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Eleventh hour for Volkswagen to shift into gear towards consumers

Published on 07.09.2017

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PRESS STATEMENT - 07.09.2017

National consumer authorities and the European Commission today sent a letter to Volkswagen to urge them to improve and speed up their recall measures.

The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) welcomes that authorities have finally stepped up to support consumers in their dealings with VW. BEUC is joining the authorities in their demand that the so-called ‘trust building measures’ be improved. The car company has failed to inform its customers about these measures. Also, the promised guarantees for the repair contain too many loopholes which ensure VW is off the hook when the repairs go wrong.

Monique Goyens, Director General of The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) commented:

“Volkswagen’s recall and provision of information have been completely inadequate ever since the scandal broke. After two fruitless years, consumer authorities have been reminding the car manufacturer of its duties towards its customers.

“Regrettably, the authorities have failed to call on VW to compensate European consumers for the damage they suffered unlike in the US.

“Volkswagen is time and again failing to show its customers that it cares and continues to reject compensation. That is why four national consumer groups are in court against Volkswagen to claim compensation.” 1

Reports, for instance from our Italian member organisation Altroconsumo, have shown that the repair has led to an increase in emissions of the car and even to damaging effects. So far, no independent European body has assessed the results of these repairs.2

 

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  1. Belgium (Test Achats/Test Aankoop), Italy (Altroconsumo), Portugal (DECO), Spain (OCU)
  2. BEUC member Altroconsumo’s test results that show an increase in emissions

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