Watch out for Hastings Direct

***trumpeter***

Check the date your policy expires and cancel beforehand if you don't want your premiums to automatically increase (by 50% in my case)

Do you pay your insurance by monthly direct debit? Hastings Direct might send your renewal notice after the policy has automatically renewed. And then, when you take your business elsewhere, Hastings Direct might just chase you for a £55 cancellation fee. Of course, they will insist that they sent the renewal documents in plenty of time. Unfortunately their automated mail system doesn't postmark the posting date - that's handy for them when they later insist that they posted the documents earlier than the date printed on them!

I caught the dd leaving my account and got onto them straight away (the day after the policy expired) but they're still chasing me. The renewal documents arrived three days later.

I hope this helps someone.

Best wishes, Neil

mikey72

Threaten to report them to the FSA, and maybe the FOS.

_Persephone

You have to take some responsibility for this too, you took out the policy last year, so must have had an inkling that it was going to expire? 'Oh, I haven't had my letter yet and my policy runs out, maybe I should give them a call and see what is going on?'

Too many people rely on the letter to kick-start their renewal proceedings.

I'm not being deliberately horrible - this is what they will say when you try to complain.

_Persephone

mikey72 wrote: »

Threaten to report them to the FSA, and maybe the FOS.

You will not be able to complain to the FOS without having followed their official complaints procedure first.

***trumpeter***

_Persphone you are right - of course - I have diarised a check of each of my annual insurances for a month before its respective renewal next year. However, I should add that I have always switched insurers annually and this is the first time I've even heard of auto renew.

Hastings Direct have apologised for the delay in sending my renewal notice. I believe that they sent it late deliberately. There was no postmark on the envelope, though, so I can't prove it. I think they are sly and conniving. But that's just my personal opinion.

They have taken from my visa account (that's the account I used to pay the initial premium prior to paying by direct debit) the sum of £34, comprising £3.50 for the couple of days gap in my insurance - fairy snuff - and the rest as a cancellation fee. The policy itself was around £200pa, btw.

I'm going to follow their complaints procedure and then complain to the FSA. I don't expect to get anything back but if they are doing this deliberately and enough people complain then maybe the FSA will rebuke them.

Meanwhile, I'm hoping that a few people read this and react as I would.

Thanks for reading, those who got this far.

Best wishes, Neil

Marsh_Samphire

I change insurers annually too, and last year tried Hastings Direct for the first time, big mistake. Despite having got the correct start date on the quote, they started the insurance on a different date, the documents they sent had the wrong details on and then they cancelled it after taking payment, saying it was because I hadn't paid!!! I wondered if they can't even get that right, what would their service would be like in the event of a claim? Needless to say, I didn't stay with them and will avoid them in future.