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Witness John Loud in a Reshall Jimmy Kuga model in Western Cape Superior Court. (Jenni Evans, News24)
- Ford Motor Company has paid 47 people whose Kuga caught fire.
- A basic payment of R50,000 each was offered to owners of vehicles distributed between 2014 and 2017.
- Three owners opted for new legal action and three could not prove their claim.
Ford Motor Company South Africa agreed to pay compensation of 50,000 rand to people whose Kuga caught fire with the engine during a specified period, the National Consumer Commission (NCC) said on Thursday.
The offer was for owners whose vehicles were distributed between 2014 and 2017, and where the fire originated in the engine compartment and damaged the vehicle.
NCC spokesman Phetho Ntaba said the National Consumer Court issued an order in March on the settlement agreement.
Consumers had two options:
– File a claim for the payment of R50,000 (with or without claim for loss of personal property) against Ford under the terms of Article 61 of the Consumer Protection Law. Attorney Terry Motau SC was appointed to provide alternative dispute resolution services.
– Or they could choose to proceed to prove the damages in a court at the expense of the consumer.
A total of 76 affected consumers participated during the mediation period and 53 complaints were resolved.
Forty-seven consumers chose the arrangement and a total of R2 509 179 was paid, which includes additional compensation for loss of personal property.
Three consumers chose to take their cases further with the help of their attorneys.
READ | Burning Ford Kuga investigation finds no evidence of wrongdoing in Jimmy’s death
Three other consumer claims were denied because they could not prove that their loss was within the parameters of the settlement agreement.
Ntaba told News24 that there was compensation for people who could prove that there were specific items in the vehicle.
The company launched a major recall in January 2017 of 4,670 vehicles after a defect in the engine cooling system was detected.
However, Renisha Jimmy told News24 that he was still fighting for compensation related to the death of his brother, Reshall, whose vehicle caught fire in the Wilderness area on December 4, 2015.
The Western Cape Superior Court determined there was no evidence of a crime when Jimmy’s car burned down, and he did not commit suicide either.
Prior to the case, there were allegations that a vehicle stopped near Jimmy’s car and then drove away, that there were bullet cartridges, which later turned out to be possibly components of an airbag, and that it had been in a casino.
“We’re not done,” her sister said.
