Some Volkswagen customers are still waiting for their buybacks

Some Volkswagen owners say they’re still waiting to complete their buybacks, almost four months after a judge approved a settlement for 2-liter diesel vehicles that were part of the automaker’s emissions scandal.

Many problems with the buyback program have been ironed out over the last few months, but VW owners who financed their cars through third-party lenders, such as local credit unions or banks, say they’ve experienced lags in response from the company. Lenders’ privacy concerns have slowed the paperwork process, said a lawyer for VW plaintiffs.

Jamie Caffrey, 36, used a third-party lender to get a loan for his 2014 Jetta TDI Sportwagen. He registered for the buyback over the summer and then uploaded all of his paperwork in October when the online claims filing system went live.

As part of the settlement, owners can choose to have their vehicles modified or bought back. Owners also will receive additional restitution payments of at least $5,100, and some could receive as much as $10,000. Buyback amounts are based largely on the vehicle’s pre-scandal tradein value, with adjustments for mileage.

Caffrey, a real estate investor who lives in Hollywood, said he has waited for months to get a buyback offer. Volkswagen later contacted him to ask for additional paperwork, but when he recently called to check the status of his application, he said he was told the document had been accidentally rejected and he would have to resubmit it.

“Back in November, they assured me it wouldn’t be very long,” Caffrey said. “But what’s frustrating is the unhelpfulness.”

Elizabeth Cabraser, lead counsel for the consumer plaintiffs in the VW case and lead settlement class counsel for the 2- and 3-liter vehicle settlements, said she has seen recurring issues with thirdparty lenders who are sometimes leery of disclosing drivers’ loan amounts when asked by Volkswagen representatives.

“It’s not something that is familiar to thirdparty lenders, so they are understandably wary about giving [loan] payoff information,” she said. “They don’t want to do anything that violates their customers’ privacy.”

Cabraser said Volkswagen has sent out letters to third-party lenders, and she also has advised drivers to contact their loan providers to give them advance notice. Once Volkswagen receives the information from the lender, “things happen very quickly.”

The scandal erupted in 2015 when Volkswagen admitted it had rigged diesel-powered cars between 2009 and 2015 with “defeat devices” to emit much fewer pollutants during emissions tests than during normal road driving.

A judge approved a $14.7 billion settlement in October that allows drivers to have their affected vehicles with 2-liter diesel engines either bought back or modified by Volkswagen.

According to the terms of the settlement, 85 percent of the vehicles must be modified or removed from the road by Volkswagen by 2018.