VLS Newsletter – December 2019
Case summary
Overall the number of cases stands at 65, with 4 products under investigation, 0 not compliant following investigation, 0 not compliant following six month review, 1 product not proven to be compliant and escalated to Trading Standards, 1 product compliant during investigation and no further action taken, 3 compliant following investigation, 2 compliant following six month review and 54 archived.
Case Update
One new case (165) has been submitted regarding a 5w30 Passenger Car Engine Oil where the complainant is concerned about the composition of the base oil in the finished lubricant formulation and will be investigated by VLS.
One case (164) concerned the use of outdated and conflicting ACEA engine oil sequences, namely A3/B4 and C3 as a combined claim on product labelling made available through an online internet sales channel.
VLS reviewed the evidence with reference to the website description, product labelling and Technical Data Sheet of the product which are available on the Named Party’s website. These details omitted the ACEA A3/B4 claim and retained reference to ACEA C3 only. This evidence has been provided to the complainant.
Consequently VLS do not believe that the Named Party is currently making these claims and instead this is a housekeeping issue of a distributor instead retaining outdated product information, so VLS has raised this matter informally with the company concerned.
VLS considers that there is no case to answer in this matter and has moved to close the case.
To view the case outcomes, visit https://ukla-vls.org.uk/case-outcomes/
For details of how to submit a lubricant product complaint to VLS, go to https://ukla-vls.org.uk/case-handling-process/
Industry News
UEIL, has published a technical bulletin on BMW following a case it considered through its Technical and Competition committee.
API has added some engine oil products from Vietnam which it claims are making unauthorised use of API logos.
ACEA, the European Association of OEMs, has published a paper on Cooperative, Connected and Automated Mobility (CCAM), and Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS).
Media Editorial
Lube magazine for December 2019 features a column by VLS Chairman Andrew Goddard on countering the counterfeiters and working to overcome issues of lubricant fraud, page 56.
Lube magazine for December 2019 includes a report on VLS cases 152 concerning the claims made on a 5w30 PCEO, case 156 concerning the claims made on a 5w30 PCEO, and case 133 also concerning the claims made on a 5w30 PCEO.
Professional Motor Factor magazine, November 2019 issue Page 46 and 47 ran a feature on VLS and the importance of using the right engine oil.
FACTS magazine issue 156, ran an article on the case VLS escalated to Trading Standards, Page 128.
Media Advertising
Lube magazine features a half page advert on VLS for its December 2019 edition, on Page 59.
CVW featured a half page advert on VLS in its November edition.
Professional Motor Mechanic featured a half page advert from VLS in its November edition.
Garage magazine featured a half page advert from VLS in its November edition.
Events
VLS will be exhibiting at Automechanika UK at the NEC in Birmingham on 8-10 June, 2021.
https://www.automechanika-birmingham.com/
Social Media
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LinkedIn
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Stay Up To Date
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Andrew Goddard
Chairman of VLS
