- A Saratoga Springs man, Jason Dewey, faced credit issues after a car accident.
- Kia Finance reported a repossession despite Dewey making timely payments on the car.
- Kia refuses to remove the repossession, affecting Dewey's and his son's credit scores.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — You're in an accident. You know you need to call your insurance company. But did you know that you also need to call your lender? Not doing so left a Saratoga Springs man with an awful financial headache.
Another driver rear-ended the Kia Forte being driven by Jason Dewey's son in southern Utah last July. It had to be towed.
After not hearing from the other driver's insurance company for over a week, Dewey, who cosigned on the Kia, called them.
"Their insured drivers have 30 days to notify them of an accident, and they wouldn't take any action on it until then," Dewey said he was told.
By the time their insurance adjuster made it out to the tow yard in Hurricane, the Forte was gone.
"It had been towed to Las Vegas and impounded by Kia Finance," Dewey said.
Turns out that after sitting in a tow yard for three weeks, Kia was informed by the state that the car was racking up charges.
"So, I didn't notify them of the accident, and there were $1,700 of fees, of impound fees, at the yard," Dewey said.
He went ahead and paid the fees that the other driver's insurance should have paid and got the car back, and fixed it. But months later, he learned Kia Finance still reported a repossession on his credit file. That tanked both his and his son's credit.
"It went down 175 points overnight," Dewey said.
But wait a minute. He made every single payment on the car on time, including when it was in the tow yard.
"I contacted Kia," he said. "I spent hours on the phone. It was hard to get a hold of anyone who could make any decisions."
Dewey said he's disputed the repossession three times with credit bureaus, yet Kia still refuses to remove it. He doesn't think that's fair and asked me to investigate.
"My hope is that Kia will look at this holistically and say, 'Hey, I've had a good customer that paid their bills on time, was involved in a miscommunication, and there's no harm done,'" he said. "I still am paying on the vehicle. Just remove that repossession from my credit."
The KSL Investigators reached out to Kia to ask about all of this. Kia seems to be sticking to its guns.
By email, a spokesperson told said Kia won't comment on customer accounts, but they "remain committed to delivering exceptional customer care, conducting business with integrity and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations."
Dewey says Kia confirmed with him that they will not be removing the repossession on his credit file, telling him they are following their policy. So now, for Dewey and his 22-year-old son, that repossession will stick to their credit for the next seven years.
"I'm a little bitter," Dewey said. "It hurts a little bit."
Repossession can happen if there's a missed payment or the borrower violates the loan agreement. You'll want to check your loan agreement, but there's a good chance it includes language that requires you to let your lender know if you get into an accident, even if the damage is relatively minor.
