VW Rejecting Non-Clean Titles?

psd1 said:

approximately mid-April 2018.

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They told me "a few weeks" in August....

Email Contacts

Here are all of the emails addresses again, if you haven't already please write a quick note advise you are delayed or no response, anything is better than nothing. If anyone else has other email address of others to include on this please let me know i will update this post. Numbers Come out after February 26th lets make sure our cases are documented.

If you haven't received a response from all on this list, email them again, they have to know we will not go away if they keep ignoring us.

Vw willfully accepted all brands of titles with accident history early last year, many made purchases because of this, the smoke show, delay game has gone on long enough. Lets all do our part in any way we possibly can.

Thanks for all who have, we have to do something, prior to all the emails the epa didn't have a vw email address dedicated to this issue now they do, i believe our efforts have been noticed. With all of the press about hard knox maybe this will also get attention make vw enforce the settlement as they were earlier last year.

EPA Emails:
OTAQ@epa.gov

Iddings.Brianna@epa.gov

FTC Email: jcohen2@ftc.gov

COURT APPOINTED CLAIMS SUPERVISOR
terrence.brody@ankura.com
john.hays@ankura.com
THE CRC
crc@vwcourtsettlement.com

LEAD ATTORNEY Class Counsel
ecabraser@lchb.com
pgnguyen@lchb.com

Claims Supervisor Reports:

http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/crb/vwmdl/claims-reports

Updates:
http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/crb/vwmdl

all My documents were accepted on 06/28/2017 and I've been stuck on step 15 from that time,

Jkhalil123 said:

:43 PM :
==> I do apologize... We expect the reviews for branded titles to be completed in mid-April.

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is that a chat session with the claims portal?

I went on a chat session and got the below cut-paste reply. At least they formulated a standard reply. That sounds like they might be getting tired of people asking for the same thing over and over.

Thank you for holding. I see that your claim has been assigned to our department handling branded titles. If your vehicle has a branded title and you have not yet received an eligibility decision, your claim is undergoing additional review because of your vehicle’s branded title. Volkswagen and the Claims Supervisor are reviewing your claim and will issue a decision regarding your eligibility. Volkswagen is currently processing claims for branded title vehicles and anticipates that it will complete its review of branded title vehicle claims by approximately mid-April 2018. If you wish to appeal your eligibility decision after you receive it, you can submit an appeal to the Claims Review Committee. The Claims Review Committee is composed of one representative from Volkswagen, one representative from Settlement Class Counsel and a Court-appointed ‘Neutral’ who will be called upon to resolve disagreements between the Claims Committee’s other members, should they arise. To submit an appeal to the Claims Review Committee, you must send a written request to appeal to the Claims Review Committee, P.O. Box 214500, Auburn Hills, MI 48321 or crc@vwcourtsettlement.com. Your request must include the following information: (1) the claimant’s name, address, telephone number, VIN of the affected vehicle and Claim Reference Number, and (2) a brief statement explaining why you believe the ineligibility determination was in error. I'm sorry I do not have a timeframe to offer at this time. I do know that they are working through the claims to get them processed as quickly as possible. I am sorry for any frustration this has caused you.

yes. .....
Originally Posted by Jkhalil123 View Post
:43 PM :
==> I do apologize... We expect the reviews for branded titles to be completed in mid-April.
is that a chat session with the claims portal? yes......No additional news yet.* We are still waiting for the CRC to issue its decision letters regarding vehicles with branded titles. ....No additional news yet.* We are still waiting for the CRC to issue its decision letters regarding vehicles with branded titles.

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Email contacts

Here are all of the emails addresses again, if you haven't already please write a quick note advise you are delayed or no response, anything is better than nothing. If anyone else has other email address of others to include on this please let me know i will update this post. Numbers Come out after February 26th lets make sure our cases are documented.

If you haven't received a response from all on this list, email them again, they have to know we will not go away if they keep ignoring us with bs deadlines, time frames that pass.

Vw willfully accepted all brands of titles with accident history early last year, many made purchases because of this, the smoke show, delay game has gone on long enough. Lets all do our part in any way we possibly can.

Thanks for all who have, we have to do something, prior to all the emails the epa didn't have a vw email address dedicated to this issue now they do, i believe our efforts have been noticed. With all of the press about hard knox maybe this will also get attention make vw enforce the settlement as they were earlier last year.

LEAD ATTORNEY Class Counsel
ecabraser@lchb.com
pgnguyen@lchb.com
t 415.956.1000 ext. 2236

FTC Email: jcohen2@ftc.gov
(202) 326-2551

COURT APPOINTED CLAIMS SUPERVISOR
terrence.brody@ankura.com
john.hays@ankura.com
1.202.481.1337 Direct


EPA Emails:
OTAQ@epa.gov
Iddings.Brianna@epa.gov
VW_settlement@epa.gov
734-214-4428

THE CRC
crc@vwcourtsettlement.com
1-844-98-CLAIM or 1-844 982-5246


___________________________________________________________________
Claims Supervisor Reports:

http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/crb/vwmdl/claims-reports

Updates:
http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/crb/vwmdl

GolfTDISA said:

I talk to him to , pretty much same answers like PSD1, but he mentioned also they are inclined to just to the fix and restitution, buyback will be no more ,(on Salvage and Rebuilt titles if you bought the car in the 2017 like my case) if the judge approves it.

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It's hard to believe that the judge would allow VW to put the genie back in the bottle after claims were accepted on rebuilt vehicles. More like a hard cut off date for rebuilts.

On another note we should start calling the various phone numbers and show our disapproval by blasting a little Quiet Riot after asking about the status of our buyback.

WISCO said:

It's hard to believe that the judge would allow VW to put the genie back in the bottle after claims were accepted on rebuilt vehicles. More like a hard cut off date for rebuilts.
On another note we should start calling the various phone numbers and show our disapproval by blasting a little Quiet Riot after asking about the status of our buyback.

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The reality, whether we like it or not, is that the settlement is not LAW, it is INTERPRETATION of law. And, interpretation can change at any time, if the judge decides it needs to be changed.

There were a few inDUHviduals early on who did things that made the settlement (and the judge) look stupid by taking undue advantage of the operability clause--and they put a full stop on it, and here we are.

I don't know how it will play out--for myself, as an original owner with a totaled vehicle, I hope I get something resembling a full settlement and my garage space back. For those who bought salvaged vehicles with a hope to a quick profit, I'm sorry but I expect you guys will be SOL.

Or maybe we all are SOL, and the cars we have will be worth 10 cents a pound as scrap. (Which is an entirely likely outcome)

Careful what you say. I voiced this possibility some time back, as well as the lawyers not being on the class members side and there were all kinds of people telling me to shut up and go away. But I agree with you that the settlement is probably going to change and not to everyone's liking. As an original owner I would almost bet you will be taken care of though, it just may take a while longer to sort out.

Lightflyer1 said:

Careful what you say. I voiced this possibility some time back, as well as the lawyers not being on the class members side and there were all kinds of people telling me to shut up and go away. But I agree with you that the settlement is probably going to change and not to everyone's liking. As an original owner I would almost bet you will be taken care of though, it just may take a while longer to sort out.

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Careful is the key word here. I cannot recall one documented instance of the "lawyers" not being on the class members side. If anything, this may have just been misinformation being discussed on various forums, or simply a misinterpreted report of a phone call or email. The duty of the class counsel in this case is to simply defend and protect the settlement. If you have information showing bias or judgement an from individual class counsel member, you should share this information with the FTC.

Judge Framework

The judge did change the interpretation of stripping the cars almost immediately when it was made public, it didnt stretch out months like this for an outcome or resolution to the rebuilt issues i imagine will not be one extreme or the other, but a compromise between all types of title situations for the various owners.

We all have heard alot of the same verb-age, framework, adjudicating, spirit, prior claims, prior owners, not all salvage pose a problem, etc, etc.

With all of this considered, it cant be one way or the other. Logically if cars are on the road the epa will not allow them to emit pollution at 40x the normal rate, they need to be fixed by who created the problem to begin with. Something will need to be done on all remaining regardless of who owns them and the intent on buying them, running and driving cars are just that.

Im not aware of any other cars recalls for airbags(honda) toyota (frame) or ?, that the repairs are the new owners responsibility to fix when a known problem exists on them and a new purchaser acquires this car. Just my speculation and .02 cents we all have our opinions sometimes we agree, sometimes we don't. I wish all of us luck on this if u own 1 or 200, its stressful for all. The people who dont have any or are not trying to be helpful in this thread, what is the point?

Anyway good luck to everyone, we do need to keep emailing/calling apply heat before decision is made.

drsven said:

Careful is the key word here. I cannot recall one documented instance of the "lawyers" not being on the class members side. If anything, this may have just been misinformation being discussed on various forums, or simply a misinterpreted report of a phone call or email. The duty of the class counsel in this case is to simply defend and protect the settlement. If you have information showing bias or judgement an from individual class counsel member, you should share this information with the FTC.

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As I said before the lawyers duty is to the named class member not to the class as a whole. The class members are just along for the ride. They are supposed to be kept informed but the lawyers have no duty to represent their interests directly. If it coincides with what they are trying to do for the named plaintiff, all well and good. If it differs from what they are trying to do for the named plaintiff you may or may not be satisfied with the results of the CAS. Their duty is to the named plaintiff and as long as they carry this out there is no cause to report them for anything.

Lightflyer1 said:

As I said before the lawyers duty is to the named class member not to the class as a whole. The class members are just along for the ride. They are supposed to be kept informed but the lawyers have no duty to represent their interests directly. If it coincides with what they are trying to do for the named plaintiff, all well and good. If it differs from what they are trying to do for the named plaintiff you may or may not be satisfied with the results of the CAS. Their duty is to the named plaintiff and as long as they carry this out there is no cause to report them for anything.

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I never stated that class members would have the same attorney/client privileges as a class representative.

You however stated:
"the lawyers not being on the class members side"

Please show me evidence of this.

The class counsel was paid to protect and defend the settlement.
--snip--
Further,
as of the filing of the instant fee application in November 2016, Class Counsel reserved an
additional 21,000 hours to “(1) guide the hundreds of thousands of Class Members through the
remaining 26 months of the Settlement Claims Period; (2) assist in the implementation and
supervision of the Settlement, including by participating in the Claims Review Committee, as
outlined in the Final Approval Order (Dkt. No. 2102 at 46); and (3) defend and protect the
Settlement on appeal, among other things.”

http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/filelib...r-Fees-for.pdf

What exactly have they done so far to insure that the people who own or bought salvage cars are protected as the settlement currently stands? It has been nearly a year that some have been waiting and the talk seems to be there may be a change in the settlement affecting some of these people. Yet those that were just owners with no other issues as the principal plaintiff was are moving along. In my opinion "guide" in number 1 above means tell you what to do once we decide the rules. 2 above they seem to be giving up things to just move ahead. But because they won't actually communicate what is going on we don't know. 3 means they will defend and protect the work they were paid to do and participated in making. Not that it would be good for those involved necessarily.

If they change the wording again and change the benefit for salvage car owners for the worse, how is that working in their interests?

I agree. To date, it appears as though they've done very little to support owners in this situation.

Pure speculation on my part, but I believe the various parties are working on an agreement to clearly define what is considered "operable" or "repaired" for 2.0L branded title vehicles.

So IMHO, the buybacks on branded titles may resume, but going forward, totaled vehicles would need to be repaired and titled as "rebuilt". Also, depending on purchase date, restitution amounts may change as well. Again, this is pure speculation on my part.

From the court settlement website for 2.0L:

My vehicle has been in an accident, and my Insurance Company wants to “Total” it. What should I do?

You may attempt to negotiate with your insurance company for a payment to repair it and proceed with a Buyback, or if you decide not to repair the vehicle, you may still be eligible for a restitution payment as long as your vehicle was operable as of June 28, 2016 and you transferred title to your Insurance Company after September 16, 2016.


https://www.vwcourtsettlement.com/b...e-company-wants-to-total-it-what-should-i-do/


And for the 3.0L Gen 1:

Keep in mind that if you tender a claim to your insurance company for an inoperable or totaled but otherwise Eligible Vehicle, you may wish to consider whether the insurance company will pay you benefits equivalent to those offered under the Class Action Settlement before surrendering your vehicle. You may want to consider repairing your vehicle.

https://www.vwcourtsettlement.com/blog/hrf_faq/am-i-eligible-for-benefits-if-my-car-is-totaled/

halbert said:

...--for myself, as an original owner with a totaled vehicle, I hope I get something resembling a full settlement and my garage space back. For those who bought salvaged vehicles with a hope to a quick profit, I'm sorry but I expect you guys will be SOL...

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Did you total your car and then purchase it from your insurance company for its salvage value? If so how do you reconcile the difference between that and if you bought back your car at an auction lot instead?

fookin said:

Did you total your car and then purchase it from your insurance company for its salvage value? If so how do you reconcile the difference between that and if you bought back your car at an auction lot instead?

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Great question.

Emails

Default Email contacts
Here are all of the emails addresses again, if you haven't already please write a quick note advise you are delayed or no response, anything is better than nothing. If anyone else has other email address of others to include on this please let me know i will update this post. Numbers Come out after February 26th lets make sure our cases are documented.

If you haven't received a response from all on this list, email them again, they have to know we will not go away if they keep ignoring us with bs deadlines, time frames that pass.

Vw willfully accepted all brands of titles with accident history early last year, many made purchases because of this, the smoke show, delay game has gone on long enough. Lets all do our part in any way we possibly can.

Thanks for all who have, we have to do something, prior to all the emails the epa didn't have a vw email address dedicated to this issue now they do, i believe our efforts have been noticed. With all of the press about hard knox maybe this will also get attention make vw enforce the settlement as they were earlier last year.

LEAD ATTORNEY Class Counsel
ecabraser@lchb.com
pgnguyen@lchb.com
t 415.956.1000 ext. 2236

FTC Email: jcohen2@ftc.gov
(202) 326-2551

COURT APPOINTED CLAIMS SUPERVISOR
terrence.brody@ankura.com
john.hays@ankura.com
1.202.481.1337 Direct


EPA Emails:
OTAQ@epa.gov
Iddings.Brianna@epa.gov
VW_settlement@epa.gov
734-214-4428

THE CRC
crc@vwcourtsettlement.com
1-844-98-CLAIM or 1-844 982-5246


__________________________________________________ _________________
Claims Supervisor Reports:

http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/crb/vwmdl/claims-reports

Updates:
http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/crb/vwmdl

Thank you for your follow-up email.**As we previously have reported, Volkswagen has placed certain claims associated with branded titles on hold while it works with the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee to address how they should be processed.* We will provide updated information in our public report, which will be submitted to the court later this month.*

*

Thank you again for your correspondence.


Sincerely,


Ankura Consulting Group, LLC


1220 19th Street, NW, Suite*700

Washington, DC*20031

ankuraconsulting.com* *


Confidentiality Notice:


This email and any attachments may be confidential and protected by legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the e-mail or any attachment is prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the sender and then delete this copy and the reply from your system. Thank you for your cooperation.

fookin said:

Did you total your car and then purchase it from your insurance company for its salvage value? If so how do you reconcile the difference between that and if you bought back your car at an auction lot instead?

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The way it went was this.....

Accident on Nov 25, 2016 (Tboned right on the passenger side rear wheel/axle area. Side airbags deployed, etc.

Tried to get an answer from VW claims phone line on how to proceed. Note that this was just a few weeks after the claims phone system opened. No straight answers.

Recommendation (after a couple of calls to Lief Cabraser), was that if the engine would start and the vehicle move on it's own, to maintain possession of the vehicle.

Insurance company offered two payments: One amount (higher) if I surrendered title--this, plus the original owner restitution would have got me about $25K total--less than the full buyback that had already been quoted. Or a much lower payment if I paid off the loan myself, then under PA law the title would have to be converted to a salvage certificate (no registration permitted).

So, I took option 2, much to my regret. At no time did I 'buy it back': I paid off the loan and took the liability payment. If I had owned it free and clear, it would have had the same outcome. The insurance payment was close to the owed amount on the VW credit loan.

What you are describing is typically referred to as an insurance buy-back process. There may be different names and subtle differences from state to state, but your insurance company basically estimated what your vehicle was worth (option #1) and then subtracted the wholesale value from that amount (option #2).

There was likely a third option, but only you know if your insurance company offered it or whether you were interested in pursuing it. Option #3 would have been to accept a lower amount than option #2 where certain damages were accounted for without "totaling" the vehicle. You could have pocketed that money instead of completing the requested repairs and your title would have remained clean.

When my wife was in a rollover accident, the car was taken straight to a yard. We bought it back via what was essentially option #2 in your scenario and then flat bedded it from the yard to my family's shop so we could part it out. If your car was drivable and you just took it home, it probably didn't feel like a "buy back" because your car was never in someone else's physical possession. That's neither here nor there as the issue isn't so much whether you bought a car back or not, rather that the settlement terms are going to try and limit customers double dipping as much as possible.

Several months before the buyback our JSW was rear-ended and then rear-ended a month after that. We took option #3 and I don't have any personal reason to attack people who are trying to maximize their profit from this fiasco.

That said, to the extent that VW is requesting clarification and modification of the terms to limit/eliminate double dipping from customers, it's going to be difficult to convince the judge that people in your situation deserve a full buyback after you received market compensation for your totaled vehicle.

bizzle said:

If your car was drivable and you just took it home, it probably didn't feel like a "buy back" because your car was never in someone else's physical possession. That's neither here nor there as the issue isn't so much whether you bought a car back or not, rather...

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Actually, that is precisely 'here and there' (relevant), as the languaging of the settlement explicitly hinges eligibility on whether it was actually bought back from an insurance company or not. The judge may change his interpretation or implementation of the agreement, but a strict reading of the settlement (which is unambigious, in my opinion) bases salvage title ineligibility on whether or not the car was bought back from an insurance company. Luckily, I don't have to worry about that situation, but it sucks that some do have to worry for something that is so black and white in the settlement.

jibberjive said:

Actually, that is precisely 'here and there' (relevant), as the languaging of the settlement explicitly hinges eligibility on whether it was actually bought back from an insurance company or not. The judge may change his interpretation or implementation of the agreement, but a strict reading of the settlement (which is unambigious, in my opinion) bases salvage title ineligibility on whether or not the car was bought back from an insurance company. Luckily, I don't have to worry about that situation, but it sucks that some do have to worry for something that is so black and white in the settlement.

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You're factually incorrect regarding the settlement language.

His car was totaled in November 2016, which is more than a full year outside the scope of the branded exclusions. In addition to that, it doesn't say anything at all about buying one's car back from an insurance company after an accident.

halbert said:

...So, I took option 2, much to my regret. At no time did I 'buy it back': I paid off the loan and took the liability payment. If I had owned it free and clear, it would have had the same outcome. The insurance payment was close to the owed amount on the VW credit loan.

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If I understand correctly you could have taken the insurance payout and handed over the car or you took a lesser insurance payout and kept the car.
If it was the latter you bought it back from your insurance company. Your payout was decreased by the salvage value of the car. And, I'm saying that's no different then if you had bought it on an auction lot. You just did it in one transaction. It's a rhetorical discussion.

Anyone else chat or talk to the settlement portal people and receive the "mid-April" completion quote?

I did call for multiple cars and no time limit.
They didn't mention anything about April

Deadlines

If we all do what we can before the reports come out, notify class counsel im sure something will get done.

Going over details of the same one claim over and over isnt helpful, we are all being held back for one reason or another, only reason we are paying attention to this thread.

Do what you can, not what you cannot. Use your abilities to complain about process to those who might be able to get something done, no one writing in these posts can, only all at attorneys or other agencies who are involved in this settlement.

After single94's post, I PM'd my reply to bizzle, so as to not distract from the task at hand.