Long time In & Around contributor Atlantean takes a moment to reflect on the Volkswagen scandal…

I own a Volkswagen Golf.

Not something I am particularly proud of at the moment, as a paid up supporter of Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, and a supporter of Oxfam and internet campaigning group Avaaz.

With the Paris Climate Change Summit coming up (30th November to 11th December) with the aim of trying to arrest global warming, many commentators are warning that we are at – or beyond – the tipping point when planet warming becomes irreversible.

I was surfing the Volkswagen GB website recently, finding nothing about the emissions scandal, when to my surprise I found the following message at the bottom of the page:

“Our CO₂ and consumption values are provisional and are currently under review. Revised values will be published if necessary.”

But hang on… the scandal was not about CO_2. It was about nitrous oxides from diesel engines. On top of 11 million vehicles worldwide (508,276 of them in the UK), we can now add a minimum of 800,000 petrol cars too.

I took my four month old Golf into my dealer, Pulman of Durham, and requested to hand the vehicle back in if it were affected by the scandal. Their immediate response was that I should contact their solicitors.

How’s that for customer service, before we even established if my car was affected?

I had said nothing about going to law. I was willing to hand back the car and cancel the finance agreement under the Sale of Goods Act. They checked, and yes, my diesel car was affected.

Five weeks later, having heard nothing, I phoned Pulman, whose receptionist had never heard of NOx emissions. Wonderful. I was told I could check on line, so I entered my car’s vehicle identification number, and was told that my car was NOT affected.

By now unsure, I was willing to hand back the keys and cancel the agreement even if the car was not affected by ‘dieselgate’. I wondered why my car wasn’t affected. Had VW had a change of heart and stopped fitting the defeat device? Why should they do that? Many people are signing up for a class action against Volkswagen being formulated by solicitors Slater and Gordon, and I think I will join them.

According to latest estimates, it looks like I may have to wait until well into next year to have my car fixed. But what will VW do? Will the fix affect performance of the engine and/or fuel consumption? Will there be any compensation, as there is in the United States?

If their car performs as well as before, and doesn’t use any more fuel, many people won’t be bothered so long as their car is fixed. However, I’m bothered about emissions, and chose a VW on the grounds of its better emissions performance. Even if my own car is unaffected – and I have had conflicting advice, remember– I do not wish to be associated with the brand.

They’ve finally got over the disgrace of building the People’s Car for Adolf Hitler, and now this!

Pulman of Durham, pay attention. You need to up your game with regard to customer service and make some communication with your customers, and if you do not have the answers from VW that you need, I suggest you find yourselves a different motor franchise or face the consequences within a year.

Have you been affected by this scandal? I’d like to know your thoughts. Write to atlantean247@yahoo.co.uk.

Atlantean