Hastings Direct - Bit of a rant...

[IanWalrus]

My last car was insured thru HD. I changed car mid-policy, so they sent my a renewal for my Panda 4x4 early September. I did the usual on-line checks and they weren't the cheapest, so I thought I'd give them a call, see if they could beat the cheapest quote I'd had. They did, so I bought it there and then. All good.

Last week I got an email from them, the day before renewal day, saying my policy would be cancelled if I didn't pay them what I owed, which was more then the agreed renewal price!! When I checked, it seems they credited my original payment back to me on the same day, added £20 credit to my account and said nothing about it. No emails, no phone calls.

I made a complaint (thier complaint form is hard to find!) and they've now credited my overpayment back to me and agreed to the price originally quoted. They don't know (or won't tell) why the original payment was credited back.

I've turned off auto-renewal and asked them to remove my payment details from their website; come next year I'll be going elsewhere even if they are the cheapest by far. I've no faith/trust in them.


So if you buy through Hastings Direct, be careful at renewal time...

BTW, I don't know why they are called 'Direct', as they are a broker!

 

[RalphM]

I bet a £ to a pinch of excrement that if you check at renewal
they still have your payment details even though you asked for them
to be removed.

 

[The Panda Nut]

I bet a £ to a pinch of excrement that if you check at renewal
they still have your payment details even though you asked for them
to be removed.

Yes I agree. I have blasted several firms for this recently and told them and my bank the Ombudsman will be involved if there are any more forgetful moments. I never ever give repeat renewal permission. They always seem to be able to ask if I am using the same card and quote the last 4 digits. I believe they can retain this but not the whole number or security code.

 

[varesecrazy]

Paying on a card that expires this year always helps