of the necessary refit together with any and all associated losses and expenses, including being given a courtesy car for the duration of the clients’ vehicles being out of action?
- Vehicle owners who are now wishing to sell their cars are finding that the second-hand value of their vehicles has decreased rapidly since the scandal broke. Will Volkswagen be compensating these owners for this loss should they proceed to sell their vehicles?
- If it is shown that the performance of a client’s vehicle has been impacted following the refit, will Volkswagen be prepared to compensate owners for any resulting losses?
- We have had reports from clients who have used the self-serve process and confirmed that their vehicle is not affected; only to receive a letter from Volkswagen which confirms that their vehicle is affected. How reliable is the self-serve process that has been set up?
Bozena Michalowska-Howells from the Consumer Law and Product Safety group at Leigh Day said: “The reassurances given to UK drivers by Mr Willis were wholly inadequate and do not begin to address the many concerns that our clients have in relation to their vehicles.
“We are calling upon Volkswagen to ‘do the right thing’ by their customers and enter into talks as soon as possible to go some way towards addressing the immediate concerns expressed by Volkswagen customers.”