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Hastings Direct: Car Insurance reviews

Name: Car Insurance
Rating: 3.16 (638 reviews)

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3.09

Based on 638 reviews, last reviewed 22nd Nov 2024

26% decrease in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

57% decrease in 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

34%

20%

34%

Latest highest rating:

5

Sensible approach to black box (You Drive) policy. I had a black box (You Drive) policy. My car needed repairs which took several weeks and meant I wasn't driving it. Hastings Direct contacted me askin... Read more Reviewed on: 20th October 2024

Latest lowest rating:

2

Loyalty means nothing Been with them for 5 years, suddenly they “can’t” renew my insurance but will not tell me why. “It’s not on the system” there’s no explanation whatsoe... Read more Reviewed on: 22nd November 2024

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About this product

Looking for your new car insurance provider? Check out the Hastings Direct car insurance reviews on Smart Money People, left by genuine customers to help you make an informed decision when choosing your next provider.

Founded in 1997, Hastings Direct offers car, van, bike and home insurance, providing flexible policies with a wide range of optional extras. Its car insurance policies come with varying levels of cover, alongside a telematics policy, YouDrive, which rewards good driving with lower renewal rates.

What factors do you consider to be most important when choosing a car insurance provider? Are you looking for a telematics policy that can save you money? Perhaps you require breakdown cover or courtesy car cover? What about windscreen cover, or protection from vandalism? Whatever your needs, check out our Hastings Direct car insurance reviews to see how existing customers rate their policies.

Have you had a Hastings Direct car insurance policy? Share your experience with the Smart Money People community to help us increase trust and transparency in financial services. Tell us how satisfied you were with the price of the premium, and whether you managed to find cover for all of your needs? If you’ve had a YouDrive policy, did you find the scoring of your driving fair, and did you find a noticeable discount on your renewal? Leave a Hastings Direct car insurance review today and help other drivers.

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Hastings Direct Car Insurance reviews (638)

A Scam to increase the premium and poor service

I moved from LV to Hastings Direct recently. I got a quote and paid the full premium. I checked my documents online and thought all was well. Weeks later I received a request to 'validate' some documents which I sent to them. I heard nothing so phoned and was told all was in order. Weeks later I received a message to call them urgently. They now claim I had entered my purchase date wrongly e.g. 2015 and not 2016. and now want an EXTRA £97.00. I have explained that I had checked all was OK when I submitted the documents and I had been told all was OK. I had also checked my document so this had not been wrong. I therefore disputed this amount and was told someone would call me in 4 days - did NOT happen. Today I have received a letter saying I have to pay or they will cancel my insurance despite the fact I have paid in full premium they quoted. I phoned them and explained this was in dispute but they have told me I HAVE to pay or they will CANCEL my insurance. This must be extortion. The service is awful I am put on hold for ages. I have spent untold time trying to sort this out and am still no further forward. The CRD ( complaints Resolution department) apparently will take up to 8 weeks to call me - they must be very busy ! I wish I had never taken insurance out with this company who are just trying to increase the premium for no reason. I believe this is a scam to get more money as it is done after your have a right to cancel without charge. If I cancel now they want another £45 to cancel the policy. I will update the saga once I have spoken to the CRD. Im a very unhappy customer who is fed up with being ripped off ! Reviewed on: 23rd September 2016

Worst company I have had the misfortune of dealing with!

I had problems for the entire year of my policy and would not recommend this company to anyone. I ended up paying £100 more than I was quoted by simply informing them of the number of years my additional driver had held a license. On their website the option was "over 20 years" when they called and asked for a definitive number (25 years) this suddenly increased by £100. No matter how much I argued that 25 years is the same as "over 20 years" they were adamant the quote was no longer valid. Once the box was installed I had multiple issues as the box wasn't registering the correct time of day the car was in use and wasn't picking up the "breaking" data correctly. It took multiple calls and over two weeks for me to be put through to the maintenance team who informed me this was due to the box being a new installation and to give it 6 weeks to settle. During these 6 weeks I received numerous threats from the company regarding policy cancellation. I both emailed and called the Customer Service Team, they confirmed what the maintenance team said regarding the 6 week "settling in" period but still carried on with the cancellation threats. The telephone manner was absolutely disgusting and even after speaking to the manager I ended up placing a formal complaint with the head office. I only had a suitable response when I threatened to report the company to the Ombudsman. During the first two weeks of my policy I decided I would like to cancel my policy and move to a better company. Policy cancellation is supposed to be free in the first two weeks, they imposed £450 worth of charges which they refused to confirm; 1) what they were all for and 2) why this was not free as stated both online and in all the documents I received. I have had further issues since my policy has ended with the company refusing to remove the black box unless I pay £150, I was told upon setting up the policy that this was free after the first year. They have also still not sent out a copy of my No Claims Bonus, it has been almost two weeks since my policy has ended. I have emailed and called and still no certificate. I'm concerned this is going to affect my new policy as I need to provide proof within 28 days and Hastings are no help at all. UPDATE: I have since emailed the email address below along with sending further emails to the team that have been dealing with my NCB certificate issues. Twice I have been sent the certificate, both times with substantial errors. The first document stated the same number of years as when my policy started and also stated I was at fault in an accident a number of years ago. They resent the certificate, this time with the correct number of years but still stating I was at fault. I would like to say it's an error I made but seen as the policy was setup over the phone this is the result of (another) incompetent member of staff incapable of inputting correct data. Multiple emails have been sent and not one person has bothered responding. I have tried calling after work for the last 3 nights between 5pm and 8pm, each time I have spent in excess of 30 minutes on hold (which I'm being charged for!) and then the line seems to give up or my call is being knocked off because someone obviously wants to go home at 8pm on the dot. I will be contacting the FCA again as my new insurer cannot cover me much longer without valid NCB proof. I have never dealt with such an incompetent company. Customer service is non-existent and it's safe to say they would have better service if they employed wild animals. Reviewed on: 23rd September 2016

Don't bother

They maybe cheap but it has definitely been a case of what you pay is what you get for me. After being in a no fault accident this insurance company and claims management company have outdone themselves to accommodate the third party insurers instead of me the policy holder and the NOT AT FAULT driver. I've been lied to, claim handlers consistently contradict each other with each call. It's extremely difficult to get through to claims each time I've called (8 times now) I've been on hold more than 35 minutes. I've been put into a no win situation and am now out of pocket to the tune of £4,000. Oh and to add to the injustice they have taken the outstanding monthly payments from my insurance settlement even though I wanted to insure any new car under the remainder of the policy. I can keep the hire car for an additional 7 days but It may take them 5 days to pay my settlement. Leaving me 2 days to sort out a car if I'm lucky!! Certainly will not be using this company again and would advise people to seriously consider before taking out their own insurance with Hastings. Reviewed on: 22nd September 2016

Good customer service

Always helpful when I call up for renewal Reviewed on: 20th September 2016

Never had any issues...

Myself, my brother and my father have all used Hastings in different variants/ levels of cover and have never had any issues. When my brother had an accident they were quick to communicate with other insurers and swiftly got his car fixed with a car to drive whilst it was in repair! Good prices and helpful customer services, especially when we had a problem buying a car that we had insured that morning! I would recommend , I won't put 10/10 because there are things they could improve. e.g. waiting times and their website! Reviewed on: 19th September 2016

Easy

Great when you have to phone them, deal with everything quickly without any trouble. Reviewed on: 17th September 2016

Competively priced car insurance

Great car insurance and unusual for car insurance if you stay with them they will beat best quote. Reviewed on: 12th September 2016

More focussed on new customers than rewarding existing ones

We were insured with Hastings for a couple of years and had never had any problems with them they were efficient, helpful on the phone and dealt with all queries and changes promptly. However this year when our renewal was due the price had jumped up several hundred pounds despite the fact we had a new car that is cheaper to insure and an extra years no claims discount. I called up to speak to someone about the renewal and see what could be done but they weren't interested and basically told me it was tough luck and that we would have to take our custom elsewhere which wasn't a response I was expecting. Reviewed on: 11th September 2016

Hastings Direct - Competitive Car Insurance

When it comes to Car Insurance - its all about the cheapest like for like cover. This year (for the 1st time in quite a few years), Hastings came up with by far the cheapest quote. No brainer on who I chose. Reviewed on: 10th September 2016

ALL GOOD

Cheap quote so purchased, not had to make a claim so can't comment on how well they deal with them Reviewed on: 31st August 2016

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