Financial journalist and MoneySavingExpert founder, Martin Lewis, has weighed in on the Dieselgate scandal that involves several of the world’s most popular car brands. According to Lewis, these car manufacturers owe their customers emission compensation for the inconvenience and financial burden caused by the diesel emissions scam.
The MoneySavingExpert website also specified the vehicles that could have thousands upon thousands of car owners claiming compensation related to the scandal. Several law firms have been working on the claims for years, with some dating back to when the scam first broke in 2015. The group claims are addressed to the manufacturers who used defeat devices to falsify emissions during regulatory testing. The carmakers allegedly did this practice before the vehicles were approved for selling.
As such, consumers and car owners were misled and lied to. They believed they were purchasing vehicles that were clean and environmentally friendly. The vehicles were actually pollutants, emitting huge amounts of nitrogen oxide. Most of the carmakers did not agree with the claims; some even denied the allegations against them.
MoneySavingExpert said car owners affected by the defeat devices are encouraged to join group legal action against their manufacturers. Drivers should have cars or vans that were manufactured between 2008 and 2018. The vehicles should have diesel engines and be registered in England or Wales.
Car manufacturers potentially involved
According to Lewis and MoneySavingExpert, the carmakers involved in the diesel emissions scam and will receive numerous emission compensation claim cases from affected car owners are the following:
- Mercedes-Benz
- Volkswagen
- BMW
- Renault
- Chrysler
- Audi
- Ford
- Fiat
- Peugeot
- Nissan
- Porsche
- Volvo
- Vauxhall
- Citroën
- Seat
- Mini
- Hyundai
- Land Rover
- Jaguar
- Škoda
- Kia
What the carmakers are accused of doing
As mentioned earlier, the affected carmakers potentially installed defeat devices in their diesel vehicles. These devices are programmed to detect when a vehicle is in regulatory testing so the cheat software can automatically and artificially reduce emissions to within the legal level set by the World Health Organization.
Things change when the vehicle is brought out of the lab and driven in real-world road conditions. Without the defeat device, emission levels are multiple times higher than the EU and WHO set limit. Thus, every vehicle installed with a cheat device contributes excessive volumes of toxic air.
The toxic air that comes out of vehicles is NOx or nitrogen oxide, which is a gas that has nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide as its primary components. NO alone may not cause any significant harm, but when NO and NO2 combine and react to form NOx, their impacts on the environment and human health become more considerable.
Nitrogen oxide contributes to the generation of smog, acid rain, and ground-level ozone. These all have negative effects on the environment and health. Vegetation is greatly affected, with plants and crops becoming susceptible to frost and damage.
Exposure to nitrogen oxide can cause several health issues, including eye irritation, corroded teeth, breathing problems, lung problems, and asthma or aggravated asthma.
Constant exposure to excessive amounts of NOx may lead to serious health impacts, specifically:
- Increased risk of cardiovascular diseases
- Increased risk of certain cancers
- Asphyxiation
- Chronically reduced lung function
- Premature death
So, the carmakers implicated in the diesel emissions scandal lied to their customers and made them pollution contributors. Any well-meaning car owner would find this a deceitful act meant to guarantee profit for vehicle manufacturers and put their customers (and the environment) in a bind.
Why file an emission claim?
Lewis and MoneySavingExpert indicated three reasons why you and other affected car owners should file for Dieselgate compensation against their manufacturer.
- Had you known that the vehicle you were purchasing had emission flaws, you wouldn’t spend any of your hard-earned money on it.
- You paid a premium price for the vehicle, something that you wouldn’t have done under different circumstances.
- Your vehicle had been recalled and fixed so it would comply with emissions standards. Instead of fixing your vehicle’s problem, though, performance and fuel efficiency issues worsened.
According to Lewis, each affected carmaker can receive at least £2,100, but the total compensation amount typically depends on the circumstances of your case.
How to file your emissions claim
“What should I do to file my diesel claim?”
This is one of the common questions affected car owners ask. The emissions claims process can be quite challenging and often takes months to finish. So, it’s no wonder why some consumers would think twice about filing one. However, there are resources and professional assistance easily available for you. Hiring the services of a panel of emissions solicitors is one of the best options that you can choose.
Working with regulated, well-trained legal professionals will help make the process more convenient for you. You’ll have a team assisting you every step of the way – from procurement of requirements and documents all the way to the payment of the compensation. Choosing to work with the panel of solicitors at Emissions.co.uk should be your priority because of their personalised but highly professional way of handling every claims case passed on to them. Their panel has also won several cases, so your chances of winning are higher. Additionally, they offer a no-win-no-fee guarantee.
You need the panel at Emissions.co.uk to win your emission claim case. Visit their website and see if you are eligible to claim now.
