An Orpington grandad is taking Volkswagen to court after claiming the German car giant cost him more than £10,000 in business.

Tony Smith, 72, said his van broke down twice after he got it "fixed" when the emissions scandal broke.

This relates to 2015 when the company admitted cheating emissions tests in America.

However, Volkswagen insists the situation in the US and the UK is completely different.

Mr Smith found out about the emissions scandal after receiving a letter from his South Motor Group dealership saying it would “fix” his 2012 VW Caddy TDI van as a “goodwill gesture”.

A year after taking his van into the dealership, Mr Smith experienced problems in June 2018.

He took the vehicle back in for a fix after being unable to drive above 20mph.

The builder claims this cost him £10,295 after missing two work appointments.

He said: “I was driving to a job when my van went into safe mode - the van wouldn’t go above 20mph. I couldn’t make it to the job so the client just called up another supplier.

“This fix has not only de-valued my car but it’s lost me business.”

After again returning to the dealership for repairs, his van broken down a week later when out on another job.

He once again couldn’t drive above 20mph and missed his meeting with a client.

Mr Smith took the van in for more work at no cost but is now concerned about how it will perform in future.

He said: “My van was a big investment, I couldn’t get any more extras, sat nav, air con - it was my mobile office. It was my first VW purchase and now my confidence in VW has completely gone.

“I haven’t even attempted to re-sell my van because I’m worried about the detrimental effect this emissions scandal has had on its value.”

Mr Smith is now seeking compensation and has teamed up with legal team Slater and Gordon.

A spokesman for VW said it was aware of Mr Smith’s claims and said it will “robustly defend” any UK litigation cases.

He added: “Our UK customers have not suffered any loss or damage as a result of the NOx issue. The vehicles are safe and roadworthy, and perform as advertised. The required approvals are available and have not been withdrawn. Implementation of the voluntary service campaign is ongoing. The residual value of the vehicles has been not affected as a result of the diesel issue.

“We have implemented the technical measures in over 860,000 vehicles in the UK and in approximately 6.4 million vehicles across Europe, with the overwhelming majority of customers in question fully satisfied.

"Our customers have been and remain our number one priority and we are committed to investigating any complaints that are raised with a view to preserving customer satisfaction.”