7 On Your Side helps VW owners get buyback checks

Frustration is mounting among the hundreds of thousands of Volkswagen diesel owners impacted by the recent emissions scandal.

The people 7 On Your Side heard from accepted Volkswagen's offer to buy their vehicles. All have turned their cars into Volkswagen, but are still waiting for their checks. "It's $19,000 is what it was and I've gotten zero," Pacifica resident Patrick Hanley said.

Hanley turned in his car into Volkswagen more than a month ago.

So did Benicia resident Lisa Tosch. "It's almost $13,000. It's a lot of money," she said.

Lisa and Ken Tosch are just two of a half dozen VW diesel owners who have contacted 7 On Your Side in the last few weeks with concerns about the buyback program.

It's is part of a settlement reached after regulators determined VW cheated by rigging its cars to pass emission standards.

Volkswagen's own website says: "You can expect payment within three banking days of your closing transaction."

Some said it hasn't turned out that way for them. "They took the keys and my friend picked me up from the VW dealer and I had no car and no money," Hanley said.

Hanley plans to buy a new car once his money arrives. Until then, he's been forced to borrow a car from a friend who didn't expect to lend his car for so long.

Lisa's story is slightly different because she received her money, but then that money disappeared electronically right before her husband's eyes. "I was dumbfounded," Ken said.

Ken said the money was removed from the couple's bank account just days after they had spent it to pay off some credit cards. "You think everything is going good and then they can do something like this," he said.

Volkswagen declined to discuss individual cases, but told 7 On Your Side: "We know that there have been some issues along the way and our teams have been working tirelessly to make necessary adjustments and continually improve the process."

The automaker says it has so far removed or modified 25 percent of the 475,000 two-liter diesel vehicles.

It has also hired 1,300 employees to meet demand.

Lisa and two others who contacted 7 On Your Side have received their payments.

Unfortunately Hanley is not among them. "I just want to move on with my life," he said.

VW has not given a reason for the delays, but the car owners 7 On Your Side talked to says the automaker is blaming the problems on a server issue.