Car repair cost amount to the approx. value of the car, your customer service tell me they can send salvage agent to collect ( then they will valve car and negotiate a value) how about don't be silly its going nowhere till any payment is agreed and cleared, or 2/ they can send an independent assessor out and I could then decide how I want to proceed and if he deems car a write off it will be categorised whether I claim or not (so your devaluing my vehicle if I don't claim but an assessor come to inspect it ( sounds like a bad joke) 3/ or I can choose a repairer of my own and my excess will be doubled (so a more reasonable repair shop you will pay less towards repair I will have to pay more seems my only option would be buy car back and get it repaired (which shouldn't be a problem as its still roadworthy (so local fiat agent tell me) seems that's a no go also, where does the comprehensive come into it, and realistically what can I do, because you're not working within the consumer rights as your excess policy is attemption to adversely affect my descision

2 days ago I was the victim of a crime in my local town. There was an armed robbery in one of our local shops where thankfully nobody was hurt. The getaway car that the robbers used was dumped in a back street where I live and set it on fire. Unfortunately for me, the car was dumped beside where my car was safely and securely parked as a result of the heat from the enormous blaze, the back end of my car has been damaged. The plastics covering the bumper, lights and badge on my boot were all melted and cracked and my boot door was all discoloured. It's a wonder that it survived the fire at all really what with the size of the fire. I contacted Hastings Direct as I have my insurance policy with them (Hastings Premier - not so premier if you ask me) who told me that even though my no claims bonus was protected in cases of vandalism, I was going to lose my no claims bonus. After hours on the phone and being sent from pillar to post, I finally reached a competent member of staff who assured me that it would be noted on my account that I was NOT at fault, but that I would definitely lose my no claims. What is this about? It is ridiculous! I am not at fault! This was all reported to the police and I have a crime reference number which was given to Hastings Direct, along with numerous photos of the car damaged, and the firemen putting out the fire. The firemen filed a report, as did the police! Can anyone offer me any advice at all please? I am at my witts end and feel like I am treated very unfairly!

Well what can I say hasting direct smart miles black box insurance, what a joke their black box,s are, they constantly record their data wrong and their accuracy is appalling, my son has been doing his best to keep a good rating and had been doing a pretty good job of it until 2 days ago when he got an extreme speeding warning saying he was doing 61 in a 30 and they had it pinpointed to a place called sambrook crescent, a small cul-de-sac I checked his route on the smart miles map and to my supprise his journey takes him on a dead straight line through the middle of sambrook crescent which is impossible as sambrook crescent is a twisty culdesac and impossible for his 1.0 polo to hit 61mph there sambrook crescent does back onto the bypass which is a 60mph limit, the gps on the black box was out and you can see this from his journey map but hastings direct say there is nothing they can do as the box is never wrong although its plain to see.. i would warn any one thinking of taking a policy up with these people not to bother, their customer service people are the worst ive ever come across and do absolutely nothing to help you, but they are top notch at fobbing you off

Looking for some advice. I've just changed my address with Hastings Direct and, as well as charging me £25 for the pleasure, they have also added an extra £40 onto my car insurance premium. I would be fine with this if I had moved to a higher risk area but I've put my details into comparison websites and the Hastings Direct website using my old and new addresses and I should actually be saving money by moving. In fact their own website has given me a quote that is over £150 cheaper with my new address! I've tried phoning and emailing to get some justification for the extra charge but I keep getting fobbed off with "that's a deal for new customers" or "we're only the broker, we don't make the prices up" or "once charges are put on the account we can't tale them off so there's nothing I can do". I feel that I am being taken advantage of here and I am sick to death of big multi-million pound companies trying to grab every last penny they can. I am absolutely disgusted with Hastings Direct. Can anyone offer some advice or tell me how to get them to listen to what I am saying?!

Wifes car was run into last week so rang Hastings to register claim which is going through ok as they admitted liability. However realised today due to a big phone bill the call was charged at 41.75+vat. I am completely shocked at this especially as it wasnt our fault. I've registeted a complaint with Hastings to try and sort this out as this seems totally unacceptable to me. Has anyone else had similar issues? Who is the best ones to turn too if no luck with Hastings?

I'm not sure but maybe you guys are... but is it a norm to charge for "direct debit interest charge"? For me, it's £93.34. Seems excessive. Thanks

I'm just wondering where I stand with admin fee's, I've just had to phone up to add commuting to my motor insurance policy. It was a five minute phone call and there was no change to the price of the policy just a £35 admin fee! I didn't moan at the time as they previously waived an admin fee (I didn't realise I had to declare windscreens and cancelled claims when setting up the policy) I had to do a fair bit of moaning to get that one waived and didn't want to push my luck but seriously how can it cost £35 to add something to an existing policy?

I am really confused with Hastings Direct Smartmiles. am 25, got my license 4 months ago and got myself a little car a couple of days later. A couple of issues I have had with them, Issue 1: Insured it with Hastings direct Smartmiles as it seemed to be a good policy and for a good price. Set up my appointment to have the blackbox fitted all fine. The night before the engineer was due to come in the morning and fit the blackbox (which was a couple of days before the end of the two week grace period due to my hectic work schedule) I got a call saying they wouldnt be turning up as the engineer had been taken ill, all fine and understandable so re-arranged it for a few days later. Again the night before I got another call saying the engineer would not be coming due to where I live. Hang on, they knew where I live when the original appointment was set up (and when I took out the insurance) how are they only just realising the engineer can't get here? Then told i would have to go to an authorised installer over 18 miles away to get it installed, annoying and so much for the installation being at my convenience. this was set for a weeks time, way past the grace period, which of course meant I was getting hounded by letters and calls threatening to cancel my insurance policy as I hadnt had the box installed. called them multiple times to explain the situation and confirm it wasnt my fault it was theirs and they promised not to cancel. Carried on getting the letters. the morning of the appointment i get a call from the installing garage asking me about my appointment as they had only just been told about it . I confirmed it and explained the situation to them and they were very short to me about it due to the short notice which was understandable. Got it done, then got home to put in a complaint to hastings re all the touble and threats id recieved they said they would investigate it. A few days later I get a letter from them saying the issue had been resovled and id be getting a £90 refund from the installation team due to my issues. great. Except I NEVER got it. Issue 2: Fast forward a few months and im involved in an accident (not serious) which i agreed liability to as Id been pulling out onto a main road , (the other person hadn't seen me pulling out and therefore hadn't slowed down). They got a small amount of damage (A smashed headlight and a dent in the bonnet), my car was written off. eventually when my car had been taken away and inspected by an engineer to confirm it was a write off, the engineer said I would recieve back the valuation of the car £1250 minus my excess which was £95. she asked me how I would want the money to be paid with me either bank transfer or cheque, I stated bank transfer please. Another week later (17/08/2016) i finally receive a text from hastings saying that my claim had been settled and I would recieve my payment within 7 days. Finally I thought, I can start looking for another car! Today (24/08/16) I called them during my lunch break to ask about my payment as I had not received it they said it had been authorised on the 19th. Got home and there was a cheque waiting for me. Funny bank transfer huh. Heres the good bit, the cheque was for £741, over £400 pounds less than I had been told! Straight onto the phone to them again to find out what had happened apparently as well as the excess they had also taken the £400+ as I pay monthly to pay the rest of my insurance for the year(which I hadnt been told would happen, just minus the excess), even though I had been previously told that my insurance had been suspended waiting for me to cancel it if i wanted. He explained that I had 30 days to add another car onto my policy (which I also hadnt been told). I informed him that I wasnt going to add another car onto my policy as I was thinking of getting a policy with the main arm of hastings when i got another car as i didnt want the black box anymore, and why have i been made to pay for the whole years insurance when Id only had it a few months and wasnt going to keep it anymore . Suddenly he was speechless and didnt know what to say anymore, then said maybe you should speak to the total loss team as they were handling it. He then put me on hold again for a while (about 5-10 mins) said they seem quite busy do you want to call back, i asked to be transferred. Another 5-10 mins later and someone picks up, i explain the previous conversation and she says i have not idea what to do about that the people you were speaking to deal with all that stuff, but its just gone past 6 pm so they cant speak to you any more about it today. She then even laughed a little and admitted it saying 'yeah probably' when i said 'oh thats just typical thats probably why they transferred me here then' Has anyone else had a similar experience or even heard of being made to pay for the whole years insurance when they dont even know if you will be keeping it any more. Im fed up with this company, safe to say they will never be getting any more business from me or my family again, I'd rather pay a bit more to someone else that have customer service like this! If anyone has had a similar experience or has any advice on what I could do I'd be very grateful!

hi I am writing on here because I am at my wits end. Hastings have done nothing but pass me from pillar to post, the have even told me lies ,which can be proved as they have told me they record all phone calls, unless that is yet another lie, this will be my second post today ,my first was to watchdog, hopefully someone can help me sort this out,i will also be looking to see where else I can post my experience.my son had a head on collision on the 6 sept it is now 21 sept,I will not mention any names etc,only the relevant information, the liability is still under dispute, however the accident investigator is confident we can prove my son was 100 % not at fault, any way the car was classed a total loss within a week, so the nationwide courtesy car was taken back, but was replaced with a car from Albany assistance which he is still using. This is a bit muddled up sorry, Hastings were on the verge of accepting 50/50 until I explained the photographs in detail, also my son has the black box fitted which records data, speed braking etc. etc,so after some digging around and numerous phone calls the decided to send the investigater.he is the only person we have spoken to that is interested in getting the truth.in the mean time Hastings say they will take my sons excess of 640 plus any remainder premiums on the policy from the cheque, that will leave him with around 50 to buy another car, but its ok according to Hastings because his insurance wlll be paid up to renewal date, no good when you haven't got a car to insure. so top and bottom of it ,you are only insured until you have a total loss then its your future premiums that are insured, so Hastings get my sons excessively high excess and his remainder premiums totalling around 2240 all in. then they will be able to claim all that back from the third party, so its a win win situation for them, they basically get paid twice if you have a total loss, even if you're not at fault. oh also forgot to mention we received a letter increasing his premiums by 200 a month, when I checked this they said his mileage had increased from 5000 to 10,000 for the year ,he has only been driving 3 months and the smart miles policy allows you up to 15,000 per year. I disputed this they told me it was an error and the premium was ok and would remain the same, that was a fri ,I then actually got a phone call Mon saying they had made a mistake and the underwriters needed to see the last 2 mot certificates to prove mileage even though he's only had the car as long as his license 3 months, I argued the case then emailed them the mots, eventually the amended it again back to the original premiums. I did ask who the underwriters were as I was so angry they lied to me ,I was told by 1 person that Hastings are the underwriters (I have taken their names as well) the when I asked someone else on a separate phone call I was told it was advantage ,so another lie or really poor customer service either way totally unacceptable. There is more to write and I have more paperwork that is utterly disgracefull,i want to warn every one about their customer service ,hopefully watchdog will be in touch with me to help me sort this out, like I said there is a lot more im just so tired of being lied to and mislead, my phone bills are horrendous,gonna have to leave it at that its making me angry the whole mess, its not even my sons fault ,he is not part of their statistics young drivers, his smart box has recorded him ads an excellent driver..........

Please excuse my spelling Hi on the 5th of june 2016 i was involved in a accident, which is a possible fault claim however this is still under dispute as i do not believe i am at fault. i called up hastings the next day to register my claim, they deemed my damage repairable and suggested i use a company called albany, the worst mistake i made. They also agreed my car was repairable. I was told i would have my car collected and given a courtesy car within the 24 hour time limit albany had to adhere to, I registered with them at 4pm on 6th of june and was told their approved garage which was miles away (long lane motors) from me will pick up my car and provide a courtesy by 11am the next morning. 11am came and i haven't heard a word from anyone, called up albany and they said the garage (long lane motors) was unable to provide an alternative vehicle and they have now changed my garage to one even further away place (thompson motors). I didnt even receive a call to notify me of this and had to call after their agreed time to find out that my car wont be collected today after taking a day off work. i thought fair enough but was told now to wait an additional 24 hours, which was unacceptable as i already had taken a day off work. When questioning this, as i already had waited 24 hours, the advisor told me that my 24hours had in fact started at 9am today as my claim was submitted after 5pm the day before which was a lie. I confronted her on this and told her where i could make a complaint, i was advised there was no official complaint procedure and no supervisors on site. I was not having it and was on there website looking at their page where i could make the complaint, i made her aware of this, to which she put me on hold for 20mins, came back and told me quite bluntly "sorry your car is now deemed a total loss, and we wont be handling your vehicle any longer and will report back to your insurers with this" I was perplexed as to what had just happened, and quickly got off the phone and called hastings. They advised me that my car was in fact deemed a total loss and albany use a matrix system to evaluate if the costs are economically repairable. Fair enough but would they not do this at the beginning before taking my claim on? It all seemed a bit fishy to me. I spoke to this girl from hastings that directly deals with albany (lauren i think) and she was appalled and made a complaint on my behalf. I told her my car has not been looked at once not even a photo so how is it you deem my car as a total loss. she sent out an "independent" assessor (AIA) and was also told i can use my own garage to get an estimate, the AIA assessor came on the 8th and viewed my car to see if it was repairable and value it. I asked him what he thought and he said it will be a total loss due to it being uneconomically repairable. i waited on his report, while i was waiting i thought id get a quote from a garage as to how much it would cost. I used thomson motors (the 2nd one albany gave to use) to get an estimate as i've never used a garage like this before. They asked me for photos and not to go in. It is now the 10th and i've called up my insurance about the AIA report and was told it had not arrived yet and they will call me on saturday to let me know and they said "it looks like it could be repairable". Ok i said to find out they are not even open on weekends! monday came and i'm now told it is repairable and the repair has been approved subject to striping of my car to check if there is no further damage. But i did not want to use this albany approved garage as i had a terrible experience with them. I only used them to get an estimate. I told my insurance that i was happy with a cash in lieu to settle this as they now have a pre accident valuation and also the repair cost. And i did not trust their process as i had been lied to on many occasions and told id be called back over 15 different times and got just one call and that was for me to send in my driving license! they passed this over to their in house engineers to give me a settlement i was told and would again be given a call back!. the next day arrived i gave them a call they had no idea what i was talking about and was told the in house engineers open at 9am. I then received a call at 11am but missed it due to work. I called back and they don't know who called me or why? I told them that i am waiting or an offer from the engineers to which i was told they do not do cash in lieu and that my car was a total loss and if i wanted to keep the car i would only be paid out 24% of the value of the car, i told him have you read my notes to which he replied "yes". Once again i was shocked, he was very rude and i asked to speak to another advisor. I was on hold for 45mins to a team that have nothing to do with my case. Hung up after getting fed up and have now just spoken to this girl and she had told me that they wont be now offering a cash in lieu and i should take my car to the albany approved garage to get it stripped to see if there is any more damage, even after i had mentioned i want nothing to do with albany! She has now referred me to a manager to again give me a call back. I have looked at the AIA report and believe it is correct and there is no further damage to my vehicle. How can i proceed with this as i have spent 8am-8pm all last week monday to friday on the phone to them. I did not go into work all week and it is now effecting this week. I have been lied to on many different levels, how do i proceed with this as i don't have faith in the their system any longer. Many thanks in advance

Someone went into the side of my work van a couple of weeks ago whilst he was pulling out of a junction. It was his fault. There was some cosmetic damage, scratches etc. and the passenger door wouldn’t open. So I decided to put a claim in through his insurance company. I was given a courtesy van whilst mine was taken off to be assessed. A couple weeks later I received a telephone call to say my vehicle had been written off Cat C. I was offered a settlement and the option to buy my van back. However the offer was way below what it would have cost me to either repair or replace the vehicle so I declined it. I have now been told that as I declined the offer my claim has now been transferred back to my insurance company Hastings and the other drivers insurance company would no longer be dealing with it. I would no longer be able to buy my van back. The rental vehicle will need to be returned and I will lose my no claims. At no point was I told by Albany the implications of me declining the first offer. Otherwise I may have reconsidered taking the offer. Now I’m going to lose out. I have 3 options: · Withdraw my claim, keep my van and pay for the door to be repaired myself. · Settle the claim for below market value and buy my own van back from auction and hope that the settlement cost will cover the cost to buy it back and do the repair work. · Or Settle the claim for below market value and having to get some sort of finance to replace the vehicle. My van is sign written and has been fully fitted out for my work needs with a reversing camera so the cost of replacing all of this will be well in excess of what I will receive. And most of this would be removed before it is auctioned off. All I want is my van back and some money towards the repair cost. I don’t understand how this was an option when I got my first offer but Hastings are now saying I can’t get my van back. Poor customer service all round and the accident wasn’t even my fault.

Hi there, I have a huge issue with this insurance, my motorcycle was stolen from the college car park and Hastings direct claim that my insurance does not cover going to college. I had this motorcycle for a few months, and when speaking to their representative Im sure they as you for the purpose of using your vehicle. I mainly used it to get to and from work, as I cannot afford another car (mrs has one). When I asked for explaination they said they will back to me, but never did. I must also say that I have never received my policy booklet, nothing, so I didnt have chance to verify it. At work my friends are saying that going to college isnt like work, its your pleasure, same like you going to watch football every week. I didnt even use this motorcycle to go to college on regular basis, because of a huge traffic in the morning. My other friend advised me to speak to my MP, a local newspaper, watch dogs, etc. and all them saying its disgusting what Hastings Direct did to me. If possible would anyone give me any tips what to do and do I have any chance fighting for my rights? I feel completely disappointed with my insurance, really thinking I was naive to believe in honesty of this insurer who I did not change for past 3/4 years!

Hi, I need some advice about an insurance claim via Hastings Direct. My sister was involved in an accident in the middle of November. She was waiting at a roundabout on the left lane when an adjacent truck in the right lane pulled across her stationary car damaging the driver side door, wing mirror front wing and pulling the bumper off. They third party are disputing the claim which is annoying, as all my sister did was sit in her car on the left lane while the other driver pulled across her car. Hastings Direct repairers have said the car is a Cat C as it has suspension damage, though from the pictures the damage seems minor. My sisters car is a 12 year old Peugeot she has had from new. She has serviced and maintained the car at a main dealer throughout its life and car was in excellent pre-accident condition. My sister has put me on the Hastings Direct file as the contact to deal with the claim, as she is currently going through an adoption process abroad and she is not in the right frame of mind to deal with the stress of this claim and to boot she now abroad going through the process to adopt a baby. Hastings Direct initially took the car after the accident by telling my sister they wanted to take the car in to be inspected for evidence to back up her claim, my sister agreed on this basis for the car to be collected. She subsequently was sent a letter saying the car was a total write off and to send in her documents, spare key and service history, plus to remove her personal number plate. This when she asked me to deal with the claim. I called Hastings Direct to ask about the letter and said why are they asking for these documents when they have not even offered her a figure for her car. I also said we wanted the option to buy the car back at the salvage value as we might be able to repair it mechanically and leave the cosmetic damage, as my sister he not have enough money to buy a replacement at current time due to adoption process she was going through. The customer representative said it was in the policy document that they do not sell cars back as salvage to customers. I said we would not be sending the documents back until we had a figure for the value of her car, he said fair enough and that we can keep the documents until the Engineers come back with a figure. My sister was sent a letter a couple of weeks ago offering £1725 for her car. I called up Hastings Direct and said this figure was not acceptable and also mentioned that I had read the policy document and could find nowhere within the document about not selling the car back at the salvage value to the customer. The customer representative said oh, it’s not in the policy document, it’s just their internal policy not to sell cars back to the customer. This contradicts what the first customer representative said! They gave me the email address for the company dealing with the valuation and to send in three adverts with cars in similar condition at a higher price. My sister bought the car from a main dealer brand new and has serviced the car at a dealership. She is not the person that can buy privately or through some small garage as she does not have the experience. I called a couple of Peugeot dealers to get the retail value of the car, they said they wouldn’t normally sell of this age, but the retail value of the car if they were to sell one would be between £3000 and £3500. I emailed the valuation company with this information. They called me to discuss the claim and agreed that the retails value of the car is £3300, however the values are set by Hastings Direct valuers, which places the maximum value on the car at £1725 which is based on a trade guide. The valuer said he would contact Hastings Direct to speak to them. It was a couple of weeks since the call and my sister has since gone abroad to start the adoption process, so I called Hastings Direct last Friday; after being put through to two wrong departments, I finally got through to the correct team. The total loss team said that the values are based on the trade values buying a car privately and not from a dealer as they give warranties on cars and prices will be higher. I said my sister would not be able to buy a car privately based on the figure offered and she would not be sure what she would get, hence the reason for wanting to buy a car from a dealer. The representative suggested we could do a HPI check would give us some cover! The representative said they could put the case through to another independent team who would consider the value based on the current market and get back to me, but this will take 7 to 14 days. I said this would be ok as it my sister is only due back in December if all goes well. After this I asked to put through to the team dealing with the claim so that I could check on progress. The claims team said they are stilling waiting on details from the third party in regards to their damage and in these type of cases it may go to split liability. I said this is really unfair considering my sisters car was hit while stationary and the damage to her vehicle and the position on the road should clearly indicate who is at fault. If it is split liability, then with a £500 excess, this would leave my sister £1225 to buy a replacement car which really isn’t enough to replace her low mileage one owner car. Is it normally the trade values that an insurance company offers for a car? When my partners car was written off about 8 years ago the insurance company offered the retail value of the car. Can we buy the car back at salvage? If I can repair the suspension damage and make the car safe, then my sister can live with the cosmetic damage. This will give my sister a reliable car she knows the history of, until she has money to replace it. What pressure can I apply to Hastings Direct to pursue the claim rather than possibly settle for split liability. It should be quite clear from the evidence of the damage to the vehicles to see who hit who. I would like to add Hastings Direct on the phone have been very friendly and nice, unfortunately they have not been able to supply the answers that would be acceptable. This whole affair has made me realise that it pays to research the company when buying car insurance, my sister chose Hastings Direct because she thought she would be safe with a big name company. Thanks in advance for help/advice Brian

Hello everyone, About 2 days ago someone pulled out of a junction and I had to swerve hitting all the left hand side of my front bumper, smashing the headlight, bending the wing, damaging the inner arch. Does anyone think this will be a write off without even looking at it as i've heard they tend to write cars off for less damage than my car has. So I have rang Hastings Direct and so far they have found out everything they need to know like who's fault it was etc. I've heard of other people having problems trying to buy the car back? and them trying to get your documents for the car if it is a write off? All I have seen is bad reviews. This is a Corsa C 2006. I just don't want to have any problems. I paid £2000 for this car 6 months ago and I would like to buy the car back as salvage but can anyone give me some advice on what might happen? Many thanks

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.

I am having nothing but trouble with Hastings Premier on behalf of my Stepson regarding a false claim made against him in August 2014. Hastings wrote to my stepson in Early September 2014 stating there had been a claim made against him. No details of where it happened or the times. My stepson then telephoned Hastings where they took a statement for him over the phone. He stated his car had been left (15 miles away from home) where he works as an apprentice. His employer loaned him a car to allow him to get home. Hastings then wrote back in January asking how the Third Party had got his details and also requested proof that his car was left at his work placement. My stepson's employer very kindly wrote a letter stating that the car was left overnight at his premises. This was sent to Hastings by recorded delivery in February 2015. I then telephoned Hastings myself (my stepson gave authorization for them to speak to me) asking if they had received the letter which they confirmed they had and I plugged them for information about where the incident happened and the time which they finally gave me (this was 5 months after they first wrote to us). I have had to continually chase them up by telephoning twice a month asking for updates. I ended up giving them my email address and told them to contact me. I received an email yesterday stating that they have recorded the date of the alleged claim as incorrect and have now given another date. They have given us 14 days to provide evidence that my stepson was not involved or they are going to pay out the claim. So after 9 months of claiming that it happened on a certain date they have now changed the date. I think it is ridiculous that they now expect my stepson to remember what happened 9 months ago.

Dear All, My wife was this afternoon involved in a clearly non fault accident (third party reversed into front wing and door of her car while it was parked - she was not even in the car). The third party has admitted liability verbally. The damage is wing minor dent (would need to be replaced though) and door minor dent (might be repairable with a skim of filler and respray). We rang our insurance company (Hastings Direct) this evening, their immediate response was to pass us on to a claims management company (Albany Assist), Albany Assit immediately rejected the claim saying the car would be a write off. We spoke to Hastings again and they said that due to the age of the car (05 plate - pre accident value £3k to £3.5k) and "government / VOSA guidelines" (I can find no such thing) the car would be a write off if we used their approved repairer. They then went on to say that we could go to a repairer of our choice get a quote then depending on what Hasting's inspector says they 'may' payout for the repair and claim back from the third party. But we would have to pay the excess and they migh be able to claim it back. Hastings also suggested that we contacted the third party and sort it out ourselves! To me the whole situation feels like they cannot in anyway be bothered and is little better than Third Party only insurance. I have read various post regarding Hastings and Albany and between them they sound like total [problem] merchants, only interested in credit hire and commission. I do not consider that Hastings are providing the service you would expect of fully comprehensive cover and instead are doing everything possible to avoid getting involved, they have not and at this stage will not even contact the third party's insurer. Has anyone else dealt with this situation? To make matters worse the car has a car finance loan secured against it and if the car is written off the payout will likely be less than the outstanding finance leaving us severely out of pocket though no fault of our own and in fact from Hastings' inaction and refusal to represent the insured parties interests. Thanks

Hello, As experienced by other Hastings Direct customers on here, Hastings are refusing to allow me to buy my car back as part of a settlement on my written off car. They have agreed to release the car back to me, but only in order for me to conduct an independent valuation of the vehicle, insisting that a buy back option is still not possible. The car does require quite some work, but I am adamant that I want to buy the car back. The sentimental value of the car is huge, and I am utterly furious that I am not being offered any option to retain the car. This has been a heartbreaking episode thus far, and me nor my family wish to see the car go. My little girl is distraught. Any help from similar experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and regards.

Through no fault of my own a lorry drove into me on a roundabout tearing off half my back bumper, the asssesor came round and stated that considering the age of my peugeot 206 it would most likely be irrepairable, yet i know the only thing wrong with the car is the damage caused by the accident as have spent time and money making it a decent car. I was shocked when ringing up hastings to hear that when the report from the assessor does come back and if it is deemed a right off i will be offered money for the value of my car but not be allowed the car back? In no writing in the policy does it say this, i also asked if id be allowed the money for repairs from the market value-scrap value (cash in lieu) and was told this was also not an option! What is the point in insurance when the only money i can get is by letting them take my car away or voiding the claim totally, recovering my car and paying for my own repairs even though the accident was entirely not my fault! James

Hi, I was recently involved in a car accident where the women pulled out of her drive and i went into her. Anyway front the start Hastings haven't been to helpful, i have had to do alot of chasing just to get there engineer out! as apparently my details was not sent over to him properly , i also didn't receive a courtesy car even thought iam full comp! Anyway today i have found out its a total loss I have had a friend (mechanic) look at it who thinks it is repairable, and i want to keep the car. I have asked Hastings if i can buy the car back from them, they have said to me this is not a service they offer, and if i wanted my car i either not claim or try and make a deal with the scrap dealer. So my question is how can i go about buying my car back from Hastings, i feel like i have had a nightmare with Hastings and all i want to do is get this settled and get my car. Has anyone else had this issue and how can i resolve it? p.s the car is still in my possession Thanks S.H

I took out a car insurance policy with Hastings last year. It came up for renewal so naturally I compared prices and found a cheaper policy with Axa. Everything went through fine with axa so I thought nothing of it until I received an automatic email from Hastings congratulating me on renewing - Help!! I pay yearly and am on a tight budget so immediately emailed Hastings to report the error, with evidence of my new policy. The next day I go into my bank and find that Hastings have already reserved the money - which I can't cancel. I arrive home to find the FULL YEARLY AMOUNT over £500 has come out of my account. This takes me massively overdrawn as I have just paid almost the same amount again for my new insurance policy with axa. So now I am paying interest on my overdraft, have no money for food or to buy petrol to get myself to work..........and no reply to my emails from Hastings! Seems a little too convenient that they would ignore the fact I have chosen I different company when a whole year's premium is tempting them! Can anybody help resolve this quickly? Thanks

I have not had to use insurance services for making a claim in 20 years of driving. I was involved in a no fault accident, and Hasting Direct advised me that Albany Assistance would be calling me to deal with this, I thought this strange at the time, but thought no more of it at the time. Albany called me and started their blurb....not connected to HD in any way, .......sign a credit agreement............STOP......why am I signing a credit agreement for a no fault accident? if you aren't happy speak to your insurer.....so I did, to be told that was the process, I had to go with Albany, and they would deal with everything, but I wanted to go through my insurer, as it was non fault..... after 45 minutes of wrangling with a HD claims rep, regarding why I pay 250 a year for fully comp insurance , what was I paying them for - well apparently it's only in case of accident so the third party can claim, effectively telling me no difference to third party insurance, and it's not fully comp, its comprehensive insurance with add ons!!!!!! - misleading, when you choose full comprehensive on go compare, Money Supermarket etc.... Now I was under the impression that my insurance company should have contacted the 3rd party to see if they accepted blame then co-ordinate with me to ensure the whole process goes as smoothly as possible......NOOOOOOO, nothing so simple. They only offered me the option to pay my excess and go through their recommended repairer, so I opted for this option. After 7 days Nationwide declared my car a write off, and within 20 minutes were demanding their courtesy car back! I called HD to see what happens next and they said nothing as I hadn't gone with Albany, they wouldn't offer me a hire car until the claim was settled. Now no money for replacement car, no offer of same, no hire car to get me to work. After a further 1 hour conversation with their rep I called the 3rd party insurers who sorted everything out for me - hire car, injury claim, and hopefully a good offer for my car. So BIG SHOUT OUT TO SAGA. I feel like I am in safe hands. and thankfully have been able to cancel the claim through Hastings. I will not be renewing with HASTINGS DIRECT, and will be making a formal complaint to them, but having read some of the threads here they don't seem to take them seriously so is there any point? I would like HD to respond to the questions below - 1 - Why do you not give your customers - the people who ensure the continuity of your business - the ability to make INFORMED choices about what they want to do - EG You can either go with Albany, sign a credit agreement and waive your excess OR Pay your excess and go with nationwide, (and have us be as unhelpful and give you NO advice or guidance as to your rights..........) They treat their customers with indignity and like cash cows, to pass on to others to squeeze for as much money as they can...... 2 - Why do you not give your customers any help, if they decide NOT to use Albany? You gave me no help, advice or support throughout my whole experience with you. 3 - Why do you as insurer not be a bit more transparent in the way you work? You tell customers one thing, yet write different things in your policy books - which state clearly they will pass you onto Nationwide their recommended repairers, but you don't..... DO NOT USE!!!!! I have had to edit quite a lot of detail from this post, and it's still awfy long! sorry.... PS Asked to speak to a manager, but not had a call back yet.....

Well have been with Hastings since 2011 prices started out at around £300 fully comp last quote was £600 changed to premium as it was a better deal think it was £480 for this year anyway paid because everything has been fine its the same car 2001 Peugeot 406 no claims no accidents 9yrs no claims etc... just don't want the hassle need insurance its a legal requirement (not a luxury) and when I'm told not to worry if anything happens you can depend on us to make your claim hassle free I trust that statement. Well 12/12/2014 at 19:40 somebody came off a side street on the right smashed into the side of me so hard that I was pushed into a passing car on my left we pulled to a side street and exchanged details the driver that hit me was with Hastings the lady to my right was with Zenith (she had just changed from (hasting that day to Zenith) everybody exchanged details went home. Called The 0844 number the next morning 22min later gave my details to somebody who did not have any way to check my policy number eventually told me that Hasting claims don't work on a weekend and all they did was log them and I would be contacted on Monday asked about a hire car put me on pause came back saying it was not possible as they cant give a response until Monday. that was a 1 hr conversation between 3 different departments. the scary thing about this is the fact they are ready to turn my car into a total write off it needs 2 new wings a headlamp and a bit of bumper trim and I'm good to go, the car is brilliant not going to find a replacement for what they will offer me. Its not right that Insurance companies should get away with leaving people out of pocket when making a claim Insurance is there so that innocent people are not left holding the cost of somebody else's liability. My shift starts 15/12/2014 at 7pm till 7am now I will have to spend the day time trying to organise transport to work (hopefully a hire car) 30 mile round trip as the car is driveable but the headlamps make it illegal to drive. After the response from Hastings and reading the post on the net I feel a dread of what's coming next from Hastings lets hope this is a successful story and not a sham insurance company, I will keep you up to date with this and I am already feeling that I should in the interest of other should take this to other bodies as they have sold me something that does not match up to what is advertised and clearly stated on my contract and that is 24 Hr support and advise help line, and by that I don't mean phone back on Monday as advise... the ball in your court Hasting make this a success Please. Oh and the Lady that took out Zenith insurance Phoned me said the other driver`s insurance company (Hasting) they were struggling to find him on the database and that she was about to receive her hire car within the hour, that I'm afraid says it all. some companies have the sense to get it right other don't know where to start.

I am at my wits end with Hastings Direct. My 20 year old daughter was insured for her car with them. In December 2014 her insurance was up for renewal and I found a better cover with Endsleigh. I tried to contact Hastings on the numerous numbers without success but I was aware that the auto renewal would not take place because I had recently had a replacement debit card. The payment was not made and the first letter arrived saying to contact them with new payment detail. I eventually rang them with my daughter and told them that we did not want the insurance. As it had never been paid you would have thought this would be the end of the matter but she is now being harassed by Hasting Direct for a cancellation fee and some form of insurance period fee. They are demanding a £45 cancellation fee and a further £17.07. This is also supported with threats of referral to debt collection agency and an adverse effect on her credit rating. They have in fact tried to take this from my personal bank account! They failed yet again because they don't have the correct card detail. How do I get this very unprofessional company to desist from the totally unwarranted bullying and harassment of my daughter. The poor girl has been in tears thinking she has done something wrong! HASTING DIRECT.....THE INSURANCE WAS NOT RENEWED. THEREFORE HOW CAN YOU MAKE UNWARRANTED CLAIMS THAT IT WAS CANCELLED. YOU CANNOT CANCEL WHAT HAS NEVER BEEN PAID FOR. I have made a formal complaint to Hastings Direct which has been acknowledged. This morning I get a further letter entitled 'Outstanding Debt' FINAL WARNING. Utterly, utterly dreadful. Deaf and dumb. Do not have anything to do with this company if you value your sanity.

Hello I'm having some trouble with Hastings Direct! My convertible was recently 'vandalised'- the fabric hood was cut, the glove box has been broken, and the radio suffered water damage as a result of the hole in the roof. 19 days from the damage occurring and I was informed that the car is deemed a total loss. During this period Hoopers Engineers inspected the car at my home, and arrived at an estimated repair cost. I was informed that provided no further water damage was found, the car could be repaired. On this basis the car was sent to a Nationwide repair centre. They have found no further damage, but their estimate is £2,140 higher than Hoopers' and their engineer therefore deems the repair uneconomic. I have been informed that should I want to obtain my own estimate, I will be charged £150 for my car to be returned. I explained that I agreed for the car to be sent to Nationwide, assuming a repair was to occur (unless further damage was found). At no point was I told that I would be charged for its return. If I were to accept a 'total loss' settlement I have been informed the car will be categorised as 'C' or 'D' and that I am not allowed to buy it back and get the repairs done myself. Nationwide's estimate was completed on 23rd October. Despite four calls to Hastings since then, we seem no closer to resolving the issue. I have written a complaint this afternoon detailing my situation and informing them that I either want the car repaired, or I want to reach settlement such that I can have the car repaired myself. Has anyone any suggestions as to how else I could proceed? I have been without a car for almost three weeks now, and based on progress to date I see no prospect of this being resolved soon. Many thanks.