Diesel Emissions Scandal - Can We All Now Claim?

Modelman_2

Hi all,

It would seem from recent TV adverts we can now all claim for our diesel cars regardless of make providing the car meets some basic criteria. The new fleet of "No Win No Fee" solicitors are now getting on the bandwagon as their PPI work has dried up.

Take a look at the blurb below from one such organisation and see what you think. Is it too good to be true or can I really claim some compensation for my two Ford diesels?

Note - Company name reference's have been removed.

A number of car manufacturers are accused of diesel emissions fraud after allegedly fitting defeat devices in their vehicles to cheat emissions laws between 2007 and 2020.

Hundreds of thousands of cars and vans are involved in the ‘Diesel-gate’ scandal, and it is believed that they were producing emissions levels that significantly exceeded laws put in place to protect the public and the environment.

In the case of Mercedes, it is claimed that each illegal vehicle was producing over 40 times the EU and UK emissions limit.

Our company aims to get every driver of a diesel vehicle, first registered between 2007 and 2020, a chance of receiving up to £10,000 in compensation.

Volkswagen, Mercedes, Ford, BMW, Fiat, Renault, Nissan, Jeep, Peugeot, Alfa Romeo, Suzuki, Vauxhall, and Mitsubishi are among those involved in the scandal, and some manufacturers have already paid out millions, or even billions, in compensation.

We believe that corporations should be held accountable for the damage they have caused. We are already representing tens of thousands of affected drivers.

Claim in confidence with us. 

AdrianC

Modelman_2 said:

Is it too good to be true

Yes.

and some manufacturers have already paid out millions, or even billions, in compensation.

While this isn't an outright lie, it is certainly very misleading.

The original "dieselgate" started because VW were found to have cheated in US emissions testing. VW and Mercedes were the only companies even attempting to sell diesels in the US, because US emissions limits did not account for fuel type, so the limits were FAR stricter than the European ones. Compensation was paid to the US authorities, and VW voluntarily offered US drivers a compensation payment plus a fix or to buy the car back.

The "cheat devices" behind the European claims were not explicitly barred in the European testing, but have since been declared unlawful in a series of court cases.
No court in Europe has awarded customers anything against the manufacturers yet.

What are your actual losses?

When did you buy the cars, relative to the original "dieselgate" allegations becoming public in autumn 2015?

Right now, this is nothing more than a bunch of speculative ambulance chasers, and you have the potential to be liable for a substantial swathe of legal fees if you sign up.

Mickey666

AdrianC said:

Modelman_2 said:

Is it too good to be true

Yes.

and some manufacturers have already paid out millions, or even billions, in compensation.

While this isn't an outright lie, it is certainly very misleading.

The original "dieselgate" started because VW were found to have cheated in US emissions testing. VW and Mercedes were the only companies even attempting to sell diesels in the US, because US emissions limits did not account for fuel type, so the limits were FAR stricter than the European ones. Compensation was paid to the US authorities, and VW voluntarily offered US drivers a compensation payment plus a fix or to buy the car back.

The "cheat devices" behind the European claims were not explicitly barred in the European testing, but have since been declared unlawful in a series of court cases.
No court in Europe has awarded customers anything against the manufacturers yet.

What are your actual losses?

When did you buy the cars, relative to the original "dieselgate" allegations becoming public in autumn 2015?

Right now, this is nothing more than a bunch of speculative ambulance chasers, and you have the potential to be liable for a substantial swathe of legal fees if you sign up.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of ambulance-chasing scumbag no-win-no-fee lawyers, I'd say the thing to focus on is the 'no-win-no-fee' part of the deal being offered.

It sounds risk-free, so why WOULDN'T a diesel car owner sign up?  They won't care about all the technical arguments about cheat-devices and what is or what is not lawful - and why should they?  That's the lawyer's job - the owners just want a chance for some free cash.  Heck, as a diesel Mercedes owner I've been tempted myself.

So, when these posts crop up from time to time, as they are bound to do, why not cut to the chase about the risks - ie that no-win-no-fee means EXACTLY that . . . . no FEE.  ie the Lawyers will charge you nothing.  Fine.

BUT, what if the case is lost and the court awards costs AGAINST the group action?  POTENTIALLY this means that anyone signing up to such a scam MIGHT be required to pay their share of any costs awarded . . . which rather changes the 'no risk' aspect of the whole thing.

So, I'd forget about discussing the merits of the claim because it's pretty much irrelevant.  What is relevant is the RISK of the claimants having to pay out for costs and even perhaps compensation.  Because, if the car companies can somehow refute the claim and prove they've done nothing illegal, then they might be able to claim for huge damages based on loss of brand value or some similar nonsense.  I'm not suggesting they would or could but the point is that anyone signing up to these sorts of group actions MIGHT NOT be totally immune to any future costs.

THAT, surely, is the big thing to point out?


As ever, it's just another example of why people should scrutinise and understand EVERY WORD of any contract they sign.

What would be really interesting is to see a copy of the contract that these no-win-no-fee lawyers would expect someone to sign.

Modelman_2

Funny I knew about the original Diesel-gate saga regarding Mercedes however it was my wife that spotted repeated TV adverts over the last few days that bought this to my attention. Especially now they appear to aiming compensation at every diesel owner.
If companies are going to the expense of commercial TV advertising then perhaps there maybe some legal loophole they've found for making money. A brief internet search certainly pulled up a fair few organisations that appear to be singing the same tune albeit the commission varied between 20-50%.  Even with a successful claim it poses how much compensation the customer would actually ever see.

Manxman_in_exile

In the last "dieselgate" thread before this one somebody (I think the OP of that thread) posted up the T&Cs of the insurance you would have to buy in order to cover yourself against costs being awarded against you if you lost.

IIRC the terms seemed a bit odd as you didn't have to pay the premium if you lost!

boobyd

So Op you bought the cars based on what the emissions were?no other factor involved?
If the claims are based on emissions why aren't the NWNF asking for all the population to claim as they have had all these extra emissions in the air to breath in?
Just asking,I'm curious.

sheramber

AdrianC said:

Modelman_2 said:

Is it too good to be true

Yes.

and some manufacturers have already paid out millions, or even billions, in compensation.

While this isn't an outright lie, it is certainly very misleading.

The original "dieselgate" started because VW were found to have cheated in US emissions testing. VW and Mercedes were the only companies even attempting to sell diesels in the US, because US emissions limits did not account for fuel type, so the limits were FAR stricter than the European ones. Compensation was paid to the US authorities, and VW voluntarily offered US drivers a compensation payment plus a fix or to buy the car back.

The "cheat devices" behind the European claims were not explicitly barred in the European testing, but have since been declared unlawful in a series of court cases.
No court in Europe has awarded customers anything against the manufacturers yet.

What are your actual losses?

When did you buy the cars, relative to the original "dieselgate" allegations becoming public in autumn 2015?

Right now, this is nothing more than a bunch of speculative ambulance chasers, and you have the potential to be liable for a substantial swathe of legal fees if you sign up.

  No court in Europe has awarded customers anything against the manufacturers yet

,https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry

Modelman_2

boobyd said:

So Op you bought the cars based on what the emissions were?no other factor involved?
If the claims are based on emissions why aren't the NWNF asking for all the population to claim as they have had all these extra emissions in the air to breath in?
Just asking,I'm curious.

I bought the cars because they were best suited to our family requirements. Indeed I did consider emissions when buying our two cars as they were supposedly ultra low emissions failing in the £20 and £30 road tax bracket.
Also the fact that the UK government were plugging diesel cars big time 12 years ago with their so called environmental footprint and economical miles per gallon.

Today it's the opposite with diesels being the worst polluters especially now everyone seems to want those Range Rover size four wheel drives for school runs. Do we need these giant cars...No however they look good and with the option of changing them every three years, why not. It's easy to blame the manufactures for fiddling the numbers but in hindsight I think the real problem is closer to home. 

Elmer_BeFuddled

I'd just be happy my car, if I ever bought a diesel, was passing its MOT!

boobyd

Modelman_2 said:

boobyd said:

So Op you bought the cars based on what the emissions were?no other factor involved?
If the claims are based on emissions why aren't the NWNF asking for all the population to claim as they have had all these extra emissions in the air to breath in?
Just asking,I'm curious.

I bought the cars because they were best suited to our family requirements. Indeed I did consider emissions when buying our two cars as they were supposedly ultra low emissions failing in the £20 and £30 road tax bracket.
Also the fact that the UK government were plugging diesel cars big time 12 years ago with their so called environmental footprint and economical miles per gallon.

Today it's the opposite with diesels being the worst polluters especially now everyone seems to want those Range Rover size four wheel drives for school runs. Do we need these giant cars...No however they look good and with the option of changing them every three years, why not. It's easy to blame the manufactures for fiddling the numbers but in hindsight I think the real problem is closer to home. 

Okay, so what's your loss/claim?
You paid £20/30 ved for the cars, that wasn't changed, you got X mpg for a diesel? 

Modelman_2

I don't consider I've lost anything. I have the most economical and cost effective option for our cars.
If however I was able to claim as you could with PPI then why not. I'm sure everyone would given that option but from the above comments it would probably be a dead loss.