WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released two new blog posts to help ensure that consumers and businesses know the facts surrounding the agency’s settlement with Volkswagen.
Many owners of 2.0 liter Volkswagen diesels will soon be able to sell their vehicles back to Volkswagen AG at a rate higher than their current replacement value. This comes after the company settled for $10.03 billion with the FTC due to allegations of deceptive advertising.
The FTC said it wants to make sure that customers know it would be unwise for anyone, including independent VW dealers, to make separate offers implying either that the offer is part of the settlement when it is not, or attempting to force affected diesel owners to buy a new VW or Audi. The FTC noted that its staff will watch closely to ensure these types of things do not happen. It will work hard to make sure the compensation price is not affected by deception.
The blog also mentions affected customers do not need to act quickly because the buyback program is not yet making payments. Additionally, consumers are free to use their buyback money for anything they want.