“Unfortunately we havent had a great experience with Hastings.
We took out the insurance 5 days ago for my 18 year old daughter.
On Monday, she dropped back some library books to her college in Islington and picked up a couple of friends to go shopping in Westfield shopping centre white city. There was a lot of traffic and her friends were using her phone to add to playlists on spotify.
The next day, she opened the app and it was reporting 2 things:
- 1 excessive phone use whilst driving (although she personally never touched her phone once)
- 2 excessive cornering. This was being reported as she was driving down the exit ramp from the 6th floor on the car park. She had no choice but to come down in a spiral, there was no otherway to drive to but to do constant cornering.
We called Hastings as her driving score had dropped to 56% and we were obviously concerned and unfortunately spoke to someone called Kyle.
I queried with Kyle how the app works, was it using the internal gyroscope in the phone, he said it was. I said what if the phone drops out of the holder is that recorded as use? He said it would.
I asked what if my daughter pulled over and set a new sat nav journey and then drove off, how can it differentiate between this action and messing with the phone in traffic? He said it doesnt and it would be classed as using it whilst driving.
I asked if we could therefore just get a second phone to connect the blackbox to as she doesnt use the phone whilst driving and it would prevent these issues, he said that it was against the rules. I said that I had actually asked Katie on live chat about that and she said we coud. He said you cant. I said can you just show me where in the policy it says you cant, and he said that it couldnt off the top of his head, but its not allowed.
I said overall it was outrageous but that we would just get a second phone to connect to spotify so at least her friends can choose music and that interaction wouldnt be recorded. We came off the call.
within about 10 minutes we had a notification in the app stating that our insurance was cancelled. We immediately called Kyle back and asked him what was going on. He said that have tried to maniupulate the data. I said we have done no such thing, we asked questions, I queried that we had been told otherwise by Katie and that it was not in the policy but at the end of the call we agreed to just get another phone for spotify. he said that would be allowed but its too late now as telematics have cancelled it based off what he had reported to him. He said that we told him multiple times that we would get another phone for the app.
I retirated to him that I had not said that but queried getting another phone, as we had been told we could. And that at the end of the call we said we'd just do it for spoitfy. he said well you told me otherwise mutliple times, and I said yes but at the end that was the compromise that we were going with.
I asked to speak to a manager, he said no one was available. I asked to speak to the telematics team, he said theyre not customer facing. I asked to raise a complaint which he said he had done and I have a raised a separate one on the website.
Overall however our insurance has been cancelled for not ACTUALLY doing anything wrong, just asking and being honest and open about what was and wasnt allowed under the policy. Kyle for some reason took it upon himself to report only part of our conversation but not the end part, which was that we would just ensure that my daughters friends used a different phone for the music.
Overall I have found this service to be really poor. kyle needs training and to listen and help. His actions actually felt malicious.
I really would like someone to contact me urgently about this. I do not believe it is lawful or within any policies that you can cancel a policy based on Kyle THINKING we might do something that we asked about and then when he repeatedly said it wasnt possible we came up with a different approach.
How can this be right? I bet there are loads of people just getting a second phone and attaching the app to that from the outset that you dont even know about. At least we were honest and asked the question!”
Hello Louise, I'm very sorry to read about the poor experience you've had and to see that you haven't had the level of customer service you received from the advisor. I'm afraid that only one phone and one account can be attached to the tab. It physically wouldn't allow a second phone/app to be paired.
In light of the cancellation and service you received, a complaint would be the next course of action. I appreciate that you may need to discuss this more urgently that the complaint timeframe would allow so you can contact the Customer Care/Complaints team on 0333 999 8904. I hope that this can be resolved soon and that your daughter is able to get suitable cover for her vehicle soon. ~Theo, Customer Care
“I went with Hastings Direct, from ONE CALL Insurance, one call lied when i had a non fault claim, instead of putting my claim through my policy for personal injury, they used OCL solicitors who are a no win no fee only solicitors, Stay away from them, Hastings wanted £518-00 renewal when on line the package was £451-00, Tesco same package £388-00. It pays to look around”
Hello Sidney, I'm sorry that we were unable to offer you a more competitive price for your new policy. Thank you for having considered us as your insurer and I'm glad you were able to find a better price for your in the end. I hope you have the best possible year with your new provider. ~Theo, Customer Care
“Very poor service, automatic insurance enroll was increased by 60% without any claims, penalties and having additional year of NCB. Be vigilant and avoid.”
Hello, I'm sorry to see that the price of your renewal wasn't competitive 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/. With online quotes, your information is usually more up to date – this is often the reason for the more competitive price. If you’d like to talk about this, please call our Renewals team on 0333 321 9790. ~Theo. Customer Care
“I'm going to start by saying that it's shameful for you as a company to do something as wrong as this, my bike was stolen then you'll only pay me 91% and of that amount you'll deduct 550 pounds for the excess, then I tried to change the insurance to another bike and the attendant didn't let me, he made a bunch of excuses and said that I had to cancel and I would pay 140 pounds for it, but wouldn't it be better to just transfer the insurance to another bike and I would continue paying, but from what I understand the objective is not to assist It's about the customer, but about making their money, but that's ok, that's what happens when we take out cheaper insurance and you must also be needing a lot to do all this for 140 pounds, that's a shame, deplorable, for me that 140 pounds It's going to make a difference, but I'm not going to go hungry for it, so don't worry, I'll pay the 140 pounds, as a tip and I know that my family and countless friends are also outraged by the way you're treating this and many are already bidding for change insurance company.
And once again I will repeat what I did to the attendant, at no point did I ask for the insurance to be canceled, I just wanted to transfer the insurance but I was denied, I believe it is easier to do that and earn 140 pounds so that I can then take out another insurance, that is you will earn more.
how disappointed I was with this and felt robbed 2 times.”
Hello, I'm very sorry to read about the poor experience you during your claim and while trying to change the bike on your policy. I can understand why not being able to simply amend the vehicle details would have been frustrating.
If you feel that this was poorly handled and you would like to raise a formal complaint, 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. You can find further information about this process here: www.hastingsdirect.com/help. ~Theo. Customer Care
“I've recently joined Hastings in April after being with Peoples choice for years. I wish I never had, from the start I had countless problems and I've lost track of how many times I've spoken to customer services and been passed from person to person. The only person who spoke to me decently was Alberto, although I still have countless problems he at least tried to help and offered solutions. Orginally all my payments seemed incorrect as the app doesn't correspond to what I actually pay (again been transferred to 3 different people and still not fixed). Then my payments started being split and taken at random times without being told and then what I've actually paid doesn't correspond to what Hastings have. Woke up this morning to find another split payment and concerned again that I have no idea what else is coming out. Even customer services said they were confused at where the payments are coming from. I'm sick of having problems and no solutions because I get absolutely fed up and people not seeing what is actually happening and then just give up. Company is so unorganised and has no idea what is going on, I wish I'd never changed. If I could leave now without having more issues I would 100%. I have no intention of staying at renewal unless something changes, unfortunately I have another 9 months though. 3 months in and I'm so fed up and tired of this company, I'd avoid.”
Hello Jodie, I'm very sorry to see that you've had such a poor and frustrating experience with us. We would like to take a look at the policy and help if we can. If you still need help with this or need to discuss the policy, please send us a direct message on X (formerly Twitter) @HastingsDirect or on Facebook.
If you need to raise a formal complaint concerning this, you can do this by visiting www.hastingsdirect.com/about-us/customer-complaints or calling us on 0333 999 8904. When we’ve logged your complaint, we’ll get back to you within five working days. You can find further information about this process here: www.hastingsdirect.com/help. ~Theo. Customer Care
Hello, I'm glad this was such a straightforward experience and that we could offer you a competitive price. Thank you for taking the time to share this and for choosing to insure with Hastings Direct. ~Theo, Customer Care
Hello, I'm 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
“After being quoted a highly renewal price, Eno went above and beyond to help me bring my insurance costs down. Brilliant customer service, polite and super helpful. Big bonus is Eno saved me a significant amount on my insurance. Very happy. Eno is a credit to the team!”
Hello, it's good to see that you got the customer service you deserved from the advisor and that we could offer you a competitive price for your renewal. Thank you very much for renewing with Hastings Direct this year and for taking the time to share your positive experience with us. ~Theo, Customer Care
“Absolute rubbish, impossible to contact anyone when they are threatening you because their equipment doesn't work and like all big companies they are incapable of taking accountability when they can bully the little person instead.”
Hello, I'm very sorry to read about the experience you've had and if you've been made to feel bullied by any of the processes we have in place. If you need any help or you would like to discuss your policy, please email us at customersupport@hastingsdirect.com. We'll do all we can to help you. ~Theo, Customer Care
“Awful! Been with them for years , renewal came up all sorted then they cancelled my policy no reason or could give me one hastle I could do without! Found a better insurance company who you can easily talk to on the phone!”
Hello, I can appreciate the frustration this can cause. At the point of each renewal the acceptance criteria is reviewed and as a result the perceived risk posed by the policy details can change. It may be the case that on this occasion the policy details cannot be covered because of changes to the criteria and the perceived risk being too high. I am very sorry that this is the case and it's food to see that you were able to find suitable cover for your vehicle or home. ~Theo, Customer Care
“Mrs S Rimell. You took my car cover insurance policy without my knowledge or agreeing. On looking this was also done last year. I spoke to a couple of your staff today 1 a lady whose birthday was also the same as mine. However, I spoke to a man who fully understood my problem and got the payments refunded. I thank you so much I did not get his name but very helpful and nice to talk to Sandra Rimell Birmingham”
Hello Sandra, it's good to see that you got the customer service you deserved and that this was resolved for you. Thank you for insuring with Hastings Direct this year. ~Theo, Customer Care
“I took home & contents insurance with HD last year 2023. The premium was fair and in keeping with the competition on a like for like basis.
Now despite insurance companies saying they have dropped introductory discounts for year one, at renewal my premium jumped by nigh on 60%. HD have no option to speak to a human being as such no way to discuss the grossly inflated premium. Needless to say we have not renewed and have found a like for like policy that is within £5 of HD last year premium”
Hello, I'm very sorry to see that your renewal price rose significantly this year. I can appreciate the frustration this would have caused you. If you need to discuss the price you can reach the Home renewals team on 0333 321 9681 and they can take a look at this for you. I hope that you will be able to find suitable cover for your home and contents soon. ~Theo, Customer Care
“I received an excellent quote for my car insurance and managed to bungle the dates up online. I called Hastings and spoke to Nisha who was very friendly and very helpful. Nisha managed to transfer everything to the correct dates with no fuss. Nisha is a credit to the business and a big reason for taking out this policy.
Thank you Nisha
Aikaterini”
Hello Aikaterini, 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. I’ve sent your comments to the colleague you mentioned and their team leader. If there’s anything else you need assistance with, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. ~Theo, Customer Care
“Had a terrible experience, I filled out all my details with them and was given a quote. Being happy with the quote I went forward with payment, however just before payment the price jumped up nearly £150, I hasent changed anything on the policy, called up and was told nothing could be done. Was guaranteed a price and then tried to con me with an additional £150 with no explanation just before payment. Probably in hopes I wouldn’t notice the change last minute, absolutely appalled.”
Hello Jade, I'm very sorry to read about this. We would like to take a look at the quote of policy for you. If you can, please email the relevant reference number to customersupport@hastingsdirect.com so we can take a look at this for you. ~Theo, Customer Care
“Useless website does not provide any contact details. If you have a question about your policy or need to renew it there is no way to do so as they do not provide phone numbers, email addresses or even web chat.”
“Good service, Excellent price as I've added a 2nd vehicle to my policy. Really pleased with price . So all done and dusted ..Thanks Hastings . Just hope you quote me a good competitive price when my renewal is due.”
Hi, it's good to see that we could offer you the level of cover that you needed at a competitive price. Thank you for leaving a 5-star review with us. ~Theo, Customer Care
Hello, I'm very sorry to read about the experience you've had. The start date is a factor that impacts the cost of our policies. As a result the price can be different depending on when the policy begins or is purchased. Please contact the team if you need to discuss the price at all. They can be reached on 0333 321 9801. ~Theo, Customer Care
“Sara at the renewals team was great! She gave me peace of mind, assisted with any questions I had and made sure to get me the best quote. She was clear when communicating with me and overall was a lovely lady to have assisted myself.
A great representative for Hastings!”
Hello Brooke, 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. ~Theo, Customer Care
“Just been on the phone trying to renew my car insurance, apart from having to pay the amount due. I was very happy with the agent (Lebo Khumalo), he was able to answer all my questions and resolve all my issues ( I was not able to see any details on my online account or the app, been having this issue for the last 3 years, have spoken to numerous agent and still no fix. Lebo was able to fix this straightway.)
In terms of the insurance policy I have been well pleased with the level of service provided. Having been involved in car accidents (no one wants be be in one), the service is of the best I received from the initial call for help to getting a courtesy car and getting me back on the road.”
Hello Shabul, 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. I’ve sent your comments to the colleague you mentioned and their team leader. If there’s anything else you need assistance with, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Thanks.
