Volkswagen must in Great Britain to pay a fine of 5.4 million pounds (6.5 million euros) because the financial subsidiary there had repeatedly taken too harsh action against defaulting customers. 110,000 affected people will also receive a total of around 21.5 million pounds (25.8 million euros) from Volkswagen Financial Services, as the British financial regulator announced on Monday. In some cases, the company had taken away the vehicle from cash-strapped customers without considering other options.
Between 2017 and mid-2023, Volkswagen Financial Services failed to take customers’ individual circumstances into account – for example, that the people affected were dependent on their car to get to work. The company put customers in an even more difficult situation.
Volkswagen Financial Services admitted lapses and apologized to those affected. “We recognize our shortcomings in these past cases and have made significant adjustments over the past few years to ensure we always provide the right level of service,” the company said.