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Hastings Direct Smart Miles Reviews

3.3 Rating 2,013 Reviews
56 %
of reviewers recommend Hastings Direct Smart Miles
3.3
Based on 2,013 reviews
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

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Black box is just not reflective of my driving. I drive a hybrid car and am very steady when I drive to stay on electric fuel. However 2 weeks in and score is low and the Hastings App is stating issues with braking and turning corners to fast. It just never happens so unless you are driving a car that has a 1 Ltr engine stay away from this insurance.
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Posted 1 year ago
The concept is good but the GPS cannot detect slowing down for a dozen speed bumps. Last week it told me I was taking roundabouts too quick. It was 8am in the morning all the roundabouts were stacked. Lucky if I got past 10MPH. It also assumes that yiou drive a fiat 500 or Hyundai i10 that accelerates like a sloth climbing a tree. My cat accelerates with your foot hardly down. It’s just another big brother gimic. No my fault accidents on the road on 33 years and no pointd
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Posted 2 years ago
Very easy to use and install. I have a healthy score despite making one of two minor braking errors, and even if it does occasionally make a mistake (as others have noted) if you don't drive like a lunatic in time the score adjusts back up quite quickly. I assume speeding only kicks in if you go above 70mph - haven't gone out of town yet...
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Posted 2 years ago
I think the black box is far too sensitive. I won't renew with them as I feel they are taking advantage of people. My concern is, and it is demonstrated by a lot of the comments is that as an insurance company they are going to hide behind the statistics. The data tells us this and the data tells us that. This is very dangerous ground as a consumer to be hearing.
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Posted 2 years ago
My insurance was cancelled because my score dropped below 30, but here’s the weird thing. The black box was extremely over sensitive, marking me down for taking corners too fast when i definitely was not, even marked me down when i emergancy stopped because it was either that or a head on collision?? and here’s the even weirder part- the year before i was insured with another company black box and no issues. after cancelling my hastings policy i’ve gone with another company which tells me im a “gold driver”. so im struggling to understand how hastings thinks im such an awful driver, if two other telematics boxes have told me im a great driver? honestly would not recommend this company to anyone if you’re looking for a black box policy. it’s just a money grab. only thing i have good to say about them is how easy it was to cancel my insurance before they cancelled it themselves
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Posted 2 years ago
The drive app useing the Tab is rubbish works when it feels like when u pulling away from junction to busy main road it say on hard acceleration and when u stopping to give away on coming traffic says harsh braking which gives u bad score.
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Posted 2 years ago
As of yet ive not had many problems , i do think that they want you to cause an accident by driving slow eeverywhere , ive now installed another drivescore app to compare with hastings if a time comes that they mess me about , im a hgv driver so this registers me all day everyday so i should have a conflicting case if they try to play the game
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Posted 2 years ago
Absolutely terrible organisation. We live on a hill and most of the car journeys are local, ie schools, local shops etc. It requires more breaking and acceleration than in what I assume they see fit and have had a nasty conversation with their so called customer services. They talked over me when speaking and kept repeating the same script. There are also multiple journeys that are not being recorded to get a correct average. All they repeat is ‘the data shows’. It’s a classic scenario of The Customer Says. My advise is to stay away..
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Posted 2 years ago
This is crazy, I am a professional driver and the first day I used the app, I was getting score 100, now past 2 days I am driving the same, but the app is giving low scores and showing phone usage while driving, harsh braking, bad acceleration? What nonsense, this is absurd as my driving has not changed and I never use the phone whilst driving. Very disappointed, it seems like a flippin scam, I want to cancel this policy asap!
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Posted 2 years ago
Over sensitive on breaking, if you break perfectly 8 x out of 10 it takes the 2 that were bad, I drive a BMW 520D MSport 2 litre setting off is totally different from a 1 litre, you need to take this into consideration 🤬
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Posted 2 years ago
When I drive I always concern about the tab. I want to make a perfect score, but this would even more dangerous. I am afraid to brake normally.
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Posted 2 years ago
While i can understand how the system is supposed to work. It is badly flawed. Overly sensitive. Not up to real world use. The breaking warnings are ridiculous. Driving through single track lanes with blind bends, hairpins and passing places. Combined with High hedges. Farm equipment in road. Sometimes hard breaking is necessary. The hard acceleration warnings come up on anything other than glacial speed acceleration. Ive been driving for 30 yrs. On four continents. 11 countries. Including 3rd World countries. 17yrs no claims bonus. This system is shambolic. Your more worried about the score, making you second guess yourself. Making you a more unsafe road user.
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Posted 2 years ago
Just been on call with this pathetic company and queried their policy rule about breaking with "what if a child steps out in front of my car and I have to break suddenly do you expect me to just mow them down" they said yes. Absolutely despicable and inhumane company.
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Posted 2 years ago
It keeps telling me I have used my phone when I haven't. If I switch from car radio to external source (audible on phone) I do NOT need to touch or look at my phone for the current title to start playing, yet the app determines I'm looking at my phone. Utter bollox
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Posted 2 years ago
Hastings You Drive app is too difficult to use. Worked fine (I think) on one phone then wont switch to a new phone - same number and SIM. Horizon style. To boot, I did not know that I signed up to it (driving dat). I will be more careful next time. I would not recommend this type of policy. Too much bloody hassle.
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Posted 2 years ago
Do not deal with this company there suppose to refund my payment in full if I decide to cancel within 14 days. I cancelled within 2 days and they charged me £40.00 How can they get away with this it’s written in law that you get a full refund if you cancel within 14 days.
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Posted 2 years ago
I m driving with black boxes on the busses for the last 10 years and i m awarded for the last 15 years for my safety driving...that box is inaccurate, very bad calibrated ,showing you are on the phone while phone is moving and they said is accurate...accurate means honedty...you try to overtake a staller and it shows speeding...you brake to avoid a bike cuts your way in a single file it shoes to much brake...but most annoying is yhst they trying to tell you that you are a bad driver after 25 years no claim without any blame worth accident...time to wske up ...as for the one 97 score....it looks suspicious...how it vomes so many drivers to be bad and only few to be good...another propaganda of underestimation minds and psychological bullying....
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Posted 2 years ago
Daylight robbery - stay away from Hastings Direct. I was not informed about the black box and app when I purchased insurance online. They customer journey experience is deceitful - I didn't want the black box and they sold me the Smart Miles policy. They have harassed for the last two weeks. They have bombarded me with text messages, emails and letters remind me to keep driving to keep my score high. This is NOT the policy I bought and they pushed it upon me and they are now saying it was my fault. I am left with their extortionate cancellation fee of £45 and £75 outstanding balance. This is after being with them for less than a month. DAYLIGHT ROBBERY. I wouldn't recommend Hastings Direct Insurance to anyone. Pay more elsewhere but have peace of mind - they are robbers!
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Posted 2 years ago
Hasting Direct sent me numerous correspondence after 2 weeks of being insured with them to say I'm under the score of 30 and within this correspondence it tells me that I need to improve, which I do and my score goes into the 40s. Next thing they are contacting me to tell me they are cancelling my policy. What was the point of telling me to improve? Really not worth using this policy
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Posted 2 years ago
After trying to connect the black box to my phone a dozen times with no joy they emailed me and said they would cancel my insurance finally I did connect it and it worked but it doesn't record all my journeys it say once you have connected as long as you have your phone with you it will record your journeys but that is not the case they sent me an email saying they were having technical problems I don't know what the problem is but its not recording every journey
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Posted 2 years ago
Hastings Direct Smart Miles is rated 3.3 based on 2,013 reviews