Venus Legal is investigating a potential group claim against Mercedes over an alleged ‘defeat device’ fitted on some of their cars in order to artificially reduce emissions to pass EU tests.

Monitoring shows that when the vehicles are driven on the road, they emit many times more levels of toxic Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) gases than under test conditions.

This is extremely damaging, as increased levels of NOx contribute to air pollution, which is reported to be the largest environmental risk to UK public health and is linked to as many as 64,000 early deaths a year.

Venus Legal believe that defeat devices are unlawful under UK law and they are planning on bringing legal claims for compensation on behalf of consumers who purchased those vehicles that were affected.

The claims are being investigated on behalf of people who leased or owned Mercedes diesel vehicles.

If you bought or leased a diesel Mercedes vehicle, your vehicle may be affected and you may be able to apply to join the claim. Please click the ‘CHECK NOW’ button to see if you’re eligible.

Venus Legal are fighting for compensation on behalf of owners of BMW vehicles who we believe were deliberately misled over the environmental performance of their vehicles.

This concerns Mercedes use of alleged ‘defeat devices’ in some of their diesel cars, aimed at artificially reducing NOx emissions to levels which pass regulatory tests.

A number of tests have found that some BMW vehicles were producing NOx emissions that were higher than the permitted levels.  

Venus Legal believe that the ‘defeat devices’ used in the vehicles are unlawful under UK law and consequently, there are potentially hundreds of thousands of unlawfully polluting vehicles still on the roads in the UK.

Venus Legal believe that owners of the affected vehicles should be compensated because they were mis-sold these vehicles, which were advertised as being more environmentally friendly with lower NOx emissions.

Increased levels of nitrogen dioxide emissions are harmful to the environment and to the health of children and adults.

This case is in its early stages, but we expect it to follow the trajectory of the other emissions cases, including VW and Mercedes.

Venus Legal have secured funding from a litigation funder to ensure they have the resources available to instruct the best experts and barristers and to have a large enough legal team to ensure that our clients get the best service possible.

If you bought or leased a diesel Mercedes-Benz vehicle which was manufactured between 2009 and 2020, you can apply to join the claim.

Please click the ‘CHECK NOW’ button to see if you’re eligible.

Complete our form as fully as possible. We will need you to provide us with your vehicle registration number so that we can confirm whether your vehicle is affected – and provide us with the requested information and documents in due course. It is important that you keep copies of relevant documents. We will need you to provide us with your vehicle registration number so that we confirm if your vehicle is affected.

There are a number of deadlines that may apply to each claim. These will vary depending on the type of claim you are eligible to bring.

Claims have strict time limits and you cannot make a claim once the relevant time limit has passed. Venus would suggest completing our form as soon as possible.

You do not need to have any documents to start your claim with Venus Legal.

At some stage they will ask you to provide them with documents regarding the purchase of your vehicle, including, for example, the contract of sale or other proof of purchase, finance agreement and/or lease agreement. If you have these documents, please place them somewhere safe until we request them. Do not worry if you no longer have these documents, Venus Legal will be in touch with details about how to request them.

Venus Legal will be bringing these claims on a ‘No Win-No Fee’ basis. This means that they will deduct up to 40% (exclusive of VAT) of your damages if the claim is successful, but if the claim is lost you will not have to pay anything.

We provide two worked examples below to assist with understanding:

Awarded compensation: £10,000
After deductions, the minimum amount you will receive: £5200

Venus Legal success fee, the insurance premium and the funders’ fees will never be more than 40% of your damages, irrespective of the number of claimants within the group.

If you lose (that is, you get no money back from the Defendants), then you do not have to pay Venus Legal anything, as long as you abide by their funding agreement.

Venus Legal have arranged After The Event (ATE) insurance to protect you against the risk of losing and having to pay Mercedes legal cost

Yes, if the contract is in your name and the vehicle is affected, you are able to bring a claim.

Yes, if the contract is in your name and the vehicle is affected, you are able to bring a claim.

Provided you are able to confirm that your vehicle is affected, yes. You will need to check your vehicle registration number and we will ask you to provide us with your vehicle purchase documents.

Provided all the vehicles you want to claim for are affected, yes. We’ll need you to complete a separate questionnaire for each of your vehicles.

No, it does not matter where you bought your Mercedes-Benz vehicle as long as it was bought in England & Wales. You are eligible to bring a claim against the manufacturer whether you bought your vehicle from a Mercedes-Benz showroom, from a private seller or from a third party dealer, or if you bought the car for business purposes.

Yes, you will still be able to claim regardless of whether your vehicle was bought new or second hand.