Name: Hastings Direct Smart Miles
Rating: 3.30

“Worst Car Insurance EVER! 1, very highly price at around 2 grand a year for a 16 plate SEAT Ibiza,1.0 Litre. 2, terrible customer service. 3, managers are the worst, i spoke to them about my complaint and he didn't take me seriously. 4, They wanted to cancel my insurance because according to there records I was speeding when I had my mother and brother in the car who can verify that I wasn't speeding. 5. I had a car accident that wasn't even my fault and they wanted to cancel so I cancelled the insurance, making it the best decision I have ever done! I have already made a complain, now I'm pending a response.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Hello Simon, I'm very sorry to read that you didn't have a positive experience with Hastings Smart miles and I hope that the complaint you raised has since been resolved to your satisfaction. If you do need to chase this, please contact the smart miles customer service team on 01733 308 380 so they can check the progress of this for you ~Theo

Posted 5 years ago

“Worst car insurance Please please take notice of the bad reviews, I stupidly didn’t and believed that because they were a big name insurance they would be a good company to go for, how wrong could I be. My daughters insurance is going to be cancelled in 7 days time as like many others because she hasn’t been able to get her scores up from the beginning. The app only updates after every 70 miles, so unlike other black boxes you can’t review your driving score after every journey. My daughter also had a car accident in January and although they have paid out for the car, something that took me countless phone calls to sort( surely that’s their job!) because they are dragging their heels, still not sorted after 4 months( not even got in touch with the witnesses yet!) and they claim is still open, they now want us to pay over £400 for cancelling the insurance!!!!! Please take notice of the bad reviews, do not let your sons or daughters go with this company!!!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Hello, I'm sorry to read that your daughter was involved in an accident and didn't have a positive experience with Hastings Smart miles. The telematic box may not update after every journey as they do strive to give drivers a chance to improve their scores over a longer period of time, especially when there is a risk of cancellation should the scores drop to a certain threshold. I really hope that positive progress has been made since the point of this review and that the claim has been now been settled. If you believe that this was poorly handled and the policyholder wishes to raise a formal complaint, please contact the Smart miles complaints team on contact@hastingsdirectsmartmiles.com. If you choose to do this, I hope that a satisfactory resolution can be reached regarding your complaint ~Theo

Posted 5 years ago

“Absolutely terrible customer service. Their equipment and data capture is incorrect, you spend hours trying to speak to someone. No one calls back when they say. They speak to you like you are stupid until you explain them through the inaccuracies, calculations and how basic maths principles work. You call a number they give you which tells you they are closed and their hours are 8am-8pm - it's 6pm???”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Hello, I'm very sorry if you have had a poor experience with Hastings Smart miles and I hope that your experience and time with us has improved since this review. If you feel as is if you have been spoken to in a poor manner and you wish to raise a formal complaint you can do so by visiting: contact@hastingsdirectsmartmiles.com. A complaint handler would be able to investigate this matter for you. The call centre can be reached on 01733 308 380 on weekdays from 8am-8pm. On weekends the closing hours do change to 5pm on a Saturday and 4pm on a Sunday. I do apologise for any confusion which may have been caused ~Theo

Posted 5 years ago

Hello CH, I’m sorry to hear you feel this way and I do understand the frustration of not receiving a call back when one has been arranged. If you're not sure why your score isn't improving and you feel you've been driving sensibly throughout the year, our first response team will be happy to look into your score and provide some advice on how to improve your score, you can contact them on 0800 048 2955. If you do have any further questions around this process or would your policy information, you can contact us at: socialmedia@hastingsdirect.com. We’ll do all we can to help. ~Ethan.

Posted 5 years ago

“1. Their smart box is very sensitive and will heavily penalise you for slightest errors. It is as if they are on a mission to cancel your policy 2. If you cancel your policy, they will deduct a charge you £45 as a cancellation fee, £100 deposit for smart box PLUS a fee of £90 if you would like to get the smart box removed from your car. Basically £235! So, first they would charge £100 for smart box then an extra £90 just to remove it. And once they remove it, you won't get your £100 back! Never again!”

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Posted 6 years ago

Hello, Thank you for taking to time to leave some feedback with us. The box does measure the G-force of your driving actions and your braking for example does need to be smooth enough to prevent a glass of water on your dashboard from toppling over. I believe it is similar to how you would have been taught by a driving instructor. As a company Hastings Smart miles does strive to disclose all fees and costs before the policy is purchased so I do apologise if that information was missed on this occasion. I really hope that your experience has improved since the point of this review and if you have since left, thank you for having been insured with Hastings Smart miles ~Theo

Posted 5 years ago

“1. Their smart box is very sensitive and will heavily penalise you for slightest errors. It is as if they are on a mission to cancel your policy 2. If you cancel your policy, they will deduct a charge you £45 as a cancellation fee, £100 deposit for smart box PLUS a fee of £90 if you would like to get the smart box removed from your car. Basically £235! So, first they would charge £100 for smart box then an extra £90 just to remove it. And once they remove it, you won't get your £100 back! Never again!”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Hello, Thank you for taking to time to leave some feedback with us. The box does measure the G-force of your driving actions and your braking for example does need to be smooth enough to prevent a glass of water on your dashboard from toppling over. I believe it is similar to how you would have been taught by a driving instructor. As a company Hastings Smart miles does strive to disclose all fees and costs before the policy is purchased so I do apologise if that information was missed on this occasion. I really hope that your experience has improved since the point of this review and if you have since left, thank you for having been insured with Hastings Smart miles ~Theo

Posted 5 years ago

“wish I never took out insurance with Hastings, black box app does not work at all. when it did, scoring was terribly. breaking goes down if you break a lot (which is impossible in busy traffic on the way to work when you had to stop and start constantly). now have no idea what my score is like as the app won't work. definitely will be changing after the year ends. no matter how cheap, would not recommend to anyone.”

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Posted 6 years ago

Hello, I appreciate the frustration not being able to track your scores would cause and I hope that this has been rectified since you posted you review. They do recommend that the braking should be smooth enough to the point that a glass of water on your dashboard would not tip over, as a result the severity of the braking is more likely to have an impact on the score than the frequency. You can always contact the smart miles team to discuss your scores or the app by contacting 01733 308 380. An adviser would be able to assist you -Theo

Posted 5 years ago

“Honestly the biggest scam on the Internet. As many other people on this site have mentioned, the braking section is fucked. You brake too harshly a couple of times and that's it, it Goes to 0 and you can never get it back up. Drive safely for 2 months without braking harshly and its still on 0. Because of the braking column your whole rating is low so you let time of day slip once and BAM you've been scammed out of 1400 pounds. Would rather die than continue on with my policy for much longer. Cheers hastings🥰”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Hello, I appreciate the frustration this would have caused and I hope that some positive progress has been made with Hastings Smart miles since the time of your review. I appreciate that you may have moved on to a new insurer since this was posted, however if you do need to discuss your scores and they are proving to be problematic, please contact the First Response Team on 0800 048 2955. An adviser would be more than happy to help you ~Theo

Posted 5 years ago

“I've had my Black Box for 5 months and I am a careful driver, I went out once late at night after the curview they give u (which btw is pure bs I've spend 12% driving at night and have a score of 40 out of 100 which makes sense) I was driving below speed limit by about 5mph as there was a police car in front of me, yet the morning after I had my speeding go down from 100 to 90 which didn't make sense especially as the road I was driving down is full of speed cameras. My acceleration on the other hand is 15/100 when I accelerate as I was tault to by my driving Instructure, I have a 1.25lt so on hills I put my foot down slightly but I'm not please at all with my Expirence with this Black Box and I pay £2700 for my insurance at the age of 18 which is more than any1 ik”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Hi Ben, Sorry that you feel you have had a negative experience with our SmartMiles policy. If you would like to discuss your driving scores in more detail then you are welcome to contact the SmartMiles team on 01733 308 380. Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. ~ Amber

Posted 5 years ago

“I took out a policy for my nephew a month ago and his score has been getting increasingly lower even though I have been diligently observing his driving myself. I'm also a named driver so have been driving it myself for the past 4 days and score has got even lower! I've been driving almost 30 years with no accidents! they have emailed to say they will cancel the policy if there's no improvement in 200 miles. I have emailed Hastings today for an explanation on why this is happening?? awaiting response. Rest assured that if I'm not happy with the way this is handled I will also contact BBC watchdog with my concerns over Hastings.”

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Posted 6 years ago

Hi Sarah, I do hope that you and your nephew managed to increase his driving scores. Our SmartMiles team are contactable on 01733 308 380 and are always happy to provide tips on how to increase driving behavioral scores. ~ Amber

Posted 5 years ago

“Acceleration has stayed on 0 the whole time I’ve had the policy (when I set off slower than most), told I was doing 65 in a 30, at 08:22 (rush hour) just before a roundabout, with cars parked on both sides and speed bumps all the way down that road. If these are their findings, what’s to suggest all the other readings from the black box are valid. Worth spending an extra couple of hundred pound and going with another insurance company.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Hello, I am sorry if you feel you've had a negative experience with our SmartMiles policy. If you would like to discuss your driving scores further then you can contact the SmartMiles team on 01733 308 380. ~ Amber

Posted 5 years ago

“First I was insured for £1500, first year with a score of 75 renewal was really good £575. But second year was the problem which I was scored higher 85 but renewal was £900 that's £325 higher on a better score?? Please someone explain this to me.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Hi Kess, I am sorry that we weren't able to offer you a competitive renewal quote in your second year, despite your increased driving score. Our prices and ratings fluctuate regularly and prices are set by the underwriters so I am afraid I cannot provide an exact reason as to why your renewal was much higher than the year before. Thank you for having insured with us for two years and thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. ~ Amber

Posted 5 years ago

“Worst company I have ever come across. Had an accident, man left the scene when I called to report it was told ot wasn't my fault and that my NCD wouldn't be affected. 5 MONTHS LATER I'm still awaiting an outcome and my insurance has gone up and they've taken my NCD because "the case hasn't been closed yet" and "they're not pushing for the case to be closed" as I haven't claimed for any damage. I haven't claimed as I'm not paying £600 to be given MORE false information and for them to just take my money and do nothing for it. I was lied to on multiple occasions and even lied to someone else who was dealing with my claim..”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Hi Paige, Sorry that you've had a negative claims experience. The accident circumstances may suggest that you are the non-fault party however if the third party's insurers are disputing liability then your claim would remain open and your no claims bonus years would be temporarily reduced until liability has been resolved and it is confirmed that you are not at fault for the incident. I am really sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause. If you need further help with this matter then you are welcome to contact our claims customer service team on 0333 321 9800. ~ Amber

Posted 5 years ago

“My son has a smart miles box, his driving is fine. his box has recorded he has had an accident which he hasn't had. the car is showing that it has been driven to places that it hasn't when the car is stationary The stress this has caused as we have been threatened with insurance cancellation on more than one occasion. the customer service is non-existent, I have asked for a callback now on three occasions. My son had a black box last year with no issues whatsoever, his driving has not changed he is a sensible driver that drives approximately 50 miles per day on the motorway yet the box is not rising above 36”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Hello Lisa, I am really sorry that your son has had so much trouble with his black box and I do apologise that you didn't have a positive customer experience with us. If you believe that the black box is faulty then it is best to call the SmartMiles team on 01733 308 380 to discuss this further and if you would like to raise a formal complaint due to this experience then you can do so by following this link: ow.ly/rgmi30jT3rR ~ Amber

Posted 5 years ago

“My name is Steve Elton and I’m outraged by this company, my daughter had to talk about her renewal and was asked about illnesses and she told Carl she was going to be going in hospital for a bone marrow transplant next week so he did what they do and then refused her insurance, right we’ve contacted dvla and a bone marrow transplant is not an illness they consider as a problem with driving as it does not affect your mental state and you are not aloud out of hospital unless you can walk and have the full use of your body, I believe this should be overturned and I will be phoning them on Monday morning”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Hi Steve, Apologies for the delay in our reply to your review and I really do hope that your daughter is feeling well. I hope that this matter was resolved and if not then you are welcome to raise a formal complaint by following this link: ow.ly/rgmi30jT3rR ~ Amber

Posted 5 years ago

“Fraud. All I’ll say is if you want to go with these cunts then put a glass of water on you dashboard, because that’s how they expect to drive if you have a box. It’s also rigged to make your driving awful. In there policy wording, it stated that braking will only go down if you brake harshly on a regular basis, however I only braked harshly once and they instantly put the score for braking down by over 40. It’s an absolute joke, their cunts simple as that. MyPolicy aren’t much better either”

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Posted 6 years ago

Hi there, Thanks for your review. I am very sorry to hear you feel this way. The black box is based on all of your driving data so if you brake harshly once this will make a impact to your score depending on how many overall miles you have done. If you would like the team to clarify this for you, or if you would like to question any reductions on your score then you can always contact the team on 01733 308 380. ~ Harriot

Posted 6 years ago

“What out...I think the staff may be programmed too.!.. Linked up to a black box, which reduces their pay if they tell the truth, accept what a customer is saying, or don’t follow the script. Jamie, who gives feed back in customer service must me on a good wack! Mind he does have copy and paste at your disposal, but, I suppose it’s only a matter of time before similar, customers come along with the same name. Waiting to be patronisied and dismissed. Shame on this company.. Get out Jamie.. Run.. Run...Run...!before they switch you off. The reviews are transparent....can you not see.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Hi there, Thanks for your review. Sorry to hear you have had such a poor experience, and I apologise for any distress or frustration that this has caused you. I hope your situation has now been resolved, however if not please feel free to email our team on help@hastingsdirect.com for assistance. ~ Harriot

Posted 6 years ago

“AVOID!!! IF I COULD GOVE ZERO I WOULD!! Firstly I was unable to be contacted properly as I used an iCloud email, I rang multiple times to complain about problems and reading from the box every time the quality of service was shockingly poor, one woman explaining she ‘doesn’t understand how the scores work’ To cut a long story short after 3 weeks I recieved notice of my policy cancellation then told to cancel my own policy to avoid the adverse effects. Now charged £195 for box and cancellation and £130 direct debit for a months policy which they have informed me will still go out after my cancellation date. AVOID AT ALL COSTS PURE SCAM!!! Wish I’d read reviews prior. Lesson learned!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Hi there, Thank you for your review. It is more than disappointing to see that you had such a negative experience dealing wit our customer service team and I'm also sorry that the whole cancellation process has been a costly one. In the circumstances, if you feel we have mistreated you in any way, you can raise a complaint by clicking on this link: contact@hastingsdirectsmartmiles.com. ~ Jamie

Posted 6 years ago

“If I can prevent one person from buying insurance from this company I shall be happy. This organisation is a complete scam company that will sell a young person cheap insurance then a few weeks later say that they are driving poorly and cancel the insurance and charge them £45 for cancellation and £150 for the box. Times that by a few thousand and you have made a pretty profit with no risk. It is legalised exstortion and the Ombusman says that they have thousands of complaints but they are within the law- but only just. So if you’re thinking about buying insurance from these people, please, please look elsewhere or you will regret it.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Hi there, Thank you for your feedback. I'm sorry you have had such a negative experience with your SmartMiles insurance. We are very transparent with our terms and conditions, especially in the fact that we monitor policy holders scores and require them to stay above 40/100. We also offer help and support to give all policy holders that scores drop below, the best possible chance of improving their scores through help and support. If this wasn't the case in your situation I apologise sincerely. ~ Jamie

Posted 6 years ago

“Clearly a fraud, my son has just had the same 0 for acceleration and 30 for speed since getting the car, despite him driving like Mary Poppins. Had the same email warning they will cancel and then a week later the cancellation email. The fact that the score has never changed on the acceleration and speed in 6 months tells you something....it does not work and is a scam to allow them to scare young drivers into cancelling their policy so that Hastings do not have to pay out. This will catch up with you Hastings and I will be one of the first in line with my legal representative when it does.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Hi there, Thank you for your review. I'm sorry to see that your son is having issues with their driving behaviour score. We do require our policy holders to keep their score above 40/100 but do have processes in place to help support and improve their score. The First Response Unit is dedicated to provide assistance in these situations, explaining how the box collects the data and giving examples of when acceleration and speeding may have been harsher than usual. The team can be reached on 0800 048 2955. ~ Jamie

Posted 6 years ago

“My son has been told they are withdrawing his car insurance as his score has been below 40. Tell me why his speed has been scored at 30 for the whole 5 months and he did ring and query it and they said everything was fine. Also his acceleration is 0 and has never changed in the 5 months he's had his insurance?????? Surely this is a system that is faulty???? Is it fare that he loses his insurance and all the money he's paid??”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Hi there, Thank you for your feedback. I'm sorry to see your son has had so many issues with his SmartMiles policy. If you are unsure of the scores that your son has accumulated and want some clarity, we do have a dedicated team that can give examples, helpful hints and support to see him improve his driving behaviour score. The First Response Unit can be contacted on 0800 048 2955. ~ Jamie

Posted 6 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