Does anyone have any feedback on Hastings Direct?

MrsShazbat

To finish up my case, all hope is gone (my mechanic was offering Cat N repair but it was a Cat S) and the write-off is going through. Everyone at Hastings that I've spoken to has been really helpful, but I have still done all the calling and chasing and have still yet to hear from my allocated claims handler who they assure me does exist. Probably don't need him now anyway, but it would've been nice for him to call me.

System

I was with them for a few years and they quickly sorted out a non fault claim with another of their policy holders who admitted fault , however despite telling me it wouldn't affect my policy it certainly effected my hubby's it added £300 to his Hastings renewal to have me added needless to say we dropped my name .

MrsShazbat

Got my payout on Monday, they 'forgot' to deduct my annual insurance premium which meant they only deducted the excess and I ended up with more than expected. I mean, it's not going to buy me a new car anytime soon as I need at least another £1000 for like for like, but it was more than expected.
Anyway, I did send in some feedback about my non-existent claims handler and the overpayment - to ensure they weren't going to snatch some back - and they wrote to apologise that the allocated claims handler had taken some unexpected leave that they had failed to cover properly and that I could keep all the money and my insurance would continue as normal. So, a tiny win. Unfortunately 2 days before it was due to be returned my courtesy car was keyed, so that's another chunk of change going out of my pocket. I've also been able to claim back my excess along with the retention fee for my personal plates so that's a bonus (although less so given the vandalism).

I had an updated renewal through today, on the basis that I have temporary use of another car and the cost has gone up about a fiver a month. They also waived the admin fee for changing car details.

The girl who ran in to me called me last night, asking when I was getting a quote from the garage to let her pay for my repairs, so she was probably a bit surprised when I told her my car was a write-off and I no longer had one.

Mrs_Ryan

Quentin wrote: »

How are you able to pass this comment (which is surprisingly contradictory to all others)?

You don't work for them do you??

Not any more but I did when I wrote that post

Mrs_Ryan

MrsShazbat wrote: »

They also waived the admin fee for changing car.

They should do this anyway on a total loss claim

Repeat3Times

Difficult to give them a positive testimonial when their website can't even recognise my car to generate a quote.


So it's a new car, but on the road, registered and legal. Comparison sites find my registration number without complaint and subsequently provide quotes from Hastings, but clicking through to them only results in a "call us" fail. Apart from the amateurishness of that, they readily admit that any thoughts of cashback are waived if you have to resort to the phone because of their own ineptitude.


Another whiff of bait-and-switch.

Shedman

Mrs_Ryan wrote: »

They should do this anyway on a total loss claim

Sorry to restart this thread but I see you used to work for them. Is what you say about them waiving admin fee for putting a replacement vehicle on existing policy after a total loss their standard practice? It's just that they are trying to charge my daughter the admin fee in that circumstance.

In addition they want to charge £105 extra premium (which equates 50% of the original premium of £210) for adding a £2000 (2018 reg) scooter in place of the written off 2016 one that had a value of about £1500...which I think is a ridiculously high additional premium.

Mrs_Ryan

Shedman wrote: »

Sorry to restart this thread but I see you used to work for them. Is what you say about them waiving admin fee for putting a replacement vehicle on existing policy after a total loss their standard practice? It's just that they are trying to charge my daughter the admin fee in that circumstance.

In addition they want to charge £105 extra premium (which equates 50% of the original premium of £210) for adding a £2000 (2018 reg) scooter in place of the written off 2016 one that had a value of about £1500...which I think is a ridiculously high additional premium.

I don’t know about scooters sorry- I only did cars. That would come under the bike cover and I wasn’t trained on bikes or vans. I know the bike policies have different rules.

a.turner

Paulsven wrote: »

Don't be suckered by the price! They will likely ring you after you have taken out the policy to "verify" your policy then tell you based on the answers to their verification questions your policy price has gone up which they'll force you to pay with an amendment fee or cancel...for a fee! Happened to me yesterday and others I have come across on review sites. Might be a new money grabbing tactic. Wouldn't touch them with a barge pole!

If you verified your original answers then there'd be no increase.

reginaldh

Hastings direct are now behaving like gangsters, my car caught on fire and i put it out, there was a melted wire and the damage did not look very severe. I called hastings to repair the vehicle, they collected it and told me they would do an engineers assessment within 4 days. I chased this up every 2 days as they were not giving me information. After 4 days they told me that the engineers assessment was complete and the car was a total loss. I requested to have the vehicle delivered back to me and had the day off work to receive it, it didnt arrive so i called hastings they said the car was on its way and i should wait until it arrives, it never arrived, after a few days the car was delivered to my home. I then spoke to hastings and they said they were not going to pay out as i had requested the car back before the engineers assessment could be done and they were not going to do an engineers assessment. I was actually told on 3 separate occasions that the engineers assessment was complete and it was a total loss.


They are required by law to do assessment within 4 days but after 14 days i had the car delivered and they said they had the car 2 weeks and didnt have time to do an engineers assessment.


Now they will not pay the 10k for the burnt discovery as they say i had the car back before they could do an assessment.


They have figured out how to rip people off, and i have over 14 hours of calls recorded trying to get hastings to do their job, i have now spent 2k on car hire as i have no car or money to repair it or buy another one as i spent all my money renting to get to work.


I also made 2 format complaints via the web chat, but unfortunately they deleted all that evidence and are saying i never made a formal complaint.


I do not know what to do anymore but i have no more time or energy to chase these people for my money, so i will wait and see what happens, then eventually, inevitably i can see myself losing the plot over these gangsters and i will be going out on a mission to get complete satisfaction at which point no amount of money in the world will be enough to give complete satisfaction so something extremely extreme i foresee happening to that hastings direct gangster office.


I have had car insurance 26 years and never made a claim and when my car catches fire these cheating lying manipulating gangsters find a stupid way to not pay out.


DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY AS IT IS FAKE AND YOU WILL NEVER GET A PAYOUT AND THEY ARE CONVERTING NORMAL WORKING CLASS PEOPLE INTO TERRORIST THAT WANT TO FILL A TRANSIT VAN FULL OF EXPLOSIVES AND DRIVE IT THROUGH THEIR FRONT DOOR.