“After taking out a policy and providing the anticipated mileage for the year, I was contacted by them and accused of lying about my annual mileage expectations. They had looked back over other car insurance quotes I had run in the past and because I had run a number of quotes to find the best deal they accused me of lying. When I explained I was sure of my maximum anticipated mileage and was happy to not be covered if I exceeded it they still wouldn't let it drop. Then I was accused of lying about when I bought the car. I estimated it to be in February 3 years ago but they claim to have run a credit check and know I bought it on 22nd Jan. First of all, I bought it for cash so there is no way a credit checked showed anything. And why does being 9 days out on the purchase date from 3 years ago affect this years insurance policy! After 10 minutes of being talked to like a criminal I asked to cancel the policy with immediate effect as I was so annoyed at the way I was being treated. They have now cancelled the policy are claiming on the cancellation notice that it is because I failed to provide them with details of my annual mileage. This is an outright lie! The policy was cancelled at my request. I have been charged absurd cancellations fees and feel that they never wanted my business in the first place and were looking to find a reason to cancel the policy just so they could keep the fees without providing cover, it felt like the kind of thing a scam company would do to take your cash without providing the service.”
Hello Andy, I can appreciate the frustration that can be caused by the validations process. I'm sorry that you had such a poor experience during these checks and that this led to the cancellation of your policy. Our New Business Review team pick a handful of policies at random, checking all details and updating them when necessary. This is our standard business practice and we apologise if you weren't aware of this. We need the information to make sure an insurance policy is valid, fit for purpose and that there is no chance that you are not covered in the case of an accident or claim.
If you believe that this was incorrectly handled and if you wish to raise a complaint concerning this, please visit www.hastingsdirect.com/about-us/customer-complaints or call us on 0333 999 8904. When we’ve logged your complaint, we’ll get back to you within five working days. Our regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, says we have up to eight weeks to settle your complaint, however the vast majority are resolved well within that time. You’ll find more information at www.hastingsdirect.com/help. ~Theo. Customer Care
Hello Chloe, this is really good to see. I'm glad we were able to offer you a competitive price and thank you for taking the time to share this with us. ~Theo, Customer Care
“Hastings I will never use again , car is still with their approved repairer Dentec
6 months after accident due to headlight being on back order only once I complained about timescale do I get a call back apologising and admitting faults their end but quoting the t&c's in the small print and saying nothing they can do
Should never take 6 months to repair a car that was driving but only had one headlight”
Hello Brian, I'm very sorry to see that you didn't receive the service you deserved during your claim. I can see that you do have an ongoing complaint with us and our advisor is currently discussing this with you. Please continue to discuss this with us so we can help. If you do need to call, you can reach our Customer Care team on 0333 999 8904. I hope you receive a satisfactory resolution to your complaint. ~Theo, Customer Care
Hello, I'm very sorry to see that you've had a poor experience with us. If there’s anything specific we can help you with, please let us know. You can find all the different ways to contact us at www.hastingsdirect.com/help. ~Theo. Customer Care
“Because of the customers service is really awful unprofessional rude unexperience they don't even know what they talking about iam saying this because from past 4 days iam setting at home still waiting for Hastings help but unfortunately the are unable to help out well the agent are totally useless unprofessional rude unexperience iam I got fully comprehensive insurance if iam having hard time so iam thinking about 3rd party insured well I can only say legal Thief I never had this bad experience in my entire life the way iam going through because of Hastings direct and another bad point about Hastings is I moved home just to change the address they increased £336 a year and when I asked them they that's why is work and biggest bad experience someone hit and run my park car outside of my house i provide all evidence of conclusions images CCTV videos recording and they said to me pay from your own pocket and than claim it from 3rd party's my question is if i have to do everything myself than why we need insurance some time i feel these companies think we are living in jungle not in the great Britain”
Hello Ronnie. I'm sorry to hear you weren’t happy with the service you received. We always aim to deliver the highest level of service to all our customers so we regret that you haven't experienced this. If you’d like to discuss this, we’d be happy to talk about your claim with you. To get in touch either call 0333 321 9800 or email motorclaims@hastingsdirect.com with your claim reference in the subject line. I hope that some positive progress can be made soon concerning your claim. ~Theo. Customer Care
“Don’t insure with Hastings Direct unless you want a small job to last 8 months of stress and inconvenience. You have to pay £600.up front if it’s a water leak or they won’t start the job.
They then use incompetent workmen to do the job who waste time visit after visit doing nothing except for destroying your home. You are pressured to sign a disclaimer or you are told they won’t start the job until you do.
When they then cause damage to your home they then use the disclaimer to avoid righting the damage.
To top all this off they cancel out all your 9years no claims because of this one claim. They then gave the cheek to say they can’t insure you again . As if I would use them ever again.
Last year was one of the worst years of my life all down to Hastings and Metro Rod.
Other than Clive who tried to help me customer service is none existent.
Insure yourself at your peril. I have now put my case in the hands of the ombudsman I can no longer cope with the stress.”
Hello, I'm very sorry to read about the poor experience you've had and if the level of service you've received isn't at the level you deserved. I regret that you have had to raise a complaint concerning this and I hope that you receive a satisfactory resolution to this complaint. ~Theo, Customer Care
“The premium for my car insurance policy with Hastings Direct in April last year was £315.31. My renewal invite from Hastings Direct this year is £551.55, an increase of £236.24 or 75%! There have been no changes to my situation (except my car and myself are both one year older), I have had no claims, it’s the same car, I have not moved house, ie everything is the same. I am aware that car insurance premiums have increased but a 75% increase is totally ridiculous. I immediately used an online comparison site and obtained a quote which gave me more cover and included RAC breakdown and recovery cover for a total of £351.50. My Hastings Direct policy was on auto-renewal so I deselected this option and immediately got a response wanting to know why. I explained I had a cheaper quote and was asked what it was. I told them and, surprise, surprise, they immediately said they could beat this and reduced their quote to £1 less than the new quote I had received. I find this practise deplorable. We are ‘sold’ the auto-renewal option as a benefit but there are serious issues with companies relying on customers inertia or forgetfulness resulting in policies renewing at much higher rates than can be obtained elsewhere. My house insurance is currently with Hastings Direct. Needless to say I have deselected the auto-renewal on this policy too.”
Hello. Thanks for letting us know about this and we’re sorry you’re unhappy with the price of renewing your policy. There are many reasons your policy’s price may have increased, and you can find further information here: https://www.hastingsdirect.com/renewal-prices/.
Please note that the underwriter sends the renewal quote when the time arrives. Hastings Direct's Retention team has no interaction with the renewal price until the customer contacts them to discuss the policy and the quote. This is why we ask that you contact us if the price isn't acceptable. The policyholder's authorisation is need to look into this quote and discuss the price. I'm glad that you were able to get a more competitive price for your insurance this year. ~Theo, Customer Care
“I dealt with Paresh via the phone and he was extremely helpful. I had lots of questions about different policies and logistics, which he was more than happy to help with.
His customer service and patience was probably the best I have ever received, I hope he gets the recognition he deserves for his fantastic work with me and help renewing my policy.”
“Put my premium up by £73 to £522 even though I haven’t made a claim found a cheaper deal at £388 with a different provider., offering key protection and more cover on different policy points.
I received an email saying payment would be taken from my credit card.
I tried to stop the renewal on the app all it would say was to phone. This is not the first time I’ve had problems with the app. I tried 3 times to phone eventually got through after 31 minutes. In total what with fiddling about in the app and phone calls it took over two hours to stop the renewal. When I took out the policy I was told I would be able to cancel the next automatic payment on the app. This is not the case.”
Hello, I'm sorry that we were unable to offer you a more competitive renewal price this year. There are many reasons your policy’s price may have increased, and you can find further information here: https://www.hastingsdirect.com/renewal-prices/.
You can read about automatic renewal in your terms and conditions – you’ll also find it mentioned in your renewal documents, along with the steps you can take to stop automatically renewing. Please note that these documents would show that the auto-renewal can be removed at any point during the 1st months of the policy. I'm sorry if this information wasn't seen. I am sorry you struggled to reach the call centre quickly to discuss this and I hope that you have since been able to get suitable cover for your vehicle. ~Theo, Customer Care
“Helpful polite saved me money what more could you want these tough times also it seems loyalty means something at last a pleasure doing business with you”
Hello Colin, it's good to see that you got the customer service you deserved and that we could offer you a competitive price. Thank you for insuring with Hastings Direct this year. ~Theo, Customer Care
“Albeit I had to wait 30 minutes to get through, I finally spoke to Bethany who was delightful, friendly, helpful and efficient. Managed to get my car insurance cheaper than last year, so it was worth the queue wait. Thank you Bethany”
Hello Sarah, we really appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback with us and it’s fantastic to hear you received such a great level of service. If there’s anything else you need assistance with, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Going forward, you can reach us at customersupport@hastingsdirect.com as an alternative to the phone. ~Theo, Customer Care
“Tried 6 TIMES to pay premium for NEW business..every time app or website unable to continue..Oops error message ,used the app chat..got sent a link...which was exactly same page as being tried previously..rang them, hanging on for 15 minutes, operator demanded my quote ref ,my name wasn't any good .....seriously, treat NEW business like this..oh and from an EXISTING CUSTOMER ...soon to be X customer at renewal time”
Hello, I'm very sorry to read about this and I appreciate the frustration that it would have caused. If you would still like to discuss this quote, please contact our Sales team on 0333 321 9785. I hope you have since been able to find suitable cover for your vehicle. ~Theo, Customer Care
“I have been with Hastings for a couple of year for my car insurance. The renewal quote for this year was more than double than year adding £600 more than last year. I cancelled my policy with them and my direct policy. Received email that I had missing the last payment of last year policy which expired the day before and as the payment 1 day late they added an extra £12. The email also stated that if I don,t pay with the next 7 day they would pass the bill to a debt collection agentacy. Wil not use the company. I have since took out car insurance with another company with a much better quote”
Hello, I'm sorry that we were unable to offer you a more competitive renewal price this year. There are many reasons your policy’s price may have increased, and you can find further information here: https://www.hastingsdirect.com/renewal-prices/.
I hope that the situation surrounding your final payment has now been dealt with, however, please let us know if you need any help with this. You can reach us at customersupport@hastingsdirect.com.
Thank you for having been insured with us over the past two years. It's good to see that you have since been able to find suitable cover for your vehicle. ~Theo, Customer Care
“Never had a claim in 32 years, been with Hastings direct for 2 years then they say they can not give me a new renewal quote and can not offer me insurance ? Its fine lots of others have offered to insure my car but I am so baffled at why you can not offer me car insurance. Felt like I had done something wrong when I received your email. Very strange indeed and quite upsetting.”
Hello Julie, I can appreciate how frustrating this can be. Each year the acceptance criteria changes and this can affect what can or cannot be covered by the underwriter. To work out the price of our policies or if cover can be provided, we consider your vehicle, address, drivers and personal details. In this case, it seems we can’t offer cover based on a combination of the above, and I’m sorry this is the case. I hope that you have since been able to find suitable cover for your vehicle and thank you for having been insured with us for the past 2 years. ~Theo, Customer Care
“Asked for copy of my no claims, called them to forward the document to me a number of times and they said they would and didnt bother. Staff wasnt helpful at all and ive still not got my no claims proof.”
Hello Valerie, I'm sorry if this document hasn't yet arrived. If you send us a direct message on X (formerly Twitter) @HastingsDirect or on Facebook, we'll work to send this to you. You can also reach us at customersupport@hastingsdirect.com. Please let us know if you need any help. ~Theo, Customer Care
Hello, I'm sorry to see that you struggled to reach the call centre and get the help you needed. I hope that you have since been able to discuss your quote and get the cover you needed. If you have any questions at all, you can reach us at customersupport@hastingsdirect.com. ~Theo, Customer Care
“Took money from you daughter’s account even though she had cancelled the policy, point blank refusal to refund her money , the money was taken a full month after she cancelled
Will never use them again , person on the call was hopeless”
Hello, I'm very sorry to read about the poor experience your daughter has had and I hope that this has since been resolved. If help is still needed, please ask her to send us an email at customersupport@hastingsdirect.com. We'll do all we can to help her. ~Theo, Customer Care
“The team asked for evidence for my policy and called me. I explained I had only just got a licence and would send them my paper copy as I awaited the card in the post. They said this was fine and needed my NCB. I sent my NCB and copy of my licence and just got an email saying my policy had been cancelled... very irritating as I was out at the time and needed to drive home there wasn't an instant refund either. They were insistent on me downloading an app which I did and it didn't work which I pointed out to them but not explanation. Very rude and would not recommend to anyone.”
Hello. Thanks for letting us know about this and we’re sorry you’re unhappy we checked your policy. Our New Business Review team pick a handful of policies at random, checking all details and updating them when necessary. This is our standard business practice and we apologise if you weren't aware of this. We sometimes need the information to make sure an insurance policy is valid and fit for purpose. Also, if you need more time to send us the documents we’ve asked for, it’s not a problem – just call us about this or any other question you have on 0333 321 9757. Thanks again, ~Nicole. Customer Care
