But going back to the original question. Is my only viable option to go with Albany or will choosing my own garage be fraught with obstacles?

Thank you for clarifying.

Yes, it is my fault and have not masked this. Hastings are fully aware of this and they said if I wish to claim for the repair, they will outsource to Albany. So with that in mind, does that credit hire thing apply? As the courtesy car is meant to be provided as stated in my policy.

Thank you all for the replies. It really is a matter of inconvenience that the only approved repairer is so far away. I wouldn't bat an eyelid even if it was in a neighboring town rather than a neighboring county. So am I to assume the courtesy car issue others have been complaining about is not an issue anymore?

Thank you Colin for replying. Well, if it was local I really don't need a courtesy car. Just a 2 minute walk back I can handle but a 25 mile one I cannot. Also, they said because the vehicle is driveable I will need to take it there myself. With regards to approved or not, is there any reason to think a VW dealer or a German car specialist will do a bodge job on my Golf while a Vauxhall workshop won't? It just seems more logical to me.

I am hoping someone with a similar experience can help. This morning I was about to park behind a parked vehicle and did not stop in time causing my bumper to be quite severely bashed in and the front parking sensors have gone funny but the other vehicle just suffered scratches. Anyway, contacted Hastings and gave all the details and explained the incident and the lady I spoked to (Lauren) was polite and helpful. In the end, she told me Albany Assistance will find me a local garage who handle all the repair work which I thought at the time was good. Anyway, I was put through to them and after the formalities, I was told the "local" garage was 25 miles away. I explained the journey there would be at least 40 minutes on a good day and more if there is traffic so hardly "local". Also, I need to drive the vehicle there just for an estimate which is a good hour and a half journey there and back. But i was told that is the closest approved garage to me and when the car comes in for the work, I will be provided a courtesy car so the journey back will be fine. (After reading about the courtesy car issues here, it does not sound that attractive at all.) Anyway, I then googled the garage and it is a Vauxhall garage who is going to handle my Volkswagen Golf. So I called Albany back to ask can i not use a local garage of my choice and one who has more experience with VW. They said, they can cancel this job now, and I should call Hastings back to explain that I would like to use a more local garage so I did. Unfortunately it was about 1pm and Hastings do not think people need to make a claim on a Saturday afternoon because their offices had already closed. Sorry for rambling on, but the question is, I will now need to wait until Monday before I can talk to anyone at Hastings about it so is it likely they will insist on using Albany or can I choose my local VW dealer which is 5 minutes drive away or even a local independent German car specialist which is 2 minutes WALK away rather than a Vauxhall workshop 25 miles away. Does the fact I turned down Albany now delay my car getting fixed anytime soon? And will Hastings 'persuade' me to stick with Albany by incurring fees and hoops to jump through? Any help or words of comfort is much appreciated, I just don't want to stress too much over the weekend. Thank you.