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Review of the WiseDriving, Car insurance:

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Black Box draining my car battery

I have been insured with Wise Driving since February 2024, when I purchased my first car. As a young female driver, I would not recommend this company—particularly to new or young drivers. Over the past two years, I have paid approximately £5,500 in premiums. During this time, I maintained an almost perfect driving score, consistently between 91 and 96. For the first year and a half, my experience was positive. The black box was not overly strict, and I appreciated being able to monitor my score online. However, after moving to university, I began experiencing an issue where, if my car was left unused for more than three days, the battery would be completely flat when I returned to it. This had never happened previously, as I used the car daily before moving away. I contacted Wise Driving to ask whether the black box could be causing the issue. Initially, I was told it would not. During a later call, another representative gave me permission to remove the black box temporarily to see whether the battery problem continued, and stated that a replacement box would be ordered as my current one might be faulty. I was told it would arrive within a week, with no mention of any charge. I was also asked to email a photograph of the box connected to the battery for review by the telematics team. I received no response regarding this. I subsequently replaced the car battery with a brand-new one and removed the black box while waiting for the replacement. The garage advised that the telematics device could be draining the battery, as no other faults were found with the vehicle. I provided this information to Wise Driving. During the period without the box installed, the new battery functioned perfectly and did not fail once, suggesting the device may have been the cause. A few weeks later, I still had not received a replacement. Instead, I was informed by email that my policy would be cancelled within seven days due to a lack of black box activity. When I called, I was told that no replacement had actually been ordered and that I would need to pay £45 for a new device. This was extremely frustrating, as I had removed and disposed of the original unit based on the earlier advice and had not been told there would be a charge. Wise Driving said they would conduct an internal investigation into my complaint. They later responded that I had only been told I would receive a free replacement if the telematics team identified a fault based on the photograph I had sent. They claimed no fault was found—although it is unclear how a battery-drain issue could be diagnosed from a single image, particularly when a qualified garage had suggested this was the likely cause. I paid for the new box so that my policy could continue. After installation, the problem immediately returned: my brand-new battery went flat again. At this point, I had already paid for: * A replacement battery * A battery charger * A new telematics device All while continuing to pay approximately £150 per month for insurance. When I contacted Wise Driving again to discuss cancelling my policy, which had only three months remaining, I felt there was little understanding of the situation. I raised safety concerns about potentially being stranded late at night if my car failed to start while travelling to and from my university job. The focus of the conversation instead shifted to the fact that I had not yet declared my new part-time employment, despite only just starting the role. I was told I would need to pay around £150 for a diagnostic test and that reimbursement would only be considered if the black box was proven to be at fault. As a student, I explained that I could not afford this. I was also informed that cancelling the policy would incur a fee of approximately £250. Even if the device were proven to be the cause, I was told this fee would still apply, despite Wise Driving being a black-box-only insurer. After paying roughly £5,500 over two years and maintaining an excellent driving record, I found the lack of practical support extremely disappointing. Reviewed on: 17th February 2026

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