lol, I hear this stuff every once in awhile. Canada has some strange policy's for when 'VIN's don't fit into a prescribed slot.
I have two actual VIN's for vehicles that are short; one is six digit, and one only has five digit's. Several that are 8 or 9.
Your agent isn't an idiot, he's just stuck with what he knows and/or a system that is inflexible.
In Washington, they (TC's) are assigned a VIN; often it is the serial number. But these things are titled in this state (don't ask...that horse has been beat to death).
Cheers