Did the Daimler subsidiary Mercedes use defeat devices illegally?
Affected customers can join a lawsuit in view of the diesel scandal.
Stuttgart - Mercedes customers can now join a model declaratory action against the car manufacturer Daimler in connection with the diesel scandal.
In July, the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv) filed a model declaratory action against Daimler at the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court to seek compensation for Mercedes customers affected by the diesel scandal.
The consumer advocates accuse Daimler of deliberately manipulating the emissions values.
In the opinion of the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), Daimler has used impermissible exhaust technology in hundreds of thousands of diesel vehicles of its parent brand Mercedes-Benz *.
The automaker therefore had to recall cars en masse.
Daimler: This is what the model declaratory action is about - which models are affected
The consumer advocates essentially accuse Daimler of having installed various shutdown devices in its affected diesel cars.
This enables manufacturers to ensure that cars comply with the permissible limit values for exhaust gases during type approval.
In road traffic, however, they sometimes significantly exceed this limit.
Daimler denies having acted criminally and harmed its customers.
According to the vzbv, the carmaker already sent recall letters in 2018.
The recipients are now in a hurry: at the end of this year, any claims for compensation will expire.
Participation in the model declaratory action would suspend the statute of limitations.
Who is affected?
The model declaratory action deals with various models that are subject to an official recall.
Specifically, it concerns the following SUV models:
Mercedes GLC 220
Mercedes GLC 250 4Matic
Mercedes GLK 200 CDI 4Matic
Mercedes GLK 220 CDI
Mercedes GLK 220 CDI 4Matic
Mercedes GLK 220 BlueTec
Mercedes GLK 250 BlueTec
If there is no official letter, it is unsure whether the case is suitable.
The vzbv recommends that these buyers consult a lawyer before filing a lawsuit.
A digital questionnaire can be found on the vzbv website to examine the possibility of a lawsuit.
Mercedes and the diesel scandal: Daimler AG rejects allegations
How does the lawsuit succeed?
The Federal Office of Justice has made the complaint public and has made a registration form available on its website.
Those who do not have internet access can also request the form in writing, it said.
A registration of claims for the lawsuit is generally possible up to the end of the day before the start of the first appointment at the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court.
The date will be announced in good time on the Federal Office's website.
Entry in the complaint register is free of charge.
In the process, the vzbv is concerned with whether and which defeat devices Daimler has used.
That is the most difficult point in the process, because Daimler denies this.
If the court upholds the claim, the judgment is binding for all German courts.
Affected consumers can then use follow-up proceedings to enforce their claims.
Should a settlement be reached, the buyers could, according to vzbv, derive direct claims from this and receive payments.
According to its own information, the vzbv had negotiated between 1350 and 6257 euros in a similar trial against Volkswagen *.
(mas / dpa) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA