Hastings Direct excessive fee...

exceptionalsleeper

Hi guys, I have just changed address of my policy back to my rented property due to other circumstances. Firstly when I got quoted it was much cheaper at my rented property than that of my girlfriend's however, I played the game and the policy was at hers. However, things have changed and I am now back in my own apartment and I have therefore changed addresses. Having contacted Hastings Direct I had the mis-fortune to spend 14 mins in a call queue then 10 mins with their representative who informed me I had to pay a further £17.50 amendment and a £35 admin fee.

I can just about tolerate the £17.50 but the £35 admin fee is way excessive and they only email the documents to print off.

Do you think a complaint would make a difference?

I could have kept quiet but I am honest yet they've got me either way!!!

Cheers Steve

dunstonh

I can just about tolerate the £17.50 but the £35 admin fee is way excessive and they only email the documents to print off.

£35 is not excessive. Indeed it is in the mid typical range.

Do you think a complaint would make a difference?

It may do. There has only been one published case in the FOS publications on complaints and that was a £50 charge (and it was around 6 years ago). The FOS ruled in favour of the insurer as it did not consider the £50 to be excessive.

Personally, I dont think it is excessive either. If you choose to buy a policy that has the servicing charges stripped out of the premium to give a lower premium and instead they charge you on admin when you create admin then you shouldnt be surprised when you are charged admin charges.

Hastings may consider that it isnt worth the hassle to argue with you even if they are in the right. However, you need to be aware in future of what you are buying and the costs involved. That way you wont be surprised at fees you were not expecting.

InsideInsurance

exceptionalsleeper wrote: »

Do you think a complaint would make a difference?

Different companies have different ways of dealing with complaints. Some fold immediately, some make a commercial decision and others stand by their principles.

As has already been said, companies strip out operational cost to get a lower up front premium and then charge admin fees to recoup the costs later. If you dont like admin fees then find an insurer that doesnt charge them but accept you almost certainly will pay a higher up front price. Unfortunately you cant have your cake and eat it

vaio

According to the "sticky" there is only one company that doesn't charge admin/cancellation fees so not exactly spoilt for choice there.

Of the rest, there doesn't (to my eyes) seem to be any reliable correlation between perceived quality of the firm & charges, I suspect it's more a case of charging what they think they can get away with.

Interestingly there are some who say that no refunds are given or that cancellation fees are a % of premium. Can't see either of those surviving an FOS referral

Equally, I suspect most would fold in the face of a complaint rather than face a visit to the FOS, probably on the basis that if 60, 75 or 90% of punters pay then letting the refuseniks off still means they are in profit, much the same logic as "low ball" offers on total losses.

Hastings_Direct_company_representative

Hi Steve,

Thank you for your comment on our fees.
We are completely transparent about our fee structure and charges and all policyholders are advised of fees when they buy a policy, in addition to their full inclusion in our policy booklets and complete disclosure on our website in FAQs at http://www.hastingsdirect.com/ourFees.html.
To help keep our premiums competitive for EVERYONE, fees enable us to share the cost of any extra work that is created. We believe fees represent a fair way to ask customers who create additional work, for example, by changing their car or moving house which effectively means we have to re-rate their policy and reissue all the documentation, to help share some of the cost.

If there is anything that I can help with please feel free to contact me directly at [EMAIL="socialmedia@hastingsdirect.com"]socialmedia@hastingsdirect.com[/EMAIL]

Many Thanks,
Jamie

dunstonh

According to the "sticky" there is only one company that doesn't charge admin/cancellation fees so not exactly spoilt for choice there.

And you assume that information on this forum is accurate? MSE still publishes details on pensions that use a Aviva as an example. The product in question was withdrawn around 4 years ago and not only that, it's replacement has also been withdrawn. I havent looked but when was that sticky updated and does it claim to represent whole of market?

ChopperST

I've just moved away from Admiral partly because of their Admin charges and also because when I rang them to tell them I'd got married it actually increased my premium!

They charged £52.50 to cancel the policy.

Just moved to swift cover and I must say their website is very user friendly and allows you to make most changes to your policy online without needing to ring an expensive call centre.

Admiral seem to now be using Foreign call centres as well for any query to their customer services line...

vaio

dunstonh wrote: »

And you assume that information on this forum is accurate? MSE still publishes details on pensions that use a Aviva as an example. The product in question was withdrawn around 4 years ago and not only that, it's replacement has also been withdrawn. I havent looked but when was that sticky updated and does it claim to represent whole of market?

yep, in the absence of evidence to the contrary I do tend to assume it's accurate but happy to be corrected.

Same response to the whole market issue but you and others keep repeating the "suck it up or pick an insurer that doesn't charge admin fees" mantra without mentioning which insurers this non charging group includes.

Looking at the sticky, you were one of the most recent posters when you posted your standard response to excessive fees posts on 29/6/12

dunstonh wrote: »

If you choose a company that has lower premiums but explicit service charges on certain events then yes, you will get charged. If you choose one that factors admin and service charges into a higher premium instead then you wont.

Maybe you could suggest which insurers don't charge admin fees etc so future posters can choose from the group of insurers that this includes?

Quentin

vaio wrote: »

......Maybe you could suggest which insurers don't charge admin fees etc so future posters can choose from the group of insurers that this includes?

Anyone wanting answers is encouraged to search first.

A simple search (admin fees) finds this recent thread:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/53914483#Comment_53914483

(Post #2)

vaio

well spotted, NFU is on the sticky Allianz needs adding.

Having said that, the post below seems to suggest that Allianz policies sold through brokers do attract a cancellation charge from the insurer in addition the to broker charge

cropton wrote: »

Having recently cancelled an insurance policy, with OneQuote, I was told I owed them money. After talking to one of their customer service representatives he informed me that there was a list of costs apart from the cancellation charge. Despite the charges he listed it was apparent that I was owed money and I asked him to send me a breakdown of the costs.
I never received the breakdown but instead received a letter threatening legal action for the recovery of the £44.38 they insisted I owed.
On phoning them a third time (the second time they cut me off after 20 minutes on hold ) they told me about some other charges: it seems that OneQuote are a broker and I have to pay them a cancellation charge, this I knew about - but they say that I also have to pay the insurance company, Allianz, a cancellation charge too - there are also admin costs, commission and cover costs.
I find it hard to digest that I have to pay two lots of cancellation charges and wonder if this is right?

Quentin

Anyone using a broker for any policy needs to check with their broker as fees could differ.