After her KIA was stolen, recovered and repaired, a victim gets KIA to refund her deductible

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Close to 800 people in the city of Rochester have had their KIA or Hyundai stolen this year. One of the victims called KIA and just kept pestering them about refunding what it cost her. And this week, the KIA check came in the mail.

At the peak of the car thefts in February, Renee Hulett’s KIA was stolen from her apartment parking lot near East High.

Police found it, her dealership repaired it and Hulett paid the $500 deductible. After some initial denials, Hulett submitted all her paperwork and proof and a month later KIA wrote her a check for $500.

“I felt like my voice was heard because I was angry because why should I, even though I have insurance, it’s not my fault,” she said. “KIA is aware of what’s going on and I feel like it’s on them to make it right.”

Brean: “Who told you about being able to get a check here?”
Renee Hulett: “A Matthews KIA repair guy.”
Brean: “So the dealership told you about this.”
Hulett: “Yeah.”

Both KIA and Hyundai told me they may cover out of pocket costs on a “case by case” basis. Monday, Mayor Malik Evans said the city is joining eight other cities in a lawsuit against both automakers.

“What was the whole experience like of having your car stolen?” I asked Hulett. “And what did it do to you?”

“I felt violated because I don’t bother nobody. I work everyday. This is how I get back and forth to work and sometimes my window to get from one job to another two times a week is only 30 minutes,” she said. “So I don’t have time to not have a car or wait for a ride. I need my car to get to work.”

For months, after she got her repaired KIA back, Hulett said she would constantly worry about her car and check on it through the window day and night.

Brean: “This was consuming your life.”
Hulett: “It was. It was very consuming and I don’t know about anybody else but I just had to get rid of it because I couldn’t do it no more.”

Hulett says she eventually turned her KIA in for a different make.

Here are the documents Hulett needed:

– police report

– insurance policy

– the repair estimate

– proof she paid the deductible.