I insured with Hastings Direct which I am now really, really regretting. Whatever you do DON'T insure with them. Unless you want a truly bad experience if you ever have to claim. I recently had an accident on the inner ring road in Leeds, a dangerous place at the best of times. There was a stopped lorry and the car in front panicked (maybe) and did an emergency stop for no reason. It was a low speed impact. I called Hastings and was recovered to Nationwide Crash Repair Centre. I was told on the phone that NCRC would provide a courtesy car. When we got there they informed me that there were no courtesy cars available and there wouldn't be until the following week. this was Friday. I rang them every day after that, until the assessor had deemed the car a total loss. At which point they wouldn't give me a courtesy car anyway. I've had to hire cars for the last three weeks. I received a letter from Hastings telling me what would happen during the claim. One of the items was that the car would be taken to secure storage and I need to take out any personal belongings before it is moved. The letter was dated on the day of the accident, but I didn't receive it until a week and half later, by which time my car had been taken to Copart in York. Copart sent me the tax disc back the next day. Last week, I received a letter from the Total Loss Team at Hastings asking fro my documents and referring to the Policy about how an estimate is made. I never received any documents from Hastings Direct in the post - no certificate, no terms and conditions. I've called three times asking for copies of the policy. The first time I was emailed a copy of the certificate, which I din't ask for. The second time, I was told that they don't really do this, then after speaking to her "senior" for several minutes was told it would be emailed to me. The third time I was told that the t&cs can't be emailed but that a paper copy would be posted to me. That was several days ago, so not holding out much hope. I've also been told that I can't buy the car back once an settlement is reached. They said to phone Copart and ask them. A very nice lady at Copart informed me that they don't sell privately, but only via auction. She said she didn't know why Hastings don't sell back to the owner, and that they are the ONLY insurer in the UK who don't do this. The policy was a bit cheaper than others, but no surprise because it is a nightmare. To buy the car back via auction, this would mean driving to York, removing all the handsfree and audio equipment behind the dash, transferring my number plate, joining Copart, bidding on the car, reinstalling all the equipment and re-transferring my plate back to the car! The car is a rare one. It took me ages to find this car with this exact spec. I'll never find another one like it, and the parts will go for a fortune at auction! Is there anything I can do? Should I see a solicitor? I have access to a low loader, a mechanic, all the parts needed and a paint shop. I can get the car repaired for a third of what the assessor has said. Not worried about Cat C, as I never want to sell it.

Hi all I have a taxi which last week was written off by my insurance companies assessor. Another driver on my "policy" crashed the car with no other cars involved. Basically his fault. I took all the documents into the insurance office today to proceed with the claim. I was then told that if I did not buy another car and have it insured with them that the remainder of the premium would be deducted from the settlement figure. This came as a bit of a shock, but I have read posts on here and on other sites basically saying they can do this so that isn't my main point. What annoys me and I would like some advice on is that when I took out insurance with this company I was never given details of the policy, only a certificate of motor insurance. So if they start quoting parts of the policy do I have a leg to stand on by telling them they should have provided me with the details of the policy when I took it out? Also they would not allow me to buy back the car, saying that the insurance company does not allow this. this annoyed me as well because I was given a quote to repair the car privately and it was not excessive. The way I have been adding things up, they stand to make a tidy profit from this and I will recieve around £400 if I accept their offer and they deduct the full premium. I would appreciate any advice on this Thanks in advance