first and certainly last time with Hastings

[elia]

My car got hit by another car and the third party already accepted responsibility. I haven't been involved in an accident for more than 20 years and I don't know about regulations and right steps to do, so I trusted that my insurance Hastings they would help me with the right information and advice .Turns out this is wrong, Hastings are very good to present their way as the only way to follow. If I had to describe the experience with one word it would be disgusting and a nightmare . Lets start from beginning

 

-My policy provides a courtesy car, so I asked information about it and they got Albany to contact me and arrange it. From what I read here I didn't have to go with Albany but it presented to me as the only way to get a hire car. I tried to explain that without a car I will loose my job so I needed my car to be fixed or been provided with a hire car. Since then they use this against me because everytime I deny to follow their way they mention that they will remove the hire car from me or that I will have to pay for it

 

-My car was in the local garage to get an estimate for repairs . Hastings arranged an engineer to visit , he decided is uneconomical to repair so they will write it off and the few hours later they arranged with the local garage to have the car collected the morning after. ALL THIS WITHIN A DAY AND WITHOUT INFORMING ME AT ALL! I found out when the local garage asked me to get my property of the car and when I contacted Hastings and told them there is no way they get the car within hours from their decision to write it off and that I wanted to see my options I been told that there are no options and that if I don't give the car straight away they maybe charge me with hire car fees. I had to research the internet to find out that they can not actually get the car without my knowledge or permission and that they had to make an offer for it.

 

-Hastins never contacts me to inform me about thinks, I have spend a week on the phone , been passed from pillar to post trying to get information. They also never reply to my emails, so I need to phone again to ask if they receive the email and what is their answer. Also I asked them for written answers but they somehow avoiding it .

 

- I took my car outside my house until they make an offer and until I explore my options (on my own because according to them I have no options)and I been told over the phone that I shouldn't have it outside my house in case it gets damaged. I said well is going for salvage anyway, you have deemed it a write off and the response was that "a lot of times we don't actually salvage them but we resell them " (fuming only thinking that they can not repair it for me but they are ok to resell it for themselves )

 

-they don't have the buy back ,that a lot other insurances have where you can buy your car back from them

 

- After a day of me phoning them trying to make them give me informations they decide to inform me that I did have the right to contact the third party myself asking if they could repair my car and as I been told, a lot of the times is cheaper for the third party to just repair the car. So i did but I been told that it has to go through Albany which at the time it seemed odd because as far as I knew Albany was a hire car company...( I know...)So I ended up asking the third party and I wait for answer but same time I move the thinks towards an offer from Hasting in case the third party denies. Hasting is fully informed and I have been told by them and Albany that I will have the hire car until I get the check and 7 days after (or in case the 3d party agrees to repair until that )However few hours after they assured me that there is no problem with the hire car they contacted again informing me that they are loosing money from the hire car .

 

They are putting pressure on me using my desperate need for a car (as I said no car means I loose my job) , they do not wait for the third party to reply, and they said I will have to give them my car in order to get an offer which I will have to accept "so move thinks forward and be able to keep the hire car" . I call this blackmail. Also when I mentioned to their "buddies" solicitors that they provide about me contacting the third party I been told that "this information is wrong, you can not do that and to phone Hastings to talk with their supervisor because they shouldn't give me such information and stay with Hastings that they know what they doing"

 

 

-they also said that they will deduct from the offer all the remaining monthly instalments fro this years insurance. I don't know if I have any other option here but I saw today that despite that they have the amount to deduct from my offer same time they also took the montly instalment from my bank account

 

Overall the whole experience is a nightmare. I feel bullied and I feel I been punished for something that it wasn't even my fault. Never ever ever again with Hastings, I learned my lesson

[Hastings Direct. Joe - Soc]

Hi elia,

 

Thank you for taking the time to post about your experience. I am very sorry to hear that you are frustrated with the service that has been provided, can you please get in contact and provide your policy details so that we can liaise with the claims team on your behalf. help@hastingsdirect.com

 

Many Thanks,

Jamie

[dacouc]

You seem to be fairly well informed, I'll outline some salient points for you.

 

"16. salvage of the "written-off" vehicle and contents

 

When a vehicle is “written off”, the insurer becomes the owner of the salvage once the consumer accepts payment of the full market value. If the consumer asks to keep the salvage, the insurer is entitled to deduct what it would have been able to sell the salvage for – though this is usually not very much.

 

Consumers sometimes complain that the insurer (or its agent) disposed of the salvage before paying the full market-value. At this stage, the vehicle still belongs to the consumer, so we look to see if the insurer asked the consumer’s to the settlement of the claim – even if the insurer says it was only acting in the public interest by keeping a badly-damaged vehicle off the road.

 

If we find the insurer disposed of the vehicle without the consumer’s consent and there were items belonging to the consumer inside, we are likely to tell the insurer to pay the cost of replacing these – usually on a like-for-like (rather than a new-for-old) basis.

 

If we think that the policyholder was unfairly deprived of the salvage, we may tell the insurer to pay compensation for any financial loss or distress and inconvenience we think the consumer has experienced."

 

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/motor-valuation.html

 

You need to bear in mind that Albany paid Hastings circa £350 commission for passing you over for one of their over prices hire cars.

 

There's nothing stopping you going direct to the other Insurers for them to pay out or repair the car.

 

The advantages to you of going direct are that they will not deduct the remaining instalments from your settlement and neither will Hastings if you claim direct. They will also normally deduct the salavage value of your car from your settlement which you can then sell on or repair.

 

The disadvantages of you going direct are you don't have the protection of the Ombudsman in dealings with the other Insurer.

 

If you go direct you need to ensure you don't prejudice Albany's ability to recover their inflated hire charges.

 

Hasting's staff falling over themselves to direct you to Albany and stop you going direct and also trying to take your car to salvage without paying you could be viewed by an outsider as not treating you fairly. Google "Treating Customers Fairly + FCA" and you will be able to view the basic principles the regulator (FCA) oblige Hastings to abide by.

 

While you on google also have a look at the poor reputation Albany have and make your mind up whether Hastings chose them as a partner due to them being able to provide a good service for the customers or whether it was due to the commission Albany pay them...

[elia]

dacouc, thank you for all the information, I really appreciate your help

[elia]

I dedicate this post on explaining how Hastings Direct after declared my car uneconomical to repair they tried to persuade /bully me into accepting an offer that they knew it was half than what my car worth and how I found out.

I had a car accident and the third party accepted responsibility without any problems. I trusted my insurance company, Hastings Direct, to guide me through this, believing that they would inform me about my rights and my options and treat me fairly . Big mistake , as i realised on the way. I have written a previous post regarding this, have a look if you want , title "first and certainly last time with Hastings"

As I said Hastings declared my car uneconomical to repair, I have all the details on my previous post. They offered me £900 for it . I never been told by them that I can challenge the offer (no surprizes here) , instead they were insisting that I have no option, I will have to accept the offer and buy a new car. Also they were very persistent to take my car away, even before they make the offer, which I denied. I had to research the internet to get information that I can actually challenge the offer, providing all the necessary documents and also confirm that Is my right not to give them my car before we end in a settlement .

Yesterday I obtained the engineers report regarding my car, which Hastings denied to give me at start but they agreed after many phonecalls and use of the ombudsman advice that i should obtain it. When i received it i saw that a part of the report was blacked out .Obviously this is something they didn't want me to see. Luckily is very easy indeed to undo the blacked part on a digital document, something they probably didn't know, and with horror i discovered that it was the part stating the real value of my car which appears to be almost double than their offer.

Long story sort Hastings knew the real value of my car but they offered almost half of it and tried to persuade me that the only think i could do is accept the offer and buy a new car with it. they put me under a lot of pressure stating that if i delay to accept the offer i maybe loose the hire car (which they know i desperately need or i will loose my job) .they blacked out the part of the engineers report that states the real value of my car probably without realising that is very easy to undo the black on a digital document.

I am disgusted. by them , if there is any action i can take regarding this i will. The whole experience has been a nightmare, when all this finish , i certainly don't want anything to do with them , i prefer to pay double to another insurer who is going to treat me with respect.

[unclebulgaria67]

You must report this to the FCA, as no Insurers should act in the way that you discribe.

 

http://www.fca.org.uk/site-info/contact

 

I also suspect that the Daily Mail would be very interested in this, if you contacted them. The bit they will be interested in is Hastings attempting to cover up the engineers report information, after making you a low offer.

 

Hastings will have to pay you the correct value for the car and I expect compensation for the way they have acted.

[honeybee13]

Threads on the same topic merged into the Hastings forum. Please keep to the one thread with your issues.

 

HB

[Hastings Direct. Joe - Soc]

Hi elia,

 

Thank you for posting again to update your thread, I would very much appreciate it if you could get in contact with me as previously advised so that I can ensure that this matter is investigated. The email address again is help@hastingdirect.com

 

Many Thanks,

Jamie

[elia]

Hello Jamie, and thank you for your reply. Why none cares about the way we been treated until we end up post our story here? The only I have asked is to be treated fairly and with respect from Hastings, this should apply to me and all of your customers without the need of your intervention. I will contact CAB and the FCA for advice ,and I will then decide how to proceed. Again thank you for your reply

unclebulgaria67 thank you for your reply and advice, much appreciated

[unclebulgaria67]

Hello Jamie, and thank you for your reply. Why none cares about the way we been treated until we end up post our story here? The only I have asked is to be treated fairly and with respect from Hastings, this should apply to me and all of your customers without the need of your intervention. I will contact CAB and the FCA for advice ,and I will then decide how to proceed. Again thank you for your reply

unclebulgaria67 thank you for your reply and advice, much appreciated

 

Elia, you can probably resolve this with Hastings, as I am sure they would be keen to make sure you are happy with the settlement.

 

If someone at Hastings or at a company acting for Hastings is doing something wrong, which is against the interests of Hastings and their policyholders I am sure they would want to resolve.

 

If what you say is true, that Hastings have offered you half of what the engineer has indicated in their report, then this is either a mistake or a sign of something which is more concerning.

 

It is possibly the case that in some situations, the scrap value of a car is worth more than the current market value shown in official books. If this is the case, perhaps Insurers should be required to advise their policyholders. Until a policyholder has signed over the car to the Insurers, it is not their property to think about making a profit from a claim situation.

[elia]

unclebulgaria67

 

 

if a company blacks out a part of a document is because they don't want you to see what is there. you don't accidentally black out something

 

 

under the blacked out part , which is very easy to undo on a digital document, was the real valuation of my car,almost double than what they offered

 

 

I don't think there are many explanations to that, and certainly I will ask advice from third party such as the CAB before I do anything

 

 

of course i have the report, and I will provide it to CAB or wherever else is necessary

 

 

if Hastings can resolve this,and is at their best interests then they should try to do it regardless intervention from a Hastings representative on this site. I contacted Hastings about the blacked out part but their reply was that is for their purposes and that they blacked out this part of the engineers report on all reports. I want to be insured by a company that treats me fair before they found out I post my experience with them online , therefore as i said I will not insure my car with them again

[elia]

hello again Jamie,

could you please tell me if the company routinely blacks out the part of the engineers report

that states the official valuation of the car ? is this part of the company's policy? this is what I been told when I asked Hastings about it . thank you

[Hastings Direct. Joe - Soc]

Hi elia,

 

Thank you for getting back to me, without any policy information I would not be able to comment on what has happened as it would be purely speculation. I am not an expert in the claims side of our business, however when Customers do experience issues I do my best to liaise with the relevant departments involved to try and find a suitable resolution for both parties. Please feel free to send me the details and I will be happy to take a look.

 

Many Thanks,

Jamie

[Old Cogger]

So many complaints over the years about Hastings etc = Albany well if the name appears after an accident I would run and avoid if possible, as bad as Carpenters so called solicitors who say you should not be out of pocket with the £15.00 = charge for fuel etc as if the accident did not happen then you would not have had to deposit (non refundable) then state after proof of out of pocket expences - the figure is too low to action against the other parties insurer, when will Insurance companies get back to basics and deal their own claims, the cost of insurance premiums would go down.

 

If they were honest of course.?

[elia]

Hello Jamie, thank you for the reply

 

However blackening out the part of a document that sates the value of the car is not matter of my individual policy , is matter of your companys policy and as Hastings replied to me is something they always do. I note that I did undo the black (very easy) and I know that underneath was the valuation but Hasting just stated that under the black are figures for their purpose. Considering that they offered me almost half of this and then persisted that there is nothing I can do until I found out myself via internet that I can challenge the offer , I find your companys tactics dishonest and disrespectful to your customers

 

 

Again thank you for the reply and for offering to help

[elia]

just to give an update, Hastings reconsidered their first offer and surprise surprise they offered me the amount that is under the blacked out part on the engineers report, almost double than the first offer (I didn't got help from the representative on this site I just followed the normal procedure but I told them that I have seen the real valuation of my car)

My advice to whoever is in the same situation is do not let them push you around, do not believe everything they say and research about your options and your rights. Do not give them your car until you end up in a settlement that you both happy with , your car is yours and they can not take it away unless you agree to it. In my case I had a lot of pressure to accept the first offer,they tried to take my car without even informing me , I have been told by Hastings there was nothing I could do, Albany (another nightmare, stay away) every now and then contacting that they will remove the hire car because I delay thinks by not accepting the offer etc. Ask for the engineers report (is your right to have it ) and if they have blacked out the valuation part just unblack it and see how much your car is really worth and ask for it . The only I wanted from Hastins is to be treated fair and with respect but it took a lot of phonecalls and research and persistence from my side to achieve that.(I just had the phone bill today, £60 worth of phonecalls just for Hastings and Albany ...fuming...) Certainly never again with them , I will go with an insurer that has good reviews even if that means I will have to pay more . I will update this thread if I have anything else