UK Mercedes Owners Could Receive Up To £10,000 Each Over ‘Dieselgate’
Up to one million Mercedes-Benz owners in the UK could be able to sue the German manufacturer, with lawyers saying the value of each claim ‘may reach £10,000’.
Claimants are seeking compensation after Mercedes-Benz allegedly installed illegal emissions-cheating devices on some diesel vehicles, Bristol Live reports.
Mercedes described the allegations as ‘unfounded’.
Daimler, Mercedes-Benz’s owner, is accused of installing what’s known as ‘defeat devices’, which artificially lowered emissions when vehicles detected they were being tested.
It is the latest litigation to hit the car industry amid the ‘dieselgate‘ scandal, in which Volkswagen and several other car manufacturers were found to have installed defeat devices – in turn meaning companies had to pay out billions are legal action was taken.
Slater and Gordon, the law firm representing more than 14,000 claimants in the Mercedes-Benz case, expects the first hearing to take place in January.
It says affected diesel Mercedes vehicles were made between 2008 and 2018.
A spokesperson for the firm told the Bristol Post: “It is estimated that 600,000 Mercedes vehicles in the UK may have been affected, with a potential one million individuals able to make a claim.
“The value of each claim may reach £10,000.”
Slater and Gordon also says drivers are still able to join the claim even if they purchased an affected vehicle second hand.
Mercedes-Benz has said it will defend itself against the legal action.
A statement said: “The European Commission explicitly found no evidence that there was any agreement regarding the use of prohibited defeat devices.“
Ian Thomson, from Abbotts Leigh in Bristol, bought a second-hand Mercedes for £36,000 ($49,000) with about 3,000 miles on the clock.
After the purchase, he said he experienced fuel consumption and suspension problems with the car.
Thomson told Bristol Live: “I bought a Mercedes C300 hybrid in 2014 from the Cruickshank Mercedes dealership in Bath. I had environmental issues very much in mind.
“I’m 77 and I want to do my bit for the planet before I pop off this mortal coil.”
While he does not know if the issues are related to the alleged defeat device, Slater and Gordon advised: “In certain circumstances, it appears that the ‘fix’ implemented by Mercedes may have contributed to declining performance of vehicles, or even left motorists stranded by the roadside.”
Thomson continued: “It had been advertised as being able to do 70 miles to the gallon, but even if I’m going downhill on the motorway I don’t get that. I always felt cheated. If I’m driving on a flat road at 50mph I might get just about 60 miles to the gallon.
“I also felt aggrieved with Mercedes because the suspension collapsed in the middle of the road, with the front bumper almost touching the ground.
“Even though I had a low mileage, Mercedes didn’t want to know, and I had to pay well over £1,000 to get it repaired. As far as I’m concerned, Mercedes’ name stinks.
“When I was contacted by solicitors a couple of years ago, the claim about defeat devices shocked me. Whether we get a token amount or a lot [in the group action], it’s the principle that matters. It’s the [alleged] misrepresentation.”
LADbible has contacted Daimler for comment.