Troubled Car Manufacturer To Offer Compensation To US Customers But Not Brits

Consumer rights experts at law firm Irwin Mitchell have condemned a decision by Volkswagen to deny compensation to the British owners of cars involved in the emissions rigging scandal.

The company has already announced there will be payments worth $500 (£330) to drivers in the USA and a further $500 in credit vouchers.

However, the German car giant said these payments will not be extended to customers in Europe.

In a statement to ‘BBC Radio 4’s You & Yours’, VW said it was committed to putting right any cars affected, but added that the company was ‘not planning any further financial payouts.’

Two months ago, the US authorities announced that Volkswagen Group cars were equipped with defeat software allowing it to cheat on air pollutant emission tests.

Subsequently, VW had to admit that more than 11 million cars were affected globally.

It is thought that in the UK alone up to 1.2 million cars have been fitted with the software, known as the ‘defeat device’, potentially meaning vehicles do not meet recognised regulations in relation to emissions.

Further information was revealed earlier this month regarding CO2 emission concerns in petrol engined cars and it has also been confirmed that more than half of the affected vehicles are next year’s models – some of which are already commercially available.

Lindsey Pedley, Associate solicitor and specialist in consumer law at Irwin Mitchell, who are representing over 2000 VW customers in the UK, condemned the decision and called on the Government to take steps to force VW to treat British consumers in the same way as those in the US.

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