I'm starting to wonder...

[InformedSearcher]

Okay here goes,

One tends to read small print 'after' events as these days you reckon people treat you fairly [sic]. Anyhow for some reason (and at the time 'not' lack of funds my Direct Debit (monthly payments) with Hastings Direct was returned unpaid. I spotted this on the day and called them in the evening. The gentleman said it was showing as 'pending' and I requested he leave a note that I called.

 

Now let's face it that Hastings people are like well spoken so I guess ex recently left Uni. students with good backgrounds. They want to charge me £20 for the returned item when I pay circa £38 per month. I felt this somewhat unfair because their automated service probably costs the a couple of quid to expedite. The attitude is 'Oh we'll allow you to spread this £20 payment over your remaining payment period' (and I suspected PLUS excessive APR too!). I asked if they'd consider on this occasion wavering the amount however after asking some senior person (which I doubt they did in reality) came back and ran off this 'fairness' policy they run. Absolute rubbish reply is all I can say.

 

Heck, never will I insure with them again and apologise on here for not reading various negative posts about them before committing to a second (and absolutely final) year no matter what quotes I get next January! It seems that this company have an additional charge for every minute 'extra' - not so professional in these days when people want your business. Now to sort the bank out who want to charge me a tenner! LOL

 

Michael

[unclebulgaria67]

They can only charge such amounts, if they can demonstrate that these represent their costs in dealing with the DD problem. If they cannot provide a breakdown of their costs which stand up to scrutiny, they could be liable to sanction by the authorities. (FCA & OFT).

 

Ask for a breakdown calculation of the £20 charge and advise them that you will use this information to make a complaint.

 

Hasting may feel that they are taking sensible steps to ensure their operation is financially viable, but if it is costing £20 to deal with an unpaid DD amount, then I would worry about their IT systems and the various running costs of their operation.

[Hastings Direct. Joe - Soc]

Hi Michael, Thank you for taking the time to post. I am sorry to hear you are not happy with the fee you have been charged for a returned payment. Could you please get in contact with me directly and supply some policy detials so that I can take a look into this for you? help@hastingsdirect.com Many Thanks, Jamie