Hastings Direct have Cancelled My Car Insurance!
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SDK1234
Posts: 2 Newbie
Hastings Direct contacted me today to tell me they will be cancelling my car insurance policy apparently for "online activity", presumably on confused.com. Nine days before policy was due to start. I paid them in full a few days ago.
They also told me wouldn’t be making a full refund. Instead they wanted to charge me a £20 admin fee even though they were the ones to cancel the policy. Apparently it is in their T&Cs which seems grossly unfair.
The information I supplied them when actually taking out the policy was 100% accurate and double checked prior to actual purchase. But it didn’t seem to matter to them. I've never had a claim in the last 25 years.
However I was told because I used different job titles on the online quote sites they could not trust the information I supplied.
I told them that I changed profession and was curious to know what impact it would have on premiums on the portals. They told me the price comparison sites were not for playing round with and they have taken the different quote submissions on confused.com with different job titles as signs of "fraud" and have cancelled the policy.
Seeing that moneysavingexpert and other sites, including the comparison sites, recommend playing around with different information, this is a serious issue and consumers need to be warned! Presumably I should have used “dummy data” rather than indentifying attributes.
I would be grateful if someone with insurance expertise could advise me as what to do especially in light of the fact that I will now forever have to declare that I’ve had an insurance policy cancelled when taking out new insurance. Which in it self is a serious issue that will plague me for many years and may result in increased premiums or insurers will simply choose not to quote.
To add insult to injury they won’t even give me full refund of the premium I’ve paid.
They also told me wouldn’t be making a full refund. Instead they wanted to charge me a £20 admin fee even though they were the ones to cancel the policy. Apparently it is in their T&Cs which seems grossly unfair.
The information I supplied them when actually taking out the policy was 100% accurate and double checked prior to actual purchase. But it didn’t seem to matter to them. I've never had a claim in the last 25 years.
However I was told because I used different job titles on the online quote sites they could not trust the information I supplied.
I told them that I changed profession and was curious to know what impact it would have on premiums on the portals. They told me the price comparison sites were not for playing round with and they have taken the different quote submissions on confused.com with different job titles as signs of "fraud" and have cancelled the policy.
Seeing that moneysavingexpert and other sites, including the comparison sites, recommend playing around with different information, this is a serious issue and consumers need to be warned! Presumably I should have used “dummy data” rather than indentifying attributes.
I would be grateful if someone with insurance expertise could advise me as what to do especially in light of the fact that I will now forever have to declare that I’ve had an insurance policy cancelled when taking out new insurance. Which in it self is a serious issue that will plague me for many years and may result in increased premiums or insurers will simply choose not to quote.
To add insult to injury they won’t even give me full refund of the premium I’ve paid.
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Comments
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Hastings Direct contacted me today to tell me they will be cancelling my car insurance policy apparently for "online activity", presumably on confused.com. Nine days before policy was due to start. I paid them in full a few days ago.
They also told me wouldn’t be making a full refund. Instead they wanted to charge me a £20 admin fee even though they were the ones to cancel the policy. Apparently it is in their T&Cs which seems grossly unfair.
The information I supplied them when actually taking out the policy was 100% accurate and double checked prior to actual purchase. But it didn’t seem to matter to them. I've never had a claim in the last 25 years.
However I was told because I used different job titles on the online quote sites they could not trust the information I supplied.
I told them that I changed profession and was curious to know what impact it would have on premiums on the portals. They told me the price comparison sites were not for playing round with and they have taken the different quote submissions on confused.com with different job titles as signs of "fraud" and have cancelled the policy.
Seeing that moneysavingexpert and other sites, including the comparison sites, recommend playing around with different information, this is a serious issue and consumers need to be warned! Presumably I should have used “dummy data” rather than indentifying attributes.
I would be grateful if someone with insurance expertise could advise me as what to do especially in light of the fact that I will now forever have to declare that I’ve had an insurance policy cancelled when taking out new insurance. Which in it self is a serious issue that will plague me for many years and may result in increased premiums or insurers will simply choose not to quote.
To add insult to injury they won’t even give me full refund of the premium I’ve paid.
Indeed you should have used dummy data.
When you use any insurance portal they always have declarations you must agreed to by either clicking a box or continuing a quote on those conditons. In Confused case it saysPlease answer all questions honestly and to the best of your knowledge. Failure to do so could affect your level of cover or any claims you make. By continuing, you’re agreeing to our terms & conditions and privacy policy.
Even further in those T&C's it statesYou are solely responsible for answering all questions honestly, completely and to the best of your knowledge, and also for ensuring that any assumptions are correct. Failure to do so may lead to your policy or product being declared invalid or increase in its cost. You may also be liable for any third party costs in the event of an accident.
Protest your innocence with Hastings, Hope they are in a good mood and refund, If not raise a complaint and go through their process if no change take it to FOS after Hastings final response.
Best of luck.Save £12k in 2019 -0 -
Complain formally as per
https://www.hastingsdirect.com/about-us/customer-complaints.shtml
Escalate to FOS if they reject it. FOS is more customer friendly
If you supplied your correct job title (which you can support with work contract) and paid for that then you should be able to get the cancellation removed.0 -
The correct job title doesn’t always help. My son and my wife have jobs that are not on the insurance list.0
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This thread may be of interest to you, and shows this situation can be challenged (with Hastings, no less!)
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5838104&highlight=car+insurance+cancelled&page=2#topofpage
Surprised Hastings are still playing this games, TBH. Not pleased as I'm insured with them, but hey ho.0 -
Not the first time I've heard this WRT Hastings. As this is the way they choose to treat their customers, there's no way I'm ever buying anything from them.0
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Having the exact same issue aboloutly clueless on what to do .... have you managed to sort this out or not .
Any help would be much appreciated !0 -
Not the first time I've heard this WRT Hastings. As this is the way they choose to treat their customers, there's no way I'm ever buying anything from them.
Is that because you intend to lie on future insurance applications? Sounds like they are the ones dodging a bullet there....:T0 -
Playing around with the Job title bit is not what I call indicative of fraud, What if I were thinking of job change and how it would affect my premium?
I also don't think the terms and conditions above is intended to be used a blanket to cancel a premium in this case either as it states it affects your LEVEL of Cover or claims the mere mention of level of cover means there IS cover to a degree, and well the claims bit is of no use here.
It may also state further along the lines:
"You are solely responsible for answering all questions honestly, completely and to the best of your knowledge, and also for ensuring that any assumptions are correct. Failure to do so may lead to your policy or product being declared invalid or increase in its cost. You may also be liable for any third party costs in the event of an accident"
So it states any assumptions are yours to make so long as they correct and to answer them honestly and completely TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLADGE, so you can show your assumption was correct with evidence of job title I.E employment contract.
It doesn't state that they can trawl through server cookie data and look at your online activity in order find something they could they assume is fraudulent and lower the bar of the contract to favour themselves "we assume it to be true therefore it is", Contract is a two way door what they hold you to is the bar they must hold themselves to, they made an assumption that the cannot accurately state is correct true and honest andthat you intend to deceive or defraud them.
Again where in the contract doess it state Pre-purchase actions on a consumer website to where we have access could Void, Cancel or affect the level of cover or affect a claim.
What is their official processes upon discovery of Pre-Contractual online activity?
Did they write to you for evidence of your employment status?
Is your employment status listed on their website, I know they never used to have my official title of employment "Fresh Water leakage technician" the only thing the had close was "sewerage worker" I had to ring them, and even then they (my insurers not Hastings) had it wrong one by listing me as "construction worker".
I don't see how Hastings will be able to justify their actions. Ombudsman has spanked them hard in similar circumstances.
Follow their complaints provide evidence of your job title and either ask for re-instatement of policy or if you choose at this point a full and final refund and Void Cancelled policy removed From industry databse, then if no joy demand a deadlock letter go onto FOS I would.0 -
atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »Playing around with the Job title bit is not what I call indicative of fraud, What if I were thinking of job change and how it would affect my premium?
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That might be one of those things that you'd do better and ringing them up about, as it's a fair and innocent question. Playing around with a job title might just trigger some warning on the system even if it doesn't record what the job title changes were because they might think you were trying to game the system0 -
That might be one of those things that you'd do better and ringing them up about, as it's a fair and innocent question. Playing around with a job title might just trigger some warning on the system even if it doesn't record what the job title changes were because they might think you were trying to game the system
It May have come from the cookie data depending on the server setup. They will have known her visit and or her real information regarding the previous quotes as the server will log these if that server and website are configured to collect that personal information, They have obviousy compared these cookies, to the end contract user being the OP.
If they don't have her real info stored on the server end theyre just guessing who did the dummy quotes from the OP's computer. in which case, they have NO real basis to suspend or void her policy.0
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