Name: Hastings Direct Smart Miles
Rating: 3.30

“Absolutely the worst first time insurance I could have went to, constantly emailing and threatening to cancel my insurance claiming it was due to my driving. Then demanding to change near £200.00 in cancellation fees. Disgraceful!”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Hello Olivia, Thank you for your feedback. I'm sorry to see your experience has been a negative one. We do require you to have a score above 40/100 and are very transparent about this, the reason we try and contact you is to offer help, support and advise to improve your score. If you call the team on 0333 999 8372 an advisor will be able to assist you further. ~Jamie

Posted 5 years ago

“My son had a black box fitted from Hastings Direct (his second, first was a different coy but dearer than the renewal quote from Hastings hence the move) and the scores he receives are laughable. Please avoid this company if you want to insure your child. I have been out with him and watched his style of driving and then looked at his scores. I was amazed at how bad they are. It’s either broke or they expect him to drive Miss Daisy around??? Looking to source a new provider and pay that little bit more. Their threatening behaviour is alarming for a young lad. Frankly just S**t!!”

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Posted 5 years ago

Hi, I'm sorry to hear this is the case. We do have a first response team who will be happy to advise you on how to improve your score and you can speak to them by calling 0333 999 8452. I hope this issue is soon resolved for you. ~Lillie

Posted 5 years ago

“AVOID AVOID AVOID!! I took out the policy January this year, received an email in February stating a low score. At this point requested the iPhone link app. to measure performance. No link received. Called twice more, received no communication. Tried to go on line to register, but you can not without a password that they should forward you. Called again, to which they asked for a password, explained I had not been sent one. Later in September received another low score rating, at which I searched the net an ideal of how they measure performance. I do not break hard, and rarely out late. My car stationery for best part of the day. November, I receive another low score, and notice to cancel policy. (IF THEY CANCEL, YOU WILL BE PENALISED BY OTHER INSURERS) On calling, they explained my performance and actually stated it was not that bad on most area's but I should drive more in the day if I have a rare late night out, (surely stationery is safer?) and that I must accelerate to fast between gears if my breaking was controlled? I explained that I requested the dashboard several times, to which the Lewis, taking the call said he understood and that he would check calls logged, go to the underwriter and email back the next day. Guess what, he did not. But received another cancelation letter the following day. Another call was made, and Lewis did not take my call as he said he would, but another representative said that my call logs where not found, only one requesting the Dashboard. He said if we had not receive it we should have kept contacting them ….. REALLY? If they record all calls, they must have evidence they sent the email with iPhone link, or evidence they posted out a pass word ?? I asked for their complaints policy procedure, He said I would receive an email from their complaints department. Nothing as of yet. Today, I have spoken to Tasha, who was very helpful in cancelling the policy. One team member who actually come through. Please read through these reviews, I wish I had. It is a total rip off. And hassle a new driver could do without. No claims bonus here, they will cut your policy short, and try to charge you for cancelling too.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Hello there, I'm sorry to see you have had such a negative experience especially if you have tried so hard to get assistance from us. We would like to understand why this matter has arisen and why we were unable to help you as we should have. Please can you email us at socialmedia@hastingsdirect.com with your policy number, vehicle registration and date of birth along with this review so that we can ensure it gets raised with the Customer Relations department. As soon as this is investigated, we will get back to you. ~Jamie

Posted 5 years ago

“The price is good but its not worth the amount of stress they put you under to keep your score above 40. It sounds easy enough but they will f**k you over at every given opportunity. Taking points off you for no reason. They say there curfew isn’t strict but it is and once you score drops good luck trying to recover from it.”

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Posted 5 years ago

Hello, I'm sorry to read that you had a poor experience with your Smartmiles policy. Hastings Smartmiles does disclose that the time of day will affect the score before the policy is bought, I'm sorry if this information wasn't seen before purchase. If you're still insured with Hastings, I hope your time with us improves. You can contact the Smartmiles team on 01733 308 380 if you need any help with your policy. ~Theo

Posted 5 years ago

“Staff are very friendly for the most part, but the scoring system is awful and far too harsh. Cancelling my policy now and going elsewhere, they’re awful and improvement is nearly impossible.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Hello Kieron, I'm sorry to hear you're looking at leaving us and I do understand the frustration this may have caused. We'll be sure to pass your feedback on to the relevant department and hopefully we'll be able to offer you a competitive price in the future. ~Ethan.

Posted 5 years ago

“Took out this policy for my son. His girlfriend has the same policy. He had someone out to put the telematics box in his car,yet his girlfriend and some of his friends had to fit their own. He has received a threat to cancel his policy as his braking score is extremely low,yet he brakes in plenty of time. Once a week he drives to college which is in the country side. So its₩ lane driving. Yes sometimes you have to brake harder than normal due to other drivers. He has been given several reasons why his braking is low and they are all a load of bull. Who else is having these issues?? We really dont need the added stress especially the way he is being spoken too on the phone by Hastings. His braking score has been the same for the passed 3 months and has not moved. I have driven uis car with 25yrs experience yet his score still doesn't move. They tell him the box has updated their end. Personally I think it's a faulty box.any advise before I start really complaining.”

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Posted 5 years ago

Hello Karen, I'm sorry to hear you feel this way and I hope you have since managed to speak to someone to look into this for you. When setting up a policy with us, we do make sure you are aware that some vehicles need one of our engineers to come out and fit the box to your vehicle, whereas other vehicles allow you to fit the box yourself. That would just depend on the location of your car battery and how easy that is to fit. However, if you'd like to discuss your score, we do have a first response team who will be happy to advise how to improve your score. If you'd like to speak to them, you can call them on 0333 999 8372. ~Ethan.

Posted 5 years ago

“DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. Paid £100 for a black box got a 94/100 and was congratulated, they promised a discount , from day one I was sorry I fitted a box because you get a lot of stick from other drivers for driving correctly ! My quote for renewal with discount came back at double last years cost, the promise not to increase is just bull.....DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY”

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Posted 5 years ago

Hello Christopher, I'm sorry to see your experience with our SmartMiles policy was not a good one. With such a high driving behavior we would expect to see a good reduction on your renewal quote however, if there has been a claim in the year or any other discrepancies during this time, the quote can be higher. All quotes are also generated in 'live pricing' so can change constantly. ~ Jamie

Posted 5 years ago

“This is not company to do business with. I bought one of their policies on the understanding that it promotes cheaper car insurance for careful driving. What nonsense. I know how to drive. I have been driving for over 50 years which includes driving professionally for part of my driving career. I completed a year with a score of 94/100. on receiving a renewal quote from this company, the premium had risen considerably. I contacted this company and I was not given an explanation for the dramatic increase except that insurance is apparently calculated on a daily basis. I wonder then what on earth had happened on the day my renewal was created. I carried out a search and found comparable insurance much cheaper. This company places stringent restrictions with driving habits and there is no advantage. It creates an environment of dangerous intimidation from other road users and there is no reward. My message is, unless this situation is unique to me (which I doubt), don't bother with telematics. it is expensive in itself and clearly doesn't make a difference.”

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Posted 5 years ago

Hello there, I am really sorry that we weren't able to offer you a competitive renewal quote and that you feel you've had a negative experience with us. We thank you for previously insuring with us and we're sorry to be losing you as a customer. ~ Amber

Posted 5 years ago

“Never have I experienced such poor customer service if I ran my business like this I would be bankrupt in a month Staff have no interest in customer service Payed upfront £1600 pounds for a policy for my son with smart miles box last November he got all the usual threats every one gets to cancel for late night driving not driving etc etc Cancelled policy told no refund as a claim was outstanding against my son which has since been thrown out contacted Hastings after this and the now don’t recognise our policy number what a load of bull will be taking this much further”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Hello, I do apologise if you feel you've had a negative experience with us and I hope you have since managed to speak to someone to look into this for you. Without looking at the policy, we're not able to confirm what has happened in your circumstances. However, we can raise a complaint on your behalf if you contact us at contact@smartmiles.com. We'll do our best to help in any way we can. ~Ethan.

Posted 5 years ago

“Do not go for this company you honestly would rather pay a bit more to save your self from the worst company out there! I had an accident in which my cars structure was damage so my car was a right off. I spent THREE weeks without a car because that’s how long it took them to give me a price and resell it to me. bare in mind I am pregnant and they had no consideration. They don’t ever call you you have to chase them up every day and each tel member has completely different information and tells you a completely different story! Three weeks of struggling then I got the car back and that was the shock on my life during the accident the front pumper was damaged and that’s about it.. I get the car back and it looked like it had been through a word war I couldn’t even recognise it. scratches all around the car seats have been ripped apart and broken the radiator was hanging off the car wires you name it the whole front bumper was ripped off and bent to fit inside the car all the lights were ripped off when they were completely fine prior to the accident tape all over the car pieces were missing a bad a quote to fix it for £800 within a week to then become £2000 and minimum two weeks wait. They couldn’t care less and acted like it wasn’t their fault disgusting company honestly”

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Posted 5 years ago

Hello, I'm sorry to hear you've had an accident and I do appreciate the frustration this could have caused. I hope you have since managed to speak to someone to get some clarification around the damage to your vehicle and the outcome of your claim. If you do have any other questions around your claim or would like to get in contact with us, you can email us at socialmedia@hastingsdirect.com. We'll do our best to help in any way we can. ~Ethan.

Posted 5 years ago

“After reporting the damage caused to my car by Rs and showing you the pictures of the bodged wiring you have the cheek to send me a letter saying that it’s ok to do that and I should contact other people to sort it out . You were very quick to not insure my son when he put a exhaust on his car which was professionally fitted but won’t recignise poor workmanship by people you contract to fit smartmiles boxes . You’ve just took there word for it without even looking at the car which I find totally out of order . I would say to everybody having a box fitted make sure it’s fitted to the batterie and not solderd and cut into the main wiring loom . A very upset customer Lewis white”

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Posted 5 years ago

Hello Lewis, I'm sorry to hear you feel this way and I hope you have since managed to speak to someone in regards to this. For future reference, if you do need to get in contact with our smartmiles team, you can contact us on 0344 800 2561. Alternatively, you can email us at socialmedia@hastingsdirect.com. We'll do all we can to help with any questions or queries you may have and we will do our utmost to help in any way we can. ~Ethan.

Posted 5 years ago

“Absolute disgrace of a system that gives the underwriters more control of us than law or even legalese. My son has been on this system for 5 mths and after paying to date a large sum of money, his insurance is being cancelled because he doesn't pull away or brake correctly and drives after 10pm too much. Insurance corps like all corps are control mechanisms stealing our hard earned cash whilst controlling us like they are our parents!! Will be taking legal action, they bribed my son with "If you leave you won't have cancelled insurance to deal with" so people won't have a leg to stand on in court. We refused this disgust also!! Will be chasing down directors of both hastings and the under writers, might turn up at one of their functions!!”

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Posted 5 years ago

Hello Mark, I'm sorry to hear you feel this way and I hope you have since managed to speak to someone to explain the reasoning behind the cancellation. Without looking at your son's policy it's difficult to understand why the score has dropped so dramatically. We are very transparent with our terms and conditions on our website about driving between 10pm to 5am, the reason we have this time frame as an insurer, we know that most accidents happen between these hours and we do have a responsibility to ensure our younger, more inexperienced drivers are safe on the road. We do suggest that you don't drive between these hours but we do understand that sometimes you may need to. For any further questions around the score on the policy, you can contact our first response team on 0800 048 2955. We'll do our best to help with anything we can. ~Ethan.

Posted 5 years ago

“I CANCELLED MY POLICY ANS I WAS EXPECTING A CANCELLATION CHARGE AS PER THEIR TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF £45, BUT THEN I WAS HIT WITH AN ADDITIONAL £125 IN "OTHER FEES AS PER TERMS AND CONDITIONS". I LOOKED AT THEIR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND NO WHERE DOES IT STATE THAT UPON CANCELLATION YOU WILL BE CHARGED OTHER FEES. WHEN I CALLED AND ASKED THEM ABOUT THIS, I WAS REFERRED TO THE PAGES ON "LEGAL STATEMENTS PAGE 2" AND PAGE 25 AS WELL AS THEIR FEES PAGE. NO WHERE I GUARANTEE YOU DID I FIND ANY TEXT STATING THAT YOU WOULD BE CHARGED ADDITIONAL "OTHER FEES" FOR CANCELLATION. THEY RELY ON THEIR CUSTOMERS JUST NOT BOTHERING TO CHECK THEIR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND GET AWAY WITH CHARGING ADDITIONAL OTHER FEES WITH NO REAL JUSTIFICATION. AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE”

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Posted 5 years ago

Hello, I'm sorry to read about this and I appreciate the frustration the cancellation costs would have caused. We're unable to look at the cancellation of the Smart miles policy itself here, however a document should have been sent which showed the specific breakdown of the costs that were incurred when the policy was cancelled. If you look through the document and there any costs that you do not agree with please contact the smart miles team to discuss this. They can be reached on 01733 308 380 ~Theo

Posted 5 years ago

“I CANCELLED MY POLICY ANS I WAS EXPECTING A CANCELLATION CHARGE AS PER THEIR TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF £45, BUT THEN I WAS HIT WITH AN ADDITIONAL £125 IN "OTHER FEES AS PER TERMS AND CONDITIONS". I LOOKED AT THEIR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND NO WHERE DOES IT STATE THAT UPON CANCELLATION YOU WILL BE CHARGED OTHER FEES. WHEN I CALLED AND ASKED THEM ABOUT THIS, I WAS REFERRED TO THE PAGES ON "LEGAL STATEMENTS PAGE 2" AND PAGE 25 AS WELL AS THEIR FEES PAGE. NO WHERE I GUARANTEE YOU DID I FIND ANY TEXT STATING THAT YOU WOULD BE CHARGED ADDITIONAL "OTHER FEES" FOR CANCELLATION. THEY RELY ON THEIR CUSTOMERS JUST NOT BOTHERING TO CHECK THEIR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND GET AWAY WITH CHARGING ADDITIONAL OTHER FEES WITH NO REAL JUSTIFICATION. AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Hello, I'm sorry to read about this and I appreciate the frustration the cancellation costs would have caused. We're unable to look at the cancellation of the Smart miles policy itself here, however a document should have been sent which showed the specific breakdown of the costs that were incurred when the policy was cancelled. If you look through the document and there any costs that you do not agree with please contact the smart miles team to discuss this. They can be reached on 01733 308 380 ~Theo

Posted 5 years ago

“My daughter (20) is a very good driver. She has been driving for over 3 years and previous black boxes were never a problem. I have been in the car when she has driven long journeys. Her driving was excellent. No speeding, no late breaking, sudden acceleration etc yet she struggles to keep her score over 40. It just doesn't make sense. We had the threats of cancellation which really stressed her out and has spoken to them a number of times about how to improve her score. It just doesn't make a difference!”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Hello Jon, I'm very sorry to read that your daughter has had a negative experience with her telematics policy. I appreciate what you have said and perhaps other aspects could be affecting her score such as the time of day she is driving. If you do speak to the smart miles team and provide them with the policy reference, they can take a look and perhaps advise what exactly was the reason to the low scores. I hope this has since improved or if she is now insured elsewhere, that she has a more positive experience with her new insurer ~Theo

Posted 5 years ago

“Absolutely shocking! I have had a black box with another company for over 5 years with well above average scores. With Hastings the data is completely incorrect they think I've done 220 miles when I've actually done over 3500 so making my scores low, they actually make the figures up. I have been in contact with the technical department who have not even answered and have taken to emailing my mileage every day to prove how incorrect their data is. I am disgusted with this company, I think it is a complete scam and I will be contacting the Ombudsman!”

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Posted 5 years ago

Hello Donna, I'm very sorry to read about the poor experience you had while you were with Hastings Smart Miles and that it has caused you to raise a complaint. I hope that the steps that you have taken has yielded some positive results and I hope that the complaint is being dealt with in a satisfactory manner. The Financial ombudsman may request that a complaint is raised internally before referring to them. You can do this with the smart miles complaints team by visiting: contact@hastingsdirectsmartmiles.com ~Theo

Posted 5 years ago

“Avoid at all costs. My son broke down scored 0 despite informing Hastings. Really hard to build score on breaking acceleration... old car? No support when he phoned them. Score 0 for the day if out passed 10 pm. Threats of cancellation during his A levels.”

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Posted 5 years ago

Hello, I'm sorry to read that your son struggled to get to grips with the scoring parameters on the telematics box and I can appreciate this would have caused some frustration. We do suggest speaking to the First Response Unit if our Smart miles customers have any problems with the scores. They specialise in training your drivers to work with the telematics box so they can get the best our of their driving. They can be reached on 0800 048 2955. Driving between the hours of 10pm and 5am is a measuring parameter on the policy and the company does strive to disclose that in this time frame can negatively impact the driver's scores. I'm sorry if this information wasn't seen before this cover was purchased ~Theo

Posted 5 years ago

“Avoid at all costs. My daughter has just had notification three weeks from her renewal date that her policy is being cancelled. She had a note one month in to this policy saying her score had dropped below 40. When she rang she was told it was one incident of breaking that had brought the score down. She pointed out that a tractor had pulled out on her and she had no alternative but to break. The customer care consultant was sympathetic and told her not to worry about it and to ring should she every have to break suddenly. She then continued to drive incident free for the next 10 months and received this letter out of the blue to say her policy is being cancelled and charging her £195 for the privilege. Crooks in my mind, putting young drivers in financial difficulty and making her lose out on 1 years no claims 3 weeks before her policy is due for renewal. The ombudsman needs to step in, in my opinion, based on the horror stories amongst these reviews. I will never entertain them for any insurance again! I would have given a zero if it had been possible.”

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Posted 5 years ago

Hi there, I'm sorry to see your daughter is in this position. We wouldn't penalise her for one braking event though as an insurer, wouldn't be fair put her in danger. We average the braking over the whole journey and if there is some late braking, this will have a negative impact on the overall score. We do have a dedicated team who can advise and support during this process. The First Response Unit can be contacted on 0800 048 2955. ~ Jamie

Posted 5 years ago

“Hastings WILL think up numbers out of thin air and make you pay it!! I have been with Hastings for 2 years and my car insurance for this year went up by £200. When I challenged them they couldn't give me a direct answer and just got annoyed. Customer service is terrible - everyone I spoke to didn't seem phased I was leaving them at all. First person I talked to said there would be no cancellation fee. Second person said there would be a small cancellation fee. Then they charge me an additional £100+ AS WELL AS as the cancellation fee (said it was 'cover charge' and interest, in addition to the first monthly charge I had paid). I spoke to 5 different people who all told me different things. Anyway, they spoke to their management and gave me some money off as a "good will" then sheepishly ended the call with "that first month's interest did seem like a lot"... Good luck cancelling folks :)”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Hi there, Thank you for your feedback. I'm sorry to see you were unhappy with your initial renewal quote, quotes are generated in live pricing and sometimes you could get a reduction on the price due to the price changing constantly. Its really disappointing though that you feel that the staff you spoke to mis-advised you and seemed annoyed when confronted with your question. I'm glad to see you managed to get some money back as a good will gesture and hope you have managed to find alternative cover. ~ Jamie

Posted 5 years ago

“Avoid at all costs.... unpleasant staff and unhelpful. My son has been driving for just over ten months now with a few weeks to go to the end of his policy but now getting notifications of poor braking but his speed is always good. Now threats of cancellation of policy. I am usually in the car with him and his braking has been fine and never speeds. I think this is a way of getting more money from people and it is unfair to put this pressure on younger drivers as he is afraid of driving now Incase of getting negative results. I appreciate why these boxes are installed to help younger drivers and ensure they drive sensibly but there is sensible driving and ridiculous restrictions placed upon them. I even got his past driving instructor to passenger beside him and when the journey was over we got negative results of braking only. Why can this be especially when driving correctly???”

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Posted 5 years ago

Hi there, Its more than disappointing that you have found the staff unhelpful and unpleasant. We strive to be as professional and courteous at all times so if this wasn't the case I apologise. We do have a dedicated team that can guide and support your son through the last few weeks of his policy, giving advice and helpful tips to get his score back to where it needs to be. The First Response Unit can be reached on 0800 048 2955. ~ Jamie

Posted 5 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