Hastings Direct - Car Insurance

noobie247

Hi,

My car insurance policy auto-renewed this year and the price was a little more than others, but nothing to worry about. I got the letter confirming the policy has started and that the first payment would be taken on 1st February. The payment wasn't taken until 6th February, and then the next payment was taken on 15th February.

The cost of the insurance is £728.15, and with the extortionate fee on top for paying monthly, my monthly premium is £99.28.

I have found it almost half price online, so I have now gone to cancel, and they are trying to sting me for £129.95 if I were to cancel tomorrow!

I accept the £45 cancellation fee, no problem with that, but an extra £84.95? No way.

That means I would have paid £99.28 + £99.28 + £129.95 (£328.51) for Car Insurance on a car worth £700 for 27 days cover. Considering the premium for a YEAR was £728, this is crazy.

I said via Live Chat that I am happy to pay the £45 and be done with it, even still paying £99.28 + £99.28 for the month which is still ridiculous. The adviser said that is fine but I will then be chased by a debt collection agency for the remainder?

Now am I missing something here or am I literally being taken for a ride?

I would like the Hastings Direct representative to get in contact please because I seriously cannot fathom how you can warrant taking over 50% of my premium for 27 days cover.

Anyone with any advice? Thank you!

sleepymans

you could have tested the market prior to auto renewal and would have avoided all this.....lesson learned?

I detest the car insurance practices which have the motorist over a barrell....but you have to take some personal responsibility

noobie247

Lesson learnt, but how can they do me for 50% of my policy value for 27 days cover? It just doesn't make sense.

Aylesbury_Duck

turnbull21 wrote: »

Hi,

My car insurance policy auto-renewed this year and the price was a little more than others, but nothing to worry about. Then why did you start looking for another quote after the renewal date? I got the letter confirming the policy has started and that the first payment would be taken on 1st February. The payment wasn't taken until 6th February, and then the next payment was taken on 15th February.

The cost of the insurance is £728.15, and with the extortionate fee on top for paying monthly, my monthly premium is £99.28. That does seem high. Is it really almost £500 more to pay monthly?

I have found it almost half price online, so I have now gone to cancel, and they are trying to sting me for £129.95 if I were to cancel tomorrow!

I accept the £45 cancellation fee, no problem with that, but an extra £84.95? No way.

That means I would have paid £99.28 + £99.28 + £129.95 (£328.51) for Car Insurance on a car worth £700 for 27 days cover. Considering the premium for a YEAR was £728, this is crazy. But it was not £728, it is almost £1200.

I said via Live Chat that I am happy to pay the £45 and be done with it, even still paying £99.28 + £99.28 for the month which is still ridiculous. The adviser said that is fine but I will then be chased by a debt collection agency for the remainder?

Now am I missing something here or am I literally being taken for a ride?

I would like the Hastings Direct representative to get in contact please because I seriously cannot fathom how you can warrant taking over 50% of my premium for 27 days cover.

Anyone with any advice? Thank you!

It does seem a very high charge but what did you agree to in the terms and conditions? You were happy with the renewal price and with the extortionate cost of credit when you signed the contract.

noobie247

I was happy enough with the price as it hasn't gone up from last year, but I am getting a new car soon, so thought i'd look, so was obviously shocked to see I could get it cheaper elsewhere. That isn't really worrying me, the main cause for concern is the fact that they are trying to get £129.95 out of me if I were to cancel tomorrow.

I stated I was happy to pay the £45 and be done with it, move on, job done. But to pay more than 50% of the years premium for 27 days cover is complete madness.

If I made a payment on 15th February, I was assuming (dangerous word on here) that I would be insured until 14th March, then I can cancel, and we can go our seperate ways. The girl on Live Chat stated that the payment is requested 4 days before, so I asked to cancel initially on 10th March, where I was then quoted £190 (round a few pence) to cancel on this date.

That would then have meant paying almost £400 for 5 weeks cover, which I'm sure you can see is an absurd amount.

noobie247

I have checked the policy booklet, and it doesn't stipulate much. Extract is as follows:

- If you serve notice of cancellation prior to commencement of cover, you will be entitled
to a full refund of the premium you have paid, less our arrangement fee of £20, our call
centre arrangement fee of £12.50 (if applicable).
- If you or we cancel the policy within the 14 days cooling off period, unless you have made
a claim under the policy, you will receive a refund of premium for the cover you have not
used, subject to our cancellation fee of £25, our arrangement fee of £20, our call centre
arrangement fee of £12.50 (if applicable) and any charge made by the insurer.
- If you or we cancel the policy at any other time, we will refund the part of the premium
you have not used subject to our cancellation fee of £45, our arrangement fee of £20, our
call centre arrangement fee of £12.50 (if applicable) and any charge made by the insurer

As you can see, there is a cancellation fee of £45, arrangement fee of £20, call centre fee of £12.50 and any other charge.

In a nutshell, they are just going to add a figure under the "any other charge" and think it is acceptable?

I have also found the following:

"If you cancel your policy, the instalments you have paid may not be sufficient to pay for the
cover that has been provided and you will need to pay the balance that remains following
cancellation"

The interesting clause here is "the instalments you have paid may not be sufficient to pay for the cover that has been provided and you will need to pay the balance". After making 2 payments, I would have thought I have paid enough for the period of time I have had the cover?

Aylesbury_Duck

turnbull21 wrote: »

I was happy enough with the price as it hasn't gone up from last year, but I am getting a new car soon, so thought i'd look, so was obviously shocked to see I could get it cheaper elsewhere. That isn't really worrying me, the main cause for concern is the fact that they are trying to get £129.95 out of me if I were to cancel tomorrow.

It is all hypothetical though isnt it? You have no need to cancel and incur the charge, you can simply port the insurance over to the new car when you get it.

It might be an extortionate amount but youre not being asked to pay it. You say yourself that the cheaper premium doesnt worry you so whats the problem?