Name: Hastings Direct Smart Miles
Rating: 3.29

“Installed a black box in sons car. Acceleration now down to 0 despite braking and speed being very good. Only a month left to run on policy so I imagine this figure has been fixed so you can cancel the policy. I am a DSA Driving instructor and have hours of video evidence to prove my son has been driving in an acceptable manner. I also have been driving this vehicle in an acceptable manner..... This is a warning to Hastings that I am in the process of taking my proof to a solicitor and to the insurance ombudsmen. Hastings are clearly defrauding their customers out of millions by selling and cancelling policies without giving any refunds and charging customers hundreds of pounds for worthless black boxes.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Awful. Clearly their software is designed to give you a bad score and with a braking score of zero there is no way that my driving can be that bad. Especially when I have been driving for 40 years. Completely manufactured, contrived and dishonest scam.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“This Company is an absolute con. Have got an accident free record of 50 years but their black box thinks it knows better than a proven 50 year safe driving record. Avoid at all costsd”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Faulty system. Admit it Hastings. Nice little con you have going here, maybe this will be the next PPI scandal. Please read the bad reviews people. Wish we had but lesson learned. This insurance is dangerous, maybe once someone is seriously injured, Hastings smart miles will realise their flawed system”

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Posted 6 years ago

“I’d give Hastings less than 1 if I could. My Daughter’s policy is about to be cancelled. She has never received a single point for acceleration in 10 months and I believe it’s because of the hilly area we live in (or a faulty/scam of a box) her tiny fiat needs extra acceleration to not stall up our steep hills but Hastings have denied this is correct. I’ve put a formal complaint in and hit a brick wall...I’ve now gone to watchdog and the Insurance Ombudsman. Everyone should do the same so eventually something will be done. These crooks have made my Daughter’s new driving experience very stressful and took the pleasure out of the new car we bought her. Strangely enough a journey after 10pm at night affects the score drastically immediately yet a week of daytime driving only hasn’t affected the score yet...how convenient when she’s been given a seven day cancellation notice. She’s tried on three occasions to call them on the number they left and the recorded message says to call back when they’re open between the hours of 8am and 8pm. She’s phoned at 5pm, 6pm and 7.10pm!”

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Posted 6 years ago

“I thought the black box wasn't bad at all but I drove at night for 20 minutes one day and it made my score go right down to 35 out of 100 for driving at night. It has now been 3 weeks since and the score is at 85 and I haven't drove at night since. This is unfair as the score should have gone back up to 100 weeks ago. It says avoid driving at night regularly but I have only done this once. This is wrong as I was picking my dad up. I shouldn't be discriminated because of people driving dangerously at night as they would do that anyway regardless of having a black box or not. Something needs to be done about this ASAP.”

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Posted 7 years ago

“Cannot say it enough, avoid forever, worst service and loss of sleep ever! Was involved in a massive accident a few days after signing up. Ring them up day of, and because I hadn’t been able yet to install my black box (because as we know we have to do it ourselves!) they cancelled my insurance, emailed me to say. Ring them up to say it shouldn’t have been cancelled and I haven’t even got the car, and they argue with each other and me for hours about the claims department not properly telling the other departments so can’t decide if it’ll be reinstated or not (without refund!!!). They eventually reinstate, after hours on hold, paying for the phone line, and grief. Next day, they email me, we are cancelling again, not refund of the £1200 policy. Hours more again and no sleep. Eventually told ok the policy will continue to run while you don’t have a car, but you can keep it if you get a car within 6 days. Rush, get a car within 6 days. Obviously stressful, and most insurers would pause the policy and hold it. Ring up to add the new car to insurance policy and they say it’ll only be an extra £35 for that make of car etc, but also £150 for a black box. But we HAVE the brand new in packaging black box from when I couldn’t install it in time from 4 odd weeks ago. They say no, have to buy a new one as this has updates on etc. Despite the fact this older one would’ve been on my car currently for the next year with no updates if I hadn’t crashed. I ask for a refund then on my £150 black box that I already own, but after a lot of arguing they agree to let me use the one I was sent. Until, the next day when I ring again to finish making the changes, and they say “well although the £150 fee is now gone, we misspoke the price and it’s actually £150 more expensive - £185 now”. Spent a few hours getting them to listen to their own recorded phone call, until the manager changed their minds back. Absolutely. Awful. Horrific. Never use this company.”

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Posted 7 years ago

“Beware before committing yourself to this black box with Hastings!! I have cancelled after 14 days at a cost of £125.00 + insurance cost for 14 days to me. Spent more time looking at the speedometer than the road. Wish I had read these reviews before I signed up to this insurance policy. Hastings Customer service said they didn't expect people to leave good reviews, really? wonder why that is? No need for a reply to this review Hastings I will have a better experience with my new insurer!.”

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Posted 7 years ago

“Reading through all the reviews regarding Hastings direct insurance. Not just this site but others as well. I still think there wrong. Every review is the same regarding the smart box. It's time something should be done about it. No everyone can be driving wrong. I think hasting direct should have an open day enquiry. So we can all attend there office at bexhill on sea to put our cases to them to prove that these smart boxes are wrong. So come on Tasting put out a date so we can all come.”

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Posted 7 years ago

Hello, I'm sorry to hear that you've had a poor experience with the smart miles telematics box. I will pass this message to the team so that they are aware of your request. I must advise however that Hastings Smart miles is a sister company of Hastings Direct and is not based in Bexhill. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review with us and I hope that your overall experience improves where this is concerned -Theo

Posted 7 years ago

“If your looking for insurance for your son or daughter avoid hastings smart miles. Awful experience for any new driver filling them with dread and anxienty every time they drive. Pay the extra and avoid getting an innacurate box with an imcompentent insuer and let your son/daughter enjoy thier new found freedom.”

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Posted 7 years ago

Hi there, I'm sorry to see you have had such a negative experience when using our service. We do try to help and support young inexperienced drivers to become better drivers and have a dedicated department that can give really helpful hints and tips to improve their driving scores. You can contact the First Response Unit on 0800 048 2955. ~ Jamie

Posted 7 years ago

“I wish I never went with this company and wouldn’t recommend anyone else does either. The scores are rubbish and never go up but go down within a day. None of them make sense as my breaking is 100 but acceleration is a 0 when my car doesn’t even let me accelerate fast!? I’ve requested emails that were supposedly sent to me but they haven’t been received and they were no able to provide me with a copy. I’ve also been charged more money as the automatically increased my mileage to unlimited without asking and we’re going to cancel in 5 days, which I wouldn’t have know if i didn’t ring up. Absolutely shocking. I’ve had around 5+ threats of my policy being cancelled which has caused me so much stress being a first year driver. This may seem like cheap insurance but it will cost you in the long run with the extra charges and the stress. DO NOT GO WITH THEM”

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Posted 7 years ago

HI there, Thank you for your comments. I'm sorry to see that you have had so many issues with our policy though. HI can see that you have received emails from us regarding your policy dropping below 40/100 but have you managed to speak with an advisor about this? We do have a dedicated team that can explain how the box works and give you some really good hints and tips on how to improve. You can call the first response unit on 0800 048 2955 for further advise. ~ Jamie

Posted 7 years ago

“Just wish i'd read this before insuring my son's car! His time of day score is zero even though you can clearly see his journeys over the last 5 days and he's been in before 10! His score is 38 and we now have an email saying he has 7 days before the insurance is cancelled! Well, it wont get to 7 days as i intend to cancel today, what a shambles of a company which looks to penalise young drivers.”

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Posted 7 years ago

Hello, I'm sorry to hear about the experience that your son had during his time with us and that this situation led to the cancellation of his policy. I hope that he has since been able to locate suitable and competitive cover for his vehicle; also that he has a much better experience with his new provider -Theo

Posted 7 years ago

“Do not insure your car with this company. I’m 19 years old and I chose to insure my 1.2 corsa through this company and it’s been hell ever since. I have received countless emails warning me about my driving style and it has to change within 7 days or they will cancel even though my driving is fine but my score never went up. My speed score was always 0 and in the end they looked into it and had to fix something. My direct debits we’re supposed to be £82 a month and within the first month they went up to £166 payments because apparently I didn’t supply the engineer with my ‘proof of no claims’ which I did and told him about so he could take pictures. They send out a letter which I ended up getting the day before they started taking payments of £166 so I cancelled my direct debit with my bank that day so that they couldn’t take that much and got onto the phone to them. I ended up receiving a letter from close brothers finance for a payment of £196 (£30 missed payment fee) and when I spoke to Hastings on the Friday, they said that if I send in the proof of no claims then they would reduce the bill back down to £82 instead of the £196. After getting off the phone to them just now the payment has now gone up to £245 because I’ve cancelled my policy to take out a new one and it “has to be paid” even after being told it would be reduced to £82. Very bad insurance company and POOR customer service. In the end, it’s cost me £540 for 2 months of insurance!!!”

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Posted 7 years ago

Hi there, I'm sorry to see you have had such a negative experience since dealing with our Smartmiles insurance. Having given your no claims bonus proof to the engineer and it not getting received by us must have been very frustrating. We do have a process that gives you ample chance to get your scores back up above 40/100 and also offer help and support through our dedicated First Response Team. I'm sorry if you didn't receive this and have had to cancel your policy. I can only apologise for the inconvenience this has caused you. ~ Jamie

Posted 7 years ago

“I have had a policy with Hastings for just over 8 months, I have just been informed my policy is going to be cancelled due to my scoring being too low. However it’s only this low because my score ever since I got the box has been 0 for acceleration and everytime I’ve tried to contact them to discuss how to sort this issue I get the nonsense story that I’m an awful driver and they’re box has no flaws. Quite clearly the box has some issues as every review on here has the same reading considering there accelerometer. The customer service I have received off Hastings has been dreadful numerous unreturned calls and emails which I was guaranteed never been received - if you are a young driver or parent reading this review do not take insurance with them no matter how much cheaper it is. They are a scam. And they are scamming young vulnerable drivers looking for a good price.”

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Posted 7 years ago

Hi there, Thank you for taking the time to leave this review. I'm sorry to see you have received an email warning you that we may have to cancel your policy. If this is the first email you have received it will state that you have 200 miles to improve your score above 40/100. This is more than achievable and with the help and support of our dedicated team, more than possible. I think it would be more than beneficial to speak to them on 0800 048 2955 or contact them via email at firstresponse@hastingsdirect.com. ~ Jamie

Posted 7 years ago

“Wanted change vehicle most places charge admin fee happy pay that but not £548 they were going charge customer service extremely rude would not recommend”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

Hi there, I am sorry to see that you have had so many issues whilst trying to change your vehicle. There are many factors that we need to look at when quoted, the size of the engine, size of car, alarm systems and desirability amongst other things. I do however apologise for the service you had from our Customer Services team. This is not acceptable. I'm sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. ~ Jamie

Posted 7 years ago

“If there was a zero score we would be using that 1 is far too good !!!disgusting we are forwarding all information to watchdog as a matter of urgency ....your boxes are inaccurate and yet you fail to accept this ...”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

Hello, I'm really sorry to hear you've not had the best experience with our telematics box and that it has caused so much frustration. If you need to discuss this and wish to arrange correspondence with our smart miles team please email the policy reference and a contact number to help@hastingsdirect.com. We'll do all we can to arrange some assistance for you -Theo

Posted 7 years ago

“Avoid!!! Absolute joke! They should be ashamed of themselves.. that nasty device to monitor driving is utter rubbish.. We have just cancelled and had to pay £210 for the inaccurate box.. the stress if was causing with it’s monitoring was just too much, if you don’t want your son or daughter to become paranoid of getting in the car when there driving is perfectly fine then do I plead that you don’t use this company!!! I hope people read the reviews and take this as a warning I only wish we had :-(”

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Posted 7 years ago

Hi there, I'm so sorry to see you have had such a negative experience with your SmartMiles box. The purpose of the box is not to make your child paranoid of driving but to monitor it, we do have a dedicated team that just works to help improve scores and give hints and tips to for them to use. The box also gives potential crash alerts so we can call out and make sure your children are safe when out driving. I completely understand your frustrations and wish the best with your new provider. If you do want to disuss this further you can cll our team on 01733 308 380. - Jamie

Posted 7 years ago

“This is the most horrific and nasty device that I have ever come across. And Connor I would much prefer if you didn’t reply to this with your made up nonsense desperately trying to prove some sort of value in something which is quite obviously a failure. Save my sanity please. The box doesn’t work. It is a nasty piece of equipment that does not take reality into account. It’s doesn't consider the place you live, traffic or the necessity of using your brakes in such a way as in to react to what’s going on around you stopping collisions, or the necessity to accelerate at roundabouts. If you actually drove to the standards that the box requires your driving would be less safe, especially when considering the area I live, there is no doubt about it. You naturally have to drive with a little more panache and energy than if you lived the countryside otherwise you would be such a worried driver that it would make matters worse when considering how everyone drives around you. Anyway despite that. I made a real conscious effort over the warning week to drive a lot better. I was one point under the minimum of 40, I made an 8 point increase. I have no idea how I still scored so little as I was driving very carefully. I explained to the person on the phone that there should be a probation period whereby if you’re making obvious progress and you’re genuinely trying to improve you should be then given more advice to then improve for the week after instead of loosing £500 and your insurance being cancelled just like that. Furthermore, how am I supposed to know how much my driving has improved/ what points I have gained if I have not been told? It is unquantifiable as I have no information about how much my driving has improved according to the black box. If I knew it had only improved by a little i would have naturally been able to calculate what I needed to do to improve further. Instead my insurances was just cancelled throug email. She didn’t seem to understand what I meant. Must have been trained to say “there must be a cut off point” without being given the ability to consider what the caller is actually saying. Now this is disgusting, unfair and deceitful. It’s a company that should be closed down for this and quite frankly should go to court over this. I can only do what I can towards this and that is to write letters to who I can to make this happen. This is what I will do week in week out if necessary. Please steer clear form this! It is not a reliable or intelligent enough piece of equipment to give a realistic account of how good your driving is and you will lose money from not doing anything wrong.”

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Posted 7 years ago

Hello there, thank you for leaving such a detailed and frank review. Firstly may I apologise that we have had to cancel your policy as I can imagine how much of an inconvenience this must be for you. I would like to clear up a couple of points though. We would never cancel a policy without contacting you and giving you an opportunity to improve your driving score, we would have emailed you to advise your driving score was under 40 out of 100 and gave you 200 miles to improve. We also understand that this sometimes is a tough fix so if your score hasn’t improved in that time frame we email you to give you another 7 days to improve. In regards to the driving itself, your scores are generated over an average journey so individual moments of hard braking to avoid accidents are not taken in to consideration, this is the same for acceleration as well. The box updates every 70 miles to give you an idea of what areas are improving and which are not. We also have a dedicated team that try and help you through the whole process. We would be more than happy to speak to you about any issues that have arisen from this on 01733 308 380 I'm so sorry that your policy has been cancelled and wish the best for the future. - Jamie

Posted 7 years ago

“The system does not work and Hastings Direct are selling a product that is not fit for its purpose. Hastings Direct have made no statements on this site to show that the system works as they can't it's just flawed technology they use and just simply avoid the issue. The system could never work and customers are being mislead by Hastings Direct the technology being used is not capable of what it claims it can do, this will lead to young drivers effectively being ripped off by Hastings Direct and the evidence of this can be seen all over the internet.”

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Posted 7 years ago

Hello there, I'm sorry that you feel the box data is incorrect, if the review is regarding your driving behaviour score, we do have a dedicated team that can go through individual journey that you have made and show you ways to improve certain elements of your driving. They can also explain how the box generates the data through G-Force ect. You can contact them on either 0800 048 2955 or via email at firstresponse@hastingsdirect.com. I hope this helps. - Jamie

Posted 7 years ago

“As a low mileage user the system is biased against me especially the curfew.”

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Posted 7 years ago

Hello there, Thank you for your review, even as a low mileage user you still have a great opportunity to obtain a high driving score, the time of day score may affect your overall score but as long as you stick to the speed limits, brake nice and early (and smoothly) and the same with your acceleration your score should still be OK. - Jamie

Posted 7 years ago

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Courier
On-time Delivery	Greater than 72%
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In	Under An Hour

Hastings Direct Smart Miles Reviews