Hi Steve

A while ago I had a Passat 2.0TDi PD 2007 and the DPF loading was sky high and I didn't dare regen it and also at the time I was unaware of cleaning methods.

So, I bought an aftermarket DPF and had very similar issues to yourself.(regarding the soot counter climbing alot every time I drove it)

I did a few regens on similar VW's over the following week that all went smoothly and acted totally different to the aftermarket one I had fitted.

The Passat owner came back with the vehicle with DPF problems, I still had his original DPF so with nothing to loose I cleaned it out (jet wash)
refitted and regen and the regen procedure went as expected.. normal and watching the DPF data while driving was much more normal too.

My soot loading on the aftermarket DPF seemed to climb unusually quickly to 28% where it would then steady out.

My assumption after all the drama was that the aftermarket DPF had different flow characteristics than the original genuine DPF.

Hope this helps and doesn't rail road you

James