Hello,
Thanks for your feedback, we're really sorry to hear about your experience and to see that you didn't get the service you needed. We always aim to provide great service, so it's disappointing to know we missed the mark this time. We'll make sure your comments are passed on so we can do better in the future.
I appreciate you may have already done so, but please contact us if you need any help with your policy. You can also reach us by messaging in the app as an alternative to the phone. ~Theo, Social Media Team
Hi Lee,
It’s great to hear you received the level of customer service you deserve, thanks so much for taking the time to share your positive experience with us. ~ Theo, Social Media Team
Hello Garry, it's good to see that we could offer you the level of cover that you needed. Thank you for leaving a 5-star review with us. ~Theo, Social Media Team
“i had bought some insurance for my car then i found a better price but you then charged me £40 for the priverlige but i still got cheaper insurance so not
pleased with your compony”
Hi Terry,
We’re sorry to hear you’re unhappy about being charged the £20 arrangement fee and our £20 YouDrive tab charge.
As part of buying a YouDrive policy, you’re charged £20 to cover the tab we send you. We make it as clear as possible that you own the tab, as well as explaining our other fee amounts and that they’re non-refundable.
We apologise if you weren’t aware of this. ~Theo, Social Media Team
Hello, it's good to see that we could offer you the level of cover that you needed. Thank you for leaving a 5-star review with us. ~Theo, Social Media Team
Hello Terry,
I'm glad we were able to offer you a competitive price this year. Thank you for choosing to insure with Hastings Direct , we really appreciate it. If you ever need anything, feel free to get in touch. ~ Theo, Social Media Team
“Penalised for Being Honest, No Renewal Offered, and No Compensation
I was a Hastings Premier customer for two full years for my car , paying £3,111.69 in the first year and £1,181.00 in the second almost the full value of the car itself (£3,200). I chose the Premier level based on the promise of superior customer support and service.
In January 2025, my car was broken into at my old address, and a few personal belongings (worth around £500) were stolen. I reported it to the police for documentation and called Hastings to notify them purely for record-keeping, making it absolutely clear that I did not want to make a claim, so I could preserve my No Claims Discount.
They confirmed this was treated as a notification-only incident, and that my NCD remained unaffected. However, the issue began when I chose not to renew my policy after it expired in July 2025. I got a better quote from another provider and notified Hastings to stop the auto-renewal. In response, Hastings offered a retention quote of £724 — but after I declined, that quote was later made unavailable.
Fast forward: I provided my NCD to the new insurer (1st Central), and to my shock, they rejected it, citing a background check with Hastings that allegedly confirmed a claim had been made. This was factually untrue — as Hastings’ own correspondence later confirmed. Due to this misinformation:
My new premium went up by £400
I lost £50 in cancellation fees
I lost two weeks of insurance cover
I wasted over 5 hours of work time (unpaid)
I ended up paying £300 more than necessary with another insurer
I called Hastings multiple times to get this resolved, being passed around teams — customer care, new business, customer relations, and motor claims. After days of back and forth, I was told they couldn’t retrieve the earlier quote or offer a new one.
Finally, I received a formal email stating that my complaint was not upheld, and that no quote would be offered for renewal. No compensation was given. No apology for the misinformation that caused significant financial loss.
So, as a Premier customer who paid over £4,200 over two years, I was punished simply for being honest and notifying an incident without making a claim. Not only did I receive no support, but I also wasn’t even given the option to stay with Hastings after doing everything right.
This is how Hastings treats customers once you decide to leave:
No renewal
No goodwill
No compensation
No accountability
My advice: Avoid Hastings at all costs, especially if you value customer service, fair treatment, and your own peace of mind.”
Hello,
Thanks for your feedback, we're really sorry to hear about your experience and to see that this notification has had such a negative impact on the cost of your insurance. We always aim to provide great service, so it's disappointing to know we missed the mark this time.
If you have raised a complaint and it hasn't been resolved to your satisfaction, you can escalate it further with the Financial Ombudsman. Information on how to do this would be available on the final document we sent about the complaint but please contact the team on 0333 999 8904, if you need help with this. ~Theo, Social Media Team
“Asking for all kind of stupid stuff I never heard of before like photos with a steering wheel lock,photo with your driveway and a other stuff.If you want proof of that why don’t they send their people to check.You can borrow a lock from someone and take a photo with your car on someone else’s driveway and then leave,all this is stupid.I’ll never buy anything from them again”
Hi,
Thanks for your review, we’re sorry to hear you’re unhappy with our validation checks.
Our Policy Review Team review policies at random to make sure everything checks out and the policy details are correct. They do this to prevent fraud and make sure customers are paying the correct amount for their insurance (this is because fraudulent claims can increase insurance premiums).
This is our standard business practice, and we apologise if you weren't aware of this.
If you feel this has been handled poorly or incorrectly and you'd like to make a formal complaint, you can do so by:
Calling us on 0333 321 9801, sending us a letter or filling out our online form here: https://www.hastingsdirect.com/about-us/customer-complaints/.
Once we’ve logged your complaint, we’ll get back to you within five working days. ~ Theo, Social Media Team
Hello Holly,
Thank you for your feedback and for leaving us a five-star review, it really means a lot. Please let us know if you have any questions about your cover.
~ Theo, Social Media Team
Hello,
It’s great to hear you received the level of service you deserved. Thank you for choosing to insure with Hastings Direct this year, we truly appreciate it. If you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. ~ Theo, Social Media Team
“I requested a quote, which seemed acceptable, and arranged cover. However, on receipt of documentation, I found some covers which I believed to be included were not. I therefore rang and informed the adviser of this, and as the cover date was 10 days away, and I was within in the 14 day cooling off period, I did not wish to take out this cover, and requested a full refund. I was advised the company would not reimburse the £20 fee, even though they would not be provided any cover. I believe this is unethical.”
Hi Dorry,
We’re sorry to hear you’re unhappy about being charged the £20 arrangement fee.
As part of buying a policy you’re charged £20 to cover the cost of putting this policy in place. We make it as clear as possible that this is included as well as explaining our other fee amounts — and that they’re non-refundable.
I'm sorry if this information wasn't seen and has come as a surprise because of this. ~Theo, Social Media Team
Hi,
It’s great to see we could provide the level of cover you needed at a competitive price. Thank you for taking the time to leave us a five-star review, we really appreciate it. ~ Theo, Social Media Team
Hello,
It’s great to see you received the level of service you deserved and that we could offer you a competitive price. Thank you for choosing to insure with Hastings Direct this year – we truly appreciate it. If you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. ~ Theo, Social Media Team
Hello,
I'm sorry if you struggled to locate a number for us. You can give us a call on 0333 321 9801 if you need help with this policy. ~Theo, Social Media Team
Hi Mandy,
It’s great to hear you received the level of customer service you deserve, thanks so much for taking the time to share your positive experience with us. ~ Theo, Social Media Team
“Took out home insurance policy on 23 July and I’m still waiting for policy documents to arrived. When taking out the policy I did tick the box for ALL documents to be posted to me.”
Hello Janet,
Thank you for your review, I'm sorry to see that the documents have not yet arrived. Looking at the policy, I can see that they have been posted as requested. If they do not arrive by Friday of this week, please give us a call on 0333 321 9801 and let us know so we can take a look at this for you. ~Theo, Social Media Team
Hello Perry,
We're really pleased to hear this was a straightforward experience and that we could offer you a competitive price. Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback and for choosing to insure with Hastings Direct. ~ Theo, Social Media Team
Hello Nancy,
I'm glad we were able to offer you a competitive price this year. Thank you for choosing to insure with Hastings Direct , we really appreciate it. If you ever need anything, feel free to get in touch. ~ Theo, Social Media Team
