Hastings Direct-are they even capable of some human decency?

[JudeElsaXxx]

Hello,

 

A Very long story as short as I possibly can;

 

I have had my daughter in NICU for 6 months-an hour from home & forced to stay in parental accomodation.

My daughters father passed away suddenly 2 weeks before she was born. So nobody to share time at her bedside or take care of things at home. My mother had our toddler & works fulltime.

 

Finally home yesterday. Realised I have missed a DD for car insurance.

When accessed Hastings online - instructed to pay late premium-which i immediately did. However then looking at correspondence, I see I have had my insurance cancelled the day before due to a ‘cancelled’ DD.

 

I must stress-At no time did I take any steps to cancel a direct debit. I haven’t stepped foot inside a bank in 6 months.

 

Contacted Hastings, explained & apologised for whatever mistake has caused DD cancellation. Still told nothing they can do-its cancelled. Despite explaining I need to travel with oxygen for my daughter & have lots of appointments we will continue to need.

offered to pay any fees/charges incurred to put right the mistake. 

 

Having to declare cancelled insurance makes affording new insurance impossible. Essentially meaning I cannot leave home. (Oxygen cylinders are heavy & weather not always appropriate to take a poorly baby out in pram).

I am on maternity leave & now a lone parent paying for all bills. Pretty much begged them to reconsider letting me send them evidence of our time in NICU - dismissed & sent on my way.

 

How can this be acceptable?

The payment was 18 days late. 

I accept there has been a missed payment, but if this past 6 months of hell isn’t reason enough to consider over riding a computed decision-what is??

 

Could anybody advise me as to what I can do? Even if its just to find a way to prevent it being declared as ‘cancelled’ so i have an opportunity to take a policy out elsewhere without needing a 2nd mortgage to afford the inflated costs???

 

Thank you if you have taken time to read this far,

 

Xx

 

[BankFodder]

Some interesting points here - please will you monitor this thread for a reply later.

 

I'm especially interested by the fact that you called them and that they asked you to make a late payment premium. I think that this is significant

[AstroBeam]

Hello

 

I am sorry to hear for your circumstances. 

 

Unfortunately If you are behind on your payments Hastings are fully entitled to withdraw the product/service they are providing. You could contact your bank and see if they can advise where the instruction to cancel the direct debts came from. 

 

As for the enforced cancellation the only thing you could do is contact an insurer directly and explain you have had an enforced cancellation due to a defaulted payment. Having an enforced cancellation can cover a wide range of reasons so explaining directly to a sales adviser may help bring your premium down.