“Bosch Settlement Class Members” are all persons in Canada (including individuals and entities) except for the Excluded Persons (see FAQ#2) and persons who validly opted  out of this Action, who:

• as of September 18, 2015 owned or leased one of the following diesel-powered vehicles (the “2L Vehicles”):

• as of November 2, 2015 owned or leased one of the following diesel-powered vehicles (the “3L Vehicles”):

“Excluded Persons” are:

(i)                  Robert Bosch GmbH and its officers and directors;

(ii)                The Defendants in Quenneville v. Volkswagen, Court File No. CV-15537029-CP and their officers     and directors;

(iii)               Audi, VW and Porsche authorized motor vehicles and their officers and directors of those dealers;

(iv)               The heirs, successors and assigns of persons described in (i) to (iii) above;

(v)                 Putative class members in the Quebec Bosch Action (as defined in paragraph 6 of the Demande Pour Authorisation D’Exercer Une Action Collective dated January 20, 2017);

(vi)               Persons who purchased or leased their vehicles in Quebec or outside of Canada; and

(vii)             Persons who were not eligible to be members of settlement classes in the 2L Settlement or in the 3L Settlement.

Excluded Persons are not members of Bosch Settlement Class.

The Court approved Distribution Protocol sets out the payments that will be available to four categories of Bosch Settlement Class Members (the “Bosch Eligible Claimants”). A copy of the Distribution Protocol is available here.

The four categories of Bosch Settlement Class Members who may receive payments in the Bosch Settlement are as follows:

(a) Eligible 3L Gen 2 Lessees: Persons who leased 3L Generation 2 VW, Audi or Porsche vehicles and who received corresponding lessee benefits pursuant to the 3L Settlement;

(b) Eligible 2L Sellers: Persons who owned 2L VW or Audi vehicles as of September 18, 2015 but sold their eligible vehicles before the 2L Settlement pre-approval notice date (January 4, 2017), and for that reason received 2L Settlement benefits as “Sellers” rather than as “Owners”;

(c) Eligible 3L Sellers: Persons who owned 3L VW, Audi or Porsche vehicles as of November 2, 2015 but sold their eligible vehicles before the 3L Settlement pre-approval notice date (January 17,2018), and for that reason received 3L Settlement benefits as “Sellers” rather than as “Owners”; and

(d) Eligible 2L Extended Warranty Claimants: Persons who successfully claimed a Buyback or Buyback with Trade-In benefit or a 2L Lessee benefit pursuant to the 2L Settlement, and at the time they surrendered their 2L Vehicle or received their 2L Lessee benefit, had an unused portion of extended warranty coverage purchased for the corresponding 2L Vehicle at an authorized VW or Audi dealership (the “Extended Warranty”) which could not be transferred to another vehicle.

No one else will be eligible for compensation under the Bosch Settlement.

• There was an extended warranty reimbursement program in connection with the 3L Settlement, but there was no such program for the earlier 2L Settlement.

This depends on the type of Eligible Claimant you are.

Direct Claimants:

Eligible 3L Gen 2 Lessees, Eligible 2L Sellers and Eligible 3L Sellers (collectively, the “Direct Claimants”) will receive direct benefits as follows:

• Eligible 3L Gen 2 Lessees: will receive $1,000 per vehicle for which they received a 3L Gen 2 Lessee payment in the 3L Settlement (the “3L Gen 2 Lessee Payment”);

• Eligible 2L Sellers: will receive $750 per vehicle for which they received a 2L Seller payment in the 2L Settlement (the “2L Seller Payment”); and

• Eligible 3L Sellers: will receive $2,500 per vehicle for which they received a 3L Seller payment in the 3L Settlement (the “3L Seller Payment”).

The payment to Direct Claimants (the “Direct Benefit Payment”) will be made based on information available from the implementation of the 2L Settlement and 3L Settlement.  This information allows the Claims Administrator to make an automatic, direct payment to Direct Claimants without the need to make a claim.  This payment will be mailed to Direct Claimant by cheque to the last known contact information (see FAQ#9 below on updating information if you may have moved).

Extended Warranty Claimants

Eligible 2L Extended Warranty Claimants will need to submit a claim for benefits (the “Extended Warranty Claim”) before April 8, 2021. For more information about how to make an Extended Warranty Claim, see FAQ#10.

The benefits ultimately payable to Eligible 2L Extended Warranty Claimants will be calculated by allocating a notional entitlement of $100 for each period of up to 12 months of unused Extended Warranty coverage remaining at the surrender of their 2L Vehicles (the “Extended Warranty Notional Entitlement”), up to a maximum payment of $500 per Extended Warranty Claim. If there are more claims made then funds available for distribution, the amount ultimately payable to each Eligible 2L Extended Warranty Claimant will be pro-rated.

The payments being made to Bosch Eligible Claimants are based on information, data and independent expert evidence obtained by Class Counsel in connection with the negotiation and approval of the 2L Settlement and 3L Settlement.

In addition, with the implementation of the 2L Settlement and the 3L Settlement, Class Counsel has information on the number of persons who received a 3L Gen 2 Lessee Payment, a 2L Seller Payment and a 3L Seller Payment.  Class Counsel used that information in conjunction with the information provided by the independent experts to determine the amounts payable to each Direct Claimant.

The amounts payable in respect of Extended Warranty Claim, on the other hand, cannot be exactly predicted at this time because we do not know how many Eligible 2L Extended Warranty Claimants will submit an Extended Warranty Claim. However, Class Counsel has information as to the total number of persons who received a Buyback, Buyback with Trade-In benefit or 2L Lessee benefit in the 2L Settlement, as well as information on the percentage of persons who made claims for extended warranty reimbursement in the 3L Settlement. This information was considered in determining the amounts allocated to pay Extended Warranty Claims.

The payment to Direct Claimants (the “Direct Benefit Payment”) will be made based on information available from the implementation of the 2L Settlement and 3L Settlement.  This information allows the Claims Administrator to make an automatic, direct payment to Direct Claimants without the need to make a claim.  This payment will be  mailed to Direct Claimant by cheque to the last known contact information (see FAQ#9 below on updating information if you may have moved).

It is anticipated that payments to Direct Claimants will be made May 8, 2021. Most people who are eligible to receive a Direct Benefit Payment will not need to do anything.

You can update your contact information online by contacting the Claims Adminsitrator by phone: 1-866-723-8776 or email: [email protected].

The 3L Gen 2 Lessee Payments, 2L Seller Payments and 3L Seller Payments will be made based primarily on the information the Claims Administrator has received regarding the implementation of the 2L Settlement and 3L Settlement. The Court has authorized the Claims Administrator to use that information to facilitate the implementation of related Bosch Settlement.  If you believe you should have received a Direct Benefit Payment, but do not receive anything by June 7, 2021, it is possible that your contact information was incorrect, or there was an error on the information.

You may contact the Claims Administrator to verify or update your address. See the Contact Us page for how to contact the Claims Administrator for this purpose.

If the Claims Administrator believes that there was an error in either the determination of your entitlement to a 3L Gen 2 Lessee Payment, 2L Seller Payment or 3L Seller Payment, or the location where your payment was sent, the Claims Administrator will make or reissue the payment, as the case may be.  If, however, the Claims Administrator determines that you do not fit the criteria to receive a 3L Gen 2 Lessee Payment, 2L Seller Payment or 3L Seller Payment, the decision of the Claims Administrator will be affirmed. There will be no appeal from this decision.

As set out in FAQ #12 below, even if you owned or leased one of the vehicles at issue in the 2L Settlement or 3L Settlement, and made a claim that you believe should have been paid in the 2L Settlement or the 3L Settlement, but were not actually paid the corresponding benefits in those settlements, you will not be eligible to receive the 3L Gen 2 Lessee Payments, 2L Seller Payments and 3L Seller Payments.  You must have received the corresponding payment in the prior settlements.

In order to receive settlement benefits, Eligible 2L Extended Warranty Claimants will have to submit an Extended Warranty Claim to the Claims Administrator within the Extended Warranty Claims Period, which runs for three months from January 8, 2021 to April 8, 2021. The Extended Warranty Claim may be completed online (see link below), or alternatively, can be printed and delivered by mail to the Claims Administrator, but it must be received by April 8, 2021. The Extended Warranty Claim must be accompanied by proof that the Eligible 2L Extended Warranty Claimant meets the Extended Warranty Criteria, namely:

(a) the Eligible 2L Extended Warranty Claimant purchased Extended Warranty coverage for the surrendered vehicle, and

(b) at the time of surrender of the vehicle in the 2L Settlement, there remained an unused portion of the Extended Warranty coverage.

If an Eligible 2L Extended Warranty Claimant does not have documents to prove compliance with the Extended Warranty Criteria, the claimant must ensure that the “Declaration” portion of the Extended Warranty Form includes the following information:

(a) the date when the Extended Warranty was purchased;

(b) the name or location of the VW or Audi authorized dealership where the Extended Warranty was purchased;

(c) the amount paid for the Extended Warranty; and

(d) the original coverage period for the Extended Warranty, and the amount of unused coverage that remained when the vehicle was surrendered in the 2L Settlement.

The deadline to submit a claim has passed.

The Claims Administrator will evaluate the Extended Warranty Claims after conclusion of the Extended Warranty Claims Period (April 8, 2021).

The first step in the process will be for the Claims Administrator to send a letter (likely by email), within 30 days from the end of the Extended Warranty Claims Period, to all persons who submitted an Extended Warranty Claim indicating whether their claims were accepted or denied (the “Extended Warranty Eligibility Letter”), and

• For those whose claims were accepted, this letter will set out their Notional Extended Warranty Entitlement. A determination by the Claims Administrator about the amount of the Notional Extended Warranty Entitlement cannot be reviewed (appealed), and
• For those whose claims were denied, the reasons for the denial.

Persons whose Extended Warranty Claims were denied may ask the Court to review the Claims Administrator’s determination. This should be done by submitting a request to the Claims Administrator within 4 weeks from the date of the Extended Warranty Eligibility Letter. Those requests will be submitted to Class Counsel, who will then summarize the issues for the Court. Unless the Court directs otherwise, the Court will issue reasons without the need for an oral hearing.

After all issues with respect to eligibility to make an Extended Warranty Claim are concluded, the Claims Administrator will be able to calculate the amounts actually payable to each Extended Warranty Claimant.  That is not necessarily the same as the Notional Extended Warranty Entitlement set out in the initial correspondence from the Claims Administrator, because:

• Depending on the number of valid Extended Warranty Claims submitted, it may be necessary to pro-rate the payments made to each Eligible 2L Extended Warranty Claimants from the Notional Extended Warranty Entitlement; and
• It is possible that some of the 3L Gen 2 Lessee Payments, 2L Seller Payments and 3L Seller Payments will be undeliverable or remain uncashed after 6 months. Cheques that remained uncashed after 6 months will become staled-dated, and the corresponding payment will be deemed forfeited, and will be used to increase the amount of money available to pay valid Extended Warranty Claims.

We expect that payment of Extended Warranty Claims will be made as soon as possible after the end of the Extended Warranty Claims Period, and will be accompanied by a letter explaining the calculation of the payment, and any adjustments made.

In most cases, the answer is no. There are very limited appeal rights to ensure the administration costs are minimized, and to enhance actual payments made to Bosch Eligible Claimants.

Only Bosch Eligible Claimants whose Extended Warranty Claims are denied by the Claims Administrator may appeal that determination (see FAQ#11 above). This must occur within 4 weeks of receiving notice that the claim is denied. 

Bosch Eligible Claimants who believe they are eligible to receive Direct Benefit Payments but who do not receive anything by June 7, 2021 may contact the Claims Administrator to confirm their address, or verify whether an error has been made (see FAQ#9 above). This has to occur by June 22, 2021.

Bosch Eligible Claimants who believe the Claims Administrator made an arithmetic error  in the application of the criteria set out in the Amended Distribution Protocol for calculation and payment of benefits may contact the Claims Administrator within two weeks from receipt of the Direct Benefit Payment Letter (for Direct Payment issues) or the Extended Warranty Payment Letter (for Extended Warranty issues).  The Claims Administrator will reconsider the issue, but that determination is not subject of further reviews.

The overall goal of the Distribution Protocol was to maximize the amount of money that is available to make payments to Bosch Settlement Class Members. The costs of the administration of the Bosch Settlement are also paid from the Bosch Settlement Amount, and for this reason Class Counsel strived to minimize the amount of administration required to make payments from the available funds.

The fact that payments were made in the 2L Settlement or in the 3L Settlement provides a definite and easy measure of eligibility. There are many reasons why persons who made a claim in the 2L Settlement or in the 3L Settlement may not have been paid. This includes in some cases their inability to meet some of the eligibility criteria. Allowing persons who have not been the recipients of the necessary benefits in the 2L Settlement or in the 3L Settlement results in additional administration costs and creates the need for a claims process for all benefits, as opposed to the direct payment structure contemplated in the Distribution Protocol. Those additional administration costs would reduce the overall compensation available to other claimants.

It is a term of the Bosch Settlement Agreement that Bosch Settlement Class Members must have been eligible to claim benefits in the 2L Settlement or in the 3L Settlement.

However, those persons who are not Bosch Settlement Class Members are not bound by the terms of the Bosch Settlement Agreement, including the Release, and remain free to litigate their claims if they wish to do so, provided that there are no limitation or other bars to doing so.

If you are Direct Claimant (see FAQ#5), you do not need to submit a claim to receive settlement benefits. Payment will be sent to your last known contact information (based on the 2L & 3L Settlements). See FAQ#9 for information on how to update or verify your address with the Claims Administrator.

If you are an Extended Warranty Claimant (see FAQ#5), you must submit a claim no later than April 8, 2021. For information on how to submit an Extended Warranty Claim, see FAQ#10.

Class Counsel has entered into a contingency fee agreement with the Plaintiffs that provides for payment of legal fees calculated as 25 percent of the Bosch Settlement Amount, plus reimbursement of expenses incurred and any applicable taxes (collectively, the “Approved Legal Expenses”).

Yes. In addition to the Approved Legal Expenses, the expenses incurred in connection with the administration and implementation of the Bosch Settlement Agreement, including costs of notices and any applicable taxes are payable from the Bosch Settlement Amount.

In order to minimize administrative costs, for general questions regarding eligibility and the Bosch Settlement, please contact Class Counsel, who are available to answer questions at no cost to you. Their contact information is set out below.

If you need to contact the Claims Administrator for any of the purposes set out in this FAQ, you may do so using the conact info below:

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 1-866-723-8776