The National Consumer Commission (NCC) says the payment of compensation under a settlement agreement entered into between the NCC and Ford Motor Company South Africa, which was made an order by the National Consumer Tribunal (NCT) in March this year, has been finalised.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Ford had agreed to pay each consumer R50 000 as compensation if their vehicle was distributed during the period 2014 to 2017 and that vehicle was one of the 56 Ford Kuga vehicles that caught fire (and where the fire originated in the engine compartment and damaged the vehicle).

As per the order, consumers had two options.

Option one was to submit a claim for the payment of the R50 000 (with or without a claim for loss of any movables) against Ford in terms of Section 61 of the Consumer Protection Act.

Advocate Terry Motau was appointed to provide alternative dispute resolution services.

Option two was to choose to proceed to prove damages in court at the consumer’s own expense.

Seventy-six affected consumers were engaged during the mediation period and 53 claims have been resolved.

Forty-seven consumers chose the first option, with about R2.50-million in compensation paid out to them. This included additional compensation for loss of movables.

Further, three consumers chose option two and may take their cases further with the assistance of their attorneys.

Three more consumers’ claims were rejected as they could not prove that their loss fell within the parameters of the settlement agreement.

Acting NCC Commissioner Thezi Mabuza extends her appreciation to the affected consumers for their cooperation and their patience during this process.

She also extends her thanks to the Ford representatives and to the mediator, Motau, “for his professionalism in painstakingly going through each matter and providing guidance as to the resolve”.