Car owners say they have been ‘ripped off twice’ by ‘greedy’ lawyers

Furious car owners claim they have been ‘ripped off twice’ after ‘greedy’ lawyers told them they would be taking a bigger slice of compensation payments over the ‘dieselgate’ emissions scandal.

Leading class action law firm Pogust Goodhead were accused of ‘daylight robbery’ after announcing a mistake in the small print meant claimants would be charged fees of 50 per cent rather than the 35 per cent stated in paperwork.

The firm sent an email to 1.8 million clients who had signed up to its My Diesel Claim website blaming ‘a typographical error’ for the discrepancy.

It led to an angry backlash from motorists suing car makers for allegedly deceiving them over emissions standards which they say reduced the value of their cars by thousands of pounds.

Many protested they had signed up with My Diesel Claim under the original terms when the website launched in 2021 while others were lured in by a series of TV adverts including one aimed at England fans during the 2022 World Cup finals.

Millions of drivers who owned or leased a diesel vehicle between 2009 and 2020 were urged to sign up for the ‘no win no fee’ group litigation after car manufacturers were accused of fitting ‘defeat devices’ in their vehicles to cheat emissions tests.

The firm offered drivers the chance of receiving up to £10,000 compensation in their diesel emissions fraud claims.

Up to two million people are thought to have signed up with the firm but a number insisted they were cancelling their claims after receiving the late-night email.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Toni Bennett said that after receiving the email she told the firm she did not want to go ahead with the claim but added: ‘They phoned saying it’s already gone to the final stage.’.

Another client Adrian O’Shea said’: ‘A bunch of money grabbing clowns. Their initial cut was 35 per cent, now they are claiming a typo and should have read 50 per cent and an admin fee… so is more their diesel claim than ours.’

Emma Smith added: ‘How can they do this after we all signed contracts? Surely they can’t legally change it retrospectively?’

Another claimant wrote: ‘Have just received the same email. Feeling very much like I’m being conned.

‘Only chose them because they quoted 35 per cent. We entered into an agreement at 35 per cent. Is this legal? It’s certainly not moral.’

After receiving the email, Carrie Ridley wrote on the firm’s Facebook page: ‘Absolutely abysmal – now wanting 50 per cent instead of the original 35 per cent.

‘A typo from legal company. On the keyboard the three is nowhere near a zero. Just pure greed.

‘I have sent an email to watchdog and encourage others to do it too.’

Paul Hulme wrote: ‘So having signed up lots of people they are now trying to move the goalposts.’

Others took to Trustpilot to lodge scathing reviews with one accusing the firm of ‘daylight robbery’ over their ‘extortionate and greedy’ fees.

Paul Nicholson wrote: ‘I received an email out of the blue after providing comprehensive information.

‘I originally agreed to a 35 per cent commission fee now being advised it was an oversight and they’re changing it to 50 per cent.

One complainant wrote: ‘It beggars belief the increased 35 per cent fees now announced could be a typo which went unnoticed from months ago when it’s a fundamental element of their terms and conditions.

‘Complete opportunistic greed more likely. I’ve dropped the claim, you may get hit with other undeclared charges later so it’s just not worth the risk.’

Another client said: ‘I started my diesel claim with this company over two years ago due to the adverts on TV. I like many others have received an email stating mistakes in the original contract re fees and their fee cap now increased by 15 per cent.

‘I only took this on because I thought I had nothing to lose on a no win no fee. I’m now not believing this company is real.’

The email was sent out last June but clients have continued to complain they have been inundated with email requests for the same information ‘again and again’ while being flooded with unsolicited calls and poor customer services.

Some have come from people who claimed they pulled out of the action after discovering how much their lawyers would be raking in.

Pogust Goodhead has a three out of five rating on Trustpilot which includes a number of positive reviews while complaints are dealt with by requests to share further details privately.

The firm does not respond to a My Diesel Claim profile which has 94 per cent one-star reviews out of a total of 388.

The MoneySavingExpert website highlights how the vast majority of diesel emission claimants have signed up with Pogust Goodhead – one of six law firms listed on the website as working on claims and accepting new sign ups.

One other firm, Johnson Law Group which has 200,000 clients, is also charging maximum fees of 50 per cent while the others charge lower basic rates.

The firm Leigh Day, which represents 280,000 clients, charges fees between 30 and 35 per cent.

The ‘dieselgate’ scandal was first uncovered in 2015 when it emerged that Volkswagen had installed software designed to deceive official testing, reducing polluting emissions in laboratory conditions that were not matched by real world driving.

In 2022 VW agreed to pay £193million to more than 90,000 motorists after a landmark claim.

The claim, which lawyers said would have been the biggest ever brought by a group of consumers in the UK, was due to go to trial before the German car giant announced an out of court settlement.

Actions are now being pursued against a number of leading vehicle manufacturers.

Last month ,the High Court ruled that legal claims against Mercedes, Ford, Nissan Renault and Peugeot Citroën will go ahead in October 2025.

A further trial is expected in Spring 2026.

Manufacturers vowed to vigorously defend claims.

A spokesperson for mydieselclaim said: ‘In June 2023 MyDieselClaim clients were contacted to explain an error that had been made in the small print of our conditional fee agreements.

‘This typographical error was spotted and so it was our duty to inform our clients of this.

‘A small number of clients brought this to the attention of our complaints team and these were all resolved.

‘We have also satisfied the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Legal Ombudsman in relation to these queries.

‘To date, the Legal Ombudsman has not upheld any complaints against us.

‘We appreciate that the legal process for mydieselclaim clients, and indeed clients of all law firms involved in holding these car companies to account, is lengthy and we understand that is frustrating.

‘Group litigation of this kind has to follow a legal process which can feel prolonged.

‘The High Court, which is dealing with all the emissions cases, has recently announced a much more aggressive timetable, so we are hopeful that this will bring about swifter resolutions for our clients.

‘Ultimately it is time for all car companies that cheated emissions tests to do the right thing by drivers who bought their cars in good faith and offer them fair compensation.’