“Had pet insurance for a year. Noticed I was down for automatic renew. Went on live chat to cancel that option and was told they were rewording pet insurance policy wording and at renewal to get insurance elsewhere! My dog became poorly and I had to claim. Long story short my pet died. Insurance won’t pay out because my policy did not cover me for scans/xrays! Only for £50 worth of medication! How can you find out what is wrong with your pet without a scan or xray. Do not use this company, absolutely disgusting service! I never did get anything in writing about them cancelling their pet insurance.”
“JUNK. Wouldnt recover me because I didnt have a spare wheel.
IM ON A MOTORCYCLE!
"Sorry sir policy says no recovery unless you have these"
Ill make sure i carry a spare wheel, jack and tyre every time i ride in future - how silly of me!
Filed a complaint, 8 weeks return - got no response (they just say 8 weeks clearly so you move on)”
“A truly dreadful and exploitative company. I bought a 10-day European breakdown recovery policy specifically to travel to France. Our clutch hydraulics broke and I called the claims hotline. The operator spoke very slowly and coldly and asked 15 minutes of questions whilst sounding bored and disinterested only to tell me that my vehicle and family couldn't be recovered due to me "not informing them in advance that I was travelling abroad". We're a family of five with young children that were left abandoned on a Saturday afternoon struggling to find any breakdown service in rural France to help us. In the end we were stranded for three days. Nova Direct is a scam, I cannot express my disgust strongly enough.”
“Got European Breakdown with Nova. Unfortunately we broke down on the way to Dover but they got it all sorted out. Took around an hour to be recovered, but it’s half term so that’s understandable”
“Amazing customer service and support from their claims team. Had an issue with my policy it was resolved within 5 minutes on live chat. William assisted me there after I was able to raise a claim with no hassles at all”
“I’d give it a zero if I could I was fully covered but due to a bad signal and not understanding the other person on the phone and answering one question wrong due to this they left me stranded. Please don’t use this company”
“They will do everything they can to not approve you claim. Make sure to read the terms and conditions VERY carefully, because they will take every detail and use it to avoid coming to your assistance at the roadside. They are absolute scam artists and know exactly what they are doing.”
“PPLEASE DO NOT GET ANY INSURANCE WITH THIS CIMPANY!
I was travelling in France and my car broke down on A26 on the way to Calais and unfortunately I had to call them to be recovered from the motorway!
Spend over hour on the phone and been told that i haven't notified them a I was travelling to France but when I specialy get the breakdown cover for this reason to travelling to France!
Been left in the middle of motorway withoutany help family of for in the cold in the winter!
Disgusting ripp off company not an insurance company!
They should be there to help people not to live them in the winter on the middle of motorway in France!!!
NEVER GET A INSURANCE WITH THIS COMPANY!!!”
“Do not use scam company
Paid for breakdown cover
Unfortunately I had to call them as I had a breakdown on my van
They asked what has happened
I said “my van turns over but will no start
They said I am not covered as the breakdown is a electrical problem and it’s not covered in the cooling off period
I called a mechanic who came out and said it’s a mechanical problem timing chain had stretched and the sensor has kicked in to stop the van starting
I called them back and they said they will not recover the vehicle
Thank god this wasn’t my wife or daughter that had broke down
Just imagine if someone breakdown on a motorway or late at night and you get this response
You cannot call them as it’s online only please don’t put your family and friends at risk
I sent them an email to ask for a refund but no joy
I went with them because they were the cheapest
Silly me 😳”
“DO NOT TAKE PET INSURANCE WITH THIS COMPANY! To make a claim, you must first pay the vet bill, then pay Nova Direct the excess fee, then pay the rest of the contract direct debits before they will look at your claim. They require all kinds of documentation, proof of ownership, proof of vaccinations, proof of microchip, medical history to name but a few. Then they will offer you a fraction of the claim. Also, you cannot speak to anyone on a phone. As a previous reviewer mentioned, when checking prices, Nova Direct came up as £12.50 per month, but the actual DD was for £14.99 per month - when I questioned this, they said that was the price of it - either stick with it or pay the cancellation fee! My vet bill was almost £400 which I had to pay up front. When I made the claim, I had to pay the Excess fee of £100, then the rest of the DDs at almost £50. They offered me £81.87p. I have now closed the claim, and at least I will get my £100 back (hopefully!). Other insurers are so easy to use where the bill is settled between the insurance company and the vets. This has been a nightmare from the start - I went through all that for absolutely nothing. Please be warned - do not use this company.”
“Useless beyond belief.
Useless. You get what you pay for. I have bronze cover and been with them 2 yrs with no need to use them but the one time you need them, they have 1 chance to provide the service and they failed miserably.I drove my car to work and when I came out, it wouldn't start. After speaking to help desk, I was offered EITHER road side assistance OR tow to a garage or home, but not both. If I opted for road side and he couldn't start/fix car, that would be it and I wouldn't be recovered, but left at work and that would be the end of their service. Anyway, asked for roadside repair and after 2 1/2hr wait, I gave up and got a taxi home. Terrible. Looks like AA for me next year.”
“Absolute travesty of a business. I would very strongly advise staying well away from Nova Direct. Firstly it took me 45 minutes to link my policy to my account due to technical issues their end, no ability for phone support here. Luckily they have live chat during the working day but it was chocolate tea pot help "it works for me so it should for you" was essentially the response I got. Finally it just worked after the 50th attempt with no change to what I was doing.
I then cancelled my policy at a charge of £9 (fine with that). Following my cancellation I got an email saying I needed to pay for the remaining 6 months on the policy. So here is where my issue is. Yes if you read the small print in the terms this would be stated so legally they are in their right to do this. At no point during the cancellation was I reminded of this though, that's just shady business practise. Additionally, why was I charged £9 if I had to pay the remaining balance anyway. I would have just kept the policy until it ran out if I knew and been better off.
Absolute shocker, stay away for the love of god!”
“Don’t bother ringing Nova
I spent 90 minutes trying to ring them then got cut off tried again for another 30 mins got cut off
If they can’t answer phone I can only imagine how long they’d send recovery
What a waste of time”
“Whatever you do, don't purchase breakdown cover through this company. I broke down woth a blow out, as well as engine problems near to the highest point of the M62 westbound. When I got through to the call handling centre (apparently a separate entity to Nova breakdown insurance, but operate from the same building) I was met with a call operator whose sole objective was to use the traumatic situation that I was in, with my wife and 10 year old daughter, on a windswept hill, absolutely freezing, with lorries howling by, to extract extra costs (£40.00 to send a mechanic out and replace the wheel) or £140.00 if I wanted a tow truck, as he had determined that my car had gone into 'limp mode' and therefore my full cover, was made void under those circumstances! I ended up paying a breakdown guy which was patrolling that section of the motorway, as he was accustomed to do, a £120.00 fee to take my car away. In my 35 years of driving, I've never experienced a breakdown company like this one. When you try to complain, it is impossible to speak to a human being to voice your complaint. Steer well clear of this shocking company!”
