Hastings Direct.. Warning New T&C... AVOID

rudekid48

OP, you don't say if you have in fact sent them proof of your new insurance?

If not, this is possibly the reason why you are being pursued for the money. It is common when dual insurance is in force for the original insurer to request a copy or proof of the new insurance to allow the policy to be treated as NTU (Not Taken Up).

rosie-lee

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

They are not in breach of their terms and conditions - they have made a mistake. They have not mis-used your personal data - they have made a mistake. They have not fraudulently issue a car insurance policy - they have made a mistake.

I can't quite believe I read that.

It is not at all acceptable to 'make a mistake' and then start threatening debt collection agency's.

A Company I would wish to deal with, would apologise. Or at least admit to a mistake. Surely?

MarkyMarkD

Cobby2 wrote: »

Is it also just a convenient mistake that they have removed the wording from their old terms and conditions, the clause that protected consumers from being issued with policys when payment had failed (for whatever reason) ?

I don't understand your view of this clause in their original conditions. It doesn't protect customers, to have a clause which says that they will be uninsured if they happen to have insufficient funds in their account to pay for their insurance. On the contrary, it very protects customers, for their insurance to be auto-renewed irrespective of their payment bouncing, because the insurer is then (as I understand it) required to give a notice period before cancelling the insurance on the grounds of non-payment.

Auto-renewal is not a big conspiracy by insurers to rip off customers. It is an arrangement which prevents large numbers of customers - those who don't read their renewal notices, and don't make alternative insurance arrangements - from being uninsured and consequently breaking the law.

Whilst I appreciate that many other people don't read their renewal documents, DO take out alternative insurance elsewhere, and fail to notify their original insurer and end up dual insured, hate auto-renewal, that doesn't mean that the conspiracy theory interpretation is correct. NOTE THAT I KNOW THAT THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO YOU, OP - this paragraph is a general observation.

It is not something that they have chosen to mention in the accompanying letter either. The letter which draws consumers attention to all the other clauses which have altered in the past year.
Was that a mistake too?

As I think the original clause is stupid, and not in customers' benefit at all, they don't need to mention it as the new wording is more beneficial.

I would have thought their legal team that draw up or revise the terms and conditions document must have proof readers and editors. Have they all made a mistake?

No, see above.

Looks to me like a very deliberate decision on their part, and anyone contemplating renewing or buying a policy from Hastings should be made aware of that change to the terms and conditions.

Anyone taking out any insurance policy should be aware of all of the terms and conditions. So read them.

That is the reason why I highlighted it in my original post, in bold font, and mentioned it in the title of the thread. Warning New T&C... AVOID
and used my experience to illustrate why not having this clause in place can cause consumers to find themselves in debt to Hastings and being hounded by the debt collectors after 7 days from the date of policy issue if payment has not been received.

Maybe you could just have posted "Hastings made a mistake as a one-off situation in respect of my renewal, and I'm not very happy about it".

In regard to my own case, IF they made a mistake, then they should have admitted to their mistake and voided the policy as soon as they were aware of it.

I would have accepted that, but they didn't admit any mistake, and are hounding me for cancellation fees and demanding to see proof of the policy I had taken out with another company.

I quite agree that if they made a mistake, they should simply listen to their recording of your original phone conversation, and reverse the consequences of their mistake. Should be very easy for them to do.

MarkyMarkD

rosie-lee wrote: »

I can't quite believe I read that.

It is not at all acceptable to 'make a mistake' and then start threatening debt collection agency's.

A Company I would wish to deal with, would apologise. Or at least admit to a mistake. Surely?

I don't understand why you can't believe you read what I typed. Nothing I have said is inconsistent with it being a mistake. And I agree that they should apologise.

But, get over it. People make mistakes. That doesn't mean that it makes sense for the entire world to stop buying goods or services from their employers.

mikey72

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

I don't understand why you can't believe you read what I typed. Nothing I have said is inconsistent with it being a mistake. And I agree that they should apologise.

But, get over it. People make mistakes. That doesn't mean that it makes sense for the entire world to stop buying goods or services from their employers.

I think the main reason most people can't believe how the benevolent insurance companies seek to protect the poor misguided customers, is when the auto renewal arrives, it’s up to 100% dearer than it would be taking out a new policy.
And then, even though it may appear they are cynically trying to take advantage, most insurers will drop the price when challenged, and are still happy with the profit.
Also, the friendly insurer quite often forgets to send the renewal until a day or two before, then also doesn’t seem to remember the call declining the offer, and then never receives the letter either.
Strange how they try to help us really.

If they are your employers, maybe you get a better deal than the rest of us, or maybe you get better service too.