Canadian who bought VW in U.S. faces settlement registration headache

A Nova Scotia man is relieved his Volkswagenpurchased in the United States will now be covered by a class-action lawsuit, butremains frustrated he cannot register on the company's settlement website.

"It seems a little bit ridiculous that a company with the ingenuity to defeat regulatory authorities like the [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] can't set up a website to allow people just to register," Alex MacLellan told CBC News.

He is one of an unknown number of Canadians who bought2.0 litre TDI Volkswagens in the United States and were caught up in the diesel emissions scandal. Until last weekthey were left out of the class action.

Such owners had previously fallen "between the cracks," according toCharles Wright, one of the lead attorneys representing car owners in the Canadian class-action case.

Volkswagen was refusing to include them in the settlement, he said, butchanged course following litigation andhasnow agreed theycan participate in the U.S. settlement.

MacLellan, who owns a 2010 Jetta diesel wagon,is pleased to hear that and said it is the right thing for Volkswagen to do.

"I haven't heard anyone come up with a reason why the cross-border vehicles wouldn't be included," said MacLellan, who lives in Ketch Harbour, N.S.

Last week, courts in Ontario and Quebec approved a nationwide class-action settlement involvingVolkswagen Group Canada Inc. Last fall, an Americanjudge also approved a $15-billion settlement for U.S. owners. The cases involve certainmodels and years that were outfitted with software designed to fool emissions tests.

On Friday, Wright said Canadians with affected vehicles purchased in the U.S. should go back to the American settlement site and "should be able to get their claim processed." Volkswagen Group Canada posted a similar message on its website.

Unable to register

MacLellan unsuccessfully tried to do that this past weekend. He was able to enter his Canadian address, but was then asked what dealership he was taking his car to. The site wouldn't allow a Canadian dealership, so he entered one in Maine.

"At that point the system just bogged down and said there was an error and wouldn't let me proceed," he said.

He called the listed number and was told the problem couldn't be solved on the phone and tech support was needed. He said he's still not been able to register for the settlement and wants to know why cars like his must be returned to an American dealer, which will mean added costs for the vehicle owner.

While this class action has moved more quickly than many, MacLellan said the value of his Jetta has depreciated sincethe scandal broke in September 2015. He noted the settlement websiteasked him to register how many miles are currently on the car.

CBC News has contacted VolkswagenCanada and Wright to inform them Canadians are still not able to register on the American site. Wright said it may take a week for the links to be put in place.

A Volkswagen spokesperson said the company wasworking to ensure theAmerican site will accept claims from Canadians who bought their vehicles in the U.S.