Name: Hastings Direct Smart Miles
Rating: 3.34

“I’m quite confused about these reviews, I have had my black box for 3 months now after taking up the policy immediately after I’d passed my test, I find the app easy to use and feel the scoring system is fare, my score has never dropped below 85, and can occasionally be as high as 91. The only problem I have with the policy is the time of day and braking section, I feel many teenagers (like myself) have part time jobs at bars etc which involves shifts finishing past 10pm this makes the curfew very unfair and can kill your score badly when your driving is safe. The braking score i feel is too harsh, you can’t help braking harshly sometimes and I feel sometimes it’s made me dangerous as I’m reluctant to slam the brakes on in emergencies as I don’t want to damage my score. My speed and acceleration scores have never dropped below 100 as I have stuck to the speed limits (it’s not hard) my time of day score is 75 after driving back from work every other week and my braking score is 65 (I feel I rarely harshly brake and when I do my score plummets down and is hard to get back up) my overall score is 88 and I’m set for the biggest discount at renewal. I feel these reviews give a biased representative of the policy, I feel only people who have had problems have reviewed it which means it looks awful when it really isn’t, for the price there’s no point going anywhere else, it’s a year with the black box then I can renew without one ore I can switch companies if they refuse to remove it as I would have built a years no claims discount + a years experience”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Hi there, Thank you for your honest review. We are really pleased that you find the app easy to use and that you feel the scoring system is fair. I have passed your feedback on to the SmartMiles team with regards to the 10pm curfew and also regarding feeling reluctant to brake in emergency brake situations because of not wanting to drop your driving behavioral score, which has sometimes made you feel dangerous. Our SmartMiles team are more than happy to discuss tips for improving your driving behavioral score if ever you would like to talk about this with the team. The SmartMiles team can be contacted on 01733 308 380. ~ Amber ~ Amber ~ Amber

Posted 4 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 4 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 4 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 4 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 4 years ago

“Awful customer service been on the phone today to four different people and still feel like nothing is being done. I phoned this morning to enquire about changing my policy to a new car or cancelling my policy. Only to find out later when I finished work that my policy was changed to my new registration and I was driving around with no insurance on my car because they had made a mistake. Luckily nothing happened but I had no phone call or message to say that it had been changed. Only an email when I got home to say my new policy had been taken out to which I rang them straight away to see what was going on. They didn’t seem to think it was a problem and said that it’s all sorted now. I spoke to two other people before speaking to a manager who was very blunt and didn’t seem to care. I had also asked them to change my mobile phone number twice by two different members of staff and even when I rung the third time it still hasn’t been changed so they had no way of phoning me. They didn’t even try and persuade me to stay with their company it was more money to change my car over than it is to stay with them. I think it’s awful and I wouldn’t advise anyone to take out insurance with them. Extremely poor customer service.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Hi there, I'm sorry to see you seem to have had such a negative experience trying to speak with an advisor to get this matter resolved. If you feel you have been mistreated in any way and would like us to raise a complaint for you, please email us with your policy details and complaint points to socialmedia@hastingsdirect.com where we will investigate in full. ~ Jamie

Posted 4 years ago

“10 months in 2 to go thank god! Not happy with the accuracy of the journeys record...It show my son drives through houses through their back garden then back through a garden and house and joins the next road, goes across fields,and he even once drove through a river !!! Braking and acceleration scores are a joke too.. Spoke to customer service about this and all I got was attitude from some jumped up bloke who thinks he is a perfect driver trying to tell my son to drive with a cup of water on his dashboard then he will get a better score.. If i turn his car on to check lights etc without moving it says he has driven 1 mile which I do 2 times a week.. His score has been good since taking out the policy not dropping below 50-55 points . He's now 6 weeks from his renewal date it has dropped to 40 points overnight and he's driving no different as I regularly check his dash cam.. very suspicious indeed 🤔. You are in my eyes putting unessary pressure on young vulnerable drivers.. I can guarantee one thing I will not be renewing with this shambles of a company... Que the computer generated reply....”

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Posted 4 years ago

Hi there, Thank you for your review. Unfortunately with any Sat Nav based product there can be satellite drift at certain times. In regards to my colleagues advice on your sons breaking and acceleration scores, the cup of water theory is a hypothetical one and smooth measured driving will improve both scores. I do apologise if you feel we are putting undue pressure on our younger more inexperienced drivers which is why we have a dedicated department to help, support and try and assist in getting their scores back to where they need to be. ~ Jamie

Posted 4 years ago

Hello Andy, It's disappointing to read that your son is having such a poor experience with his Smart miles policy and I apologise if the particular customer adviser that you spoke to did not provide you with the level of customer service you deserve. The Smart miles team does have a specific First Response Unit that can look at the telematics box, discuss the scoring and see if there are any issues there. You can reach them on 0800 048 2955 if you need to discuss this. I appreciate that your son has not had the best experience to date and I hope that some positive progress can be made concerning this ~Theo

Posted 4 years ago

“Everything”

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Posted 4 years ago

Hello Abbie, I do apologise if you feel you've had a poor experience with us and I do hope you have since had this issue resolved. If you do have any other questions or queries or you need to arrange a call back, you can contact us at socialmedia@hastingsdirect.com. We'll do all we can to help. ~Ethan.

Posted 4 years ago

“I found Smartmiles through a comparison website, I entered my details and included details of a speeded offence. I received a quote and I paid the full amount. The black box eventually arrived and my dad fitted it. Then came the bad news, Smartmiles stated I hadn't told them of my speeding offence and now my insurance was going to cost over £1200. The original quote was for £680. I cancelled the policy, but they charged me nearly £280, £150 for the black box, £45 cancellation fee and I'm not sure about the rest. My advice would be to avoid this bunch of thieves.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Hello Emily, I'm sorry to hear you're no longer insured with us and i hope you have since got this issue resolved. We do ask that you check through your documents once the policy has been set up to make sure all of the information is up to date and correct. For future reference, if you do need to get in contact with us you can contact us at socialmedia@hastingsdirect.com. We'll do all we can to help. ~Ethan.

Posted 4 years ago

“My experience with smart miles so far has been ok at best as i thought a road was a 40 but it was a 30 and I went up that road multiple times without realising. My score is on 40 and I have not gone over the speed limit once after being super careful for the past 4 days and I’ve done at least 100 miles but my scores aren’t improving and on my miles aren’t going up either it seems like my app has just froze and nothing is updating. Is there any way on fixing this?”

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Posted 4 years ago

Hello Matthew, I'm sorry to hear your score has decreased and I hope this has since improved. If you're not sure as to why your score isn't increasing we do have a specific team who will be able to instruct you on how to improve it and you can contact them on 0800 048 2955. They'll do all they can to help. ~Ethan.

Posted 4 years ago

“Possibly the worst insurance company I've ever known, I barely use my car and my score is 37/100? I don't speed as I'm a new driver and don't really have much confidence behind the wheel but yet they give me a speed score of 30/100!? Avoid at all costs.”

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Posted 4 years ago

Hello Lauren, I do apologise if you feel this way. If you're not sure why your score has decreased we do have a team specifically designed to help you increase your score and they can instruct you the best ways to do so. To contact our first response team, you'd need to give us a call on 0800 048 2955. They'll do all they can to help. ~Ethan.

Posted 4 years ago

“Absolutely useless company. I rang to ask how the scoring works as my son had been on holiday yet somehow his points went down after his car had sat unused for 4 days! (I check it every day) The staff have no idea how the scoring works, I was told only 8 people in the company know how it works & they're the underwriters! I did ask if it would be a good idea if they shared this info with their customers so they knew how to keep a good score but noooooo they cant do that! While on the phone I found out he was docked 5 points for coming home at 22.02! Yes, 5 points for being 2 minutes after 10pm even though they sell this policy as having no curfew, just a suggestion that you do not go out between 10pm-5am. It's either a curfew or not. If I'd known it was treated as a curfew, I would not have bought this policy. They cannot explain how the braking or acceleration scores work, my sons acceleration score is 0, hasn't moved for months, his braking is now 10 after it went down 5 points even though the car had sat unused for 4 days! I asked how can you make this go up, but they have no answers just a sheet they all seem to read from telling you how you should accelerate & brake slowly. I regularly check my sons dashcam, there is nothing wrong with his driving but his box has him down as madly accelerating & braking as the software DOES NOT WORK. If you go over bumps or brake, it deducts points. For this black box to work & give you a good score, you should never brake or drive on bumpy or hilly roads as they will say your acceleration & braking is harsh. AVOID, AVOID, AVOID, THIS IS THE WORST BLACK BOX POLICY YOU COULD EVER HAVE THE MISFORTUNE TO BUY!!!!!!!!”

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Posted 4 years ago

Hello, I do apologise you feel this way and i appreciate the frustration this process could have caused. If you're not sure how our scoring works, we do have a team of experts who will be able to instruct you on how to improve your score. You can contact our first response team on 0800 048 2955, they will be able to look into your score and let you know how to improve your score. ~Ethan.

Posted 4 years ago

“I looked on reviews because we too were beginning to doubt the accuracy of the black box readings. We have come to the conclusion that the box rates you poor for speed even if you do not break the speed limit if you drive on faster A roads and motorways. I have borrowed my daughter's car for 2 weeks to test this theory and have driven like Miss Daisy in and out of the town centre at 20 and 30mph and the speed score is firmly stuck on 15 'poor' in spite of the car's average speed computer saying 26mph over this period!”

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Posted 4 years ago

Hi there, If you are concerned that your speeding score is inaccurate, we are able to pull data from the blackbox and give you examples of when the speed may have been compromised. If you call the First Response Unit on 0800 048 2955 an advisor will be able to look into this further for you. ~ Jamie

Posted 4 years ago

“1 star is too much but unable to give a zero! Avoid this company at all costs!! Had this insurance for my son who have just passed his test as it was the cheapest (big mistake), however my elder son drove it for a week and the score went down to 16!!! How is that even possible, he has a box in his own car and his score is 98! He drove exactly the same way as he already does. My other son still drives like he did on his driving test, I know because I’m with him most of the time. Plus he’s a much safer driver than me with having over 22 years experience! Reading all the other reviews, which I admit I’m sorry now I didn’t read them before taking out the insurance, it seems that Hastings just inputs any old numbers into the dashboard, how they come up with these numbers doesn’t make any sense at all, and when asked numerous advisors, NONE of them knew how the score system works??!! The score the advisors gave me was totally different on the app.. no one knows what the hell is going on.. Unless you drive on a straight, flat road where you don’t need to break or accelerate then avoid Hastings!”

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Posted 4 years ago

Hi there, Without being able to look into your sons policy its hard to understand why the score has dropped so considerably, it could be that the damage was done so to speak prior to your eldest son driving the car. This is because the box updates every 70 miles or so, it may improve next time it updates. I'd be more than happy to investigate this further for if you'd like? If so, please email the team at: socialmedia@hastingsdirect.com. ~ Jamie

Posted 4 years ago

“Please read for your own sake —- When I first read the reviews for this insurance company I just assumed that they were people complaining about nothing and that it couldn’t really be that bad... well it is. Firstly, my acceleration score started on 20 when I first got the box and the other 3 scores started on 100, and my acceleration score, no matter how slow I pull off / accelerate while moving, my score physically can’t go above 20 and very rarely ever moves at all - same with the rest of the scores. Even when my parents drove my car to pull off even slower it still marked them down as harsh acceleration... Furthermore, my score doesn’t even increase anymore. My Time of Day score dropped from 100 to 60 after driving at 11pm for 20 minutes but I now haven’t driven after 10pm for 3 WEEKS! And my score is still stuck at 60 and hasn’t increased. To add to that, my Speed score is stuck on 80 and hasn’t increased in the past 2 weeks and a half, despite purposely driving 5 mph under the speed limit to try and make it go back up. My braking score is also stuck on 94 and hasn’t increased in the previous 3 weeks either. No exaggeration, that’s what happened. My acceleration score is now also stuck on 15, which doesn’t allow me to achieve any Total Score over 80, reducing the potential amount of money I could get off my next insurance renewal. I haven’t purposely done anything bad to see if my scores will still decrease but they sure aren’t increasing. Especially time of day which isn’t even down to how well I drive. We contacted them to complain and they said that they had actually put someone else’s speeding data onto my box and offered to fix my score and remove those errors. It then took us a week and 11 phone calls till we finally got through to them and they then said the data is right and they aren’t fixing my score - Despite all the 5 speeding data scores being during a time that my car wasn’t even driven, as proven by the “Journeys” section on the black box app. Customer service is like talking to a brick wall who just repeatly say “you’re wrong”.... can’t be wrong when I hadn’t even driven my car and my score went down. Although, they were fast at providing me with a courtesy car while mine was in a garage but it took a month... A MONTH before they even contacted the garage saying that they’d pay the damage repairs cost caused but someone driving into me, not my fault - so my car just sat in the garage as they weren’t going to fix it without being told that they will be paid - which is understandable. We asked to have my black box cancelled but they told us that we have to pay off the entire rest of the year in one lump sum if we wanted to change insurance, which we can’t afford so we can’t even escape what ever scam or methods of trying to lower your score so they can cancel your insurance and take your money they have going on. Will be 100% not renewing with them next year and beg anyone who reads this to not get insurance with them!!!”

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Posted 4 years ago

Hi Jack, The box in your vehicle updates every 70 miles or so, so at times when you feel the score has or hasn't improved, it is just waiting for this mileage to be completed. This doesn't however explain why you were told that you had another drivers data so for all the times you have called and seemingly got nowhere I apologise sincerely, I'm sorry for the delay in this response and I hope this matter has now been rectified. In the unlikely event that it hasn't, please email the team at socialmedia@hastingsdirect.com so that we can investigate this further for you. ~ Jamie

Posted 4 years ago

“My son had a black box fitted a month ago up to now is great also as a mother gives me peace of mind.. customer service is also very good.”

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Posted 4 years ago

“We have had nothing but trouble with the box since installing it. The scores have dropped almost each day to the point of being given 200 miles to improve scores (which he did) the stress on the family and my son for what should be the best feeling of owning his own car is intense. He is worried when he drives anywhere, because the score drops dramatically - we have only been insured with them for just over a month and already wishing we could find alternative cover. Why young drivers are penalised so much when the majority of them are safe considerate drivers is beyond me. I feel patronised when I call Hastings Smartmiles to discuss the policy and why the scores drop - they do not know how points are awarded, or what increments that they are deducted it seems a very big grey area that nobody knows. I am yet to find a person with a consistent score of 65 as they suggest in their smallprint that most drivers are at - all of the blackbox companies seem hell bent on giving insurance to young drivers then doing all they can to cancel it or take it away form them. I wish there were a competitive company that could offer insurance transparently and fairly as these kids are being made to pay hefty premiums. It is very unfair.”

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Posted 4 years ago

Hi there, We are very transparent with the terms and conditions surrounding our scoring and that we require all policy holders to have a score of above 40/100. The box pick up data as if the driver is driving on their driving test and any harsh breaking or accelerating too quickly will affect the score as will speeding and driving between the hours of 10pm and 5am. We have a dedicated team (The First Response Unit) that are on hand to offer help and support in these situations and give helpful hints and tips to improve. They can be reached on 0800 048 2955. ~ Jamie

Posted 4 years ago

“I took out smartmiles for my daughter on her 1st car, but after reading the hundreds of poor reviews on smartmiles I decided that it was not worth the risk and I cancelled the insurance within the 14 day cooling off period (I know I should have read the reviews 1st). That's where the nasty surprise hit my inbox, instead of cancelling the policy and issuing a refund, Hastings immediately issued a new annual policy WITHOUT my authorisation! if I had not checked my email or the attached documents I would not have know, fraudulent behaviour? I will advertise this service to a wide an audience as posible as sadly all the other poor reviews have indeed rang true. STAY WELL CLEAR.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Hi there, I'm sorry to see you have had such a negative experience and that there was such confusion surrounding cancelling your policy. Hopefully this matter has now been rectified but in the unlikely event that it hasn't, please email the team at socialmedia@hastingdirect.com so we can investigate further for you. ~ Jamie

Posted 4 years ago

“Avoid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Worst company I ever see before!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Terrible customer service, scammers and scoundrels, money sackers. I just can not believe such company can work on the market!!!!!!! Thy do legislative bodies allow to create such lawlessness!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Hello, I'm sorry to hear that you've had a poor experience with us and I hope that your experience has improved since this review. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need any help at all. Our customer services team can be reached on 01733 308 380. ~Theo

Posted 4 years ago

“Very similar experience to the many other parents of young drivers here. My daughter was threatened with cancellation this week, so I have been forced to cancel at a significant cost after 6 months. The telematics system is quite clearly flawed and the behaviour of this insurer towards their customers is truly appalling. What happened to ‘Treating Customers Fairly’?! Like others here I will be reporting our experience to the insurance ombudsman. I’m not expecting that to change things but it feels like it’s the correct and only thing to do to highlight the issues. To all parents of new drivers I really would urge you to avoid this insurer at all costs to avoid that horrible feeling of having been ‘scammed’!!”

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Posted 4 years ago

Hi Graeme, We aim to treat all our customers fairly and I am sorry if you've had a negative experience with us. In the lead up to advising your daughter that we may need to cancel her policy we would have contacted your daughter with an initial pre warning when her score dropped below 40. After this we would have given her the opportunity to lift her score above 40 and the first warning would only have been issued if she didn't increase her score after either 50 miles of driving or 5 journeys. Failing to do so, we would then have issued your daughter with a second warning only after 200 miles worth of driving. If your daughter didn't increase her score in the 7 days after her second warning was issued, only then would we look to cancel her policy. If you would like to discuss this further with us then you are welcome to e-mail us at socialmedia@hastingsdirect.com ~ Amber

Posted 4 years ago

“My son has just been informed by Hastings smart miles that he is going to have his insurance cancelled because his score has dropped to 40 he’s been told you cancel yr policy or we will and charge you £200 quid when he told them that his ap wasn’t working and that he had called them numerous times to inform them of this she said oh well and hung up on him.he would have qualified for his full year of insurance in 2 months they just scam the young drivers and there’s nothing the kids can do it’s shocking .i want to see proof of his scores going down and I’ll be getting in contact with the FOS as this is scamming the kids when they have paid all this money then just cancel it because they can 😡”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Hello Tracy, I do apologise if your son feels he has been treated unfairly. If your score does drop to 40 or below, our first response team will contact you with some suggestions on how to improve your score and will provide you with 200 miles to increase your score before the policy is cancelled. If you’d like to call our first response team directly, you can call them on 0800 048 2955. Alternatively, you can contact us at: socialmedia@hastingsdirect.com. We’ll do all we can to help. ~Ethan.

Posted 4 years ago

“DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! The black box is not fit for purpose. The equipment & data capture is inaccurate and it's as if they are on a mission to cancel your policy (at a fee!) so lots of profit with no risk. There is no curfew with this box, they suggest you do not go out between 10pm-5am but go out once or twice over the bank holiday weekend & bam they drop your score by 20 points! You then get an email to say the score is below 40 & you have 200 miles to rectify your driving and even if you drive as if you are on your driving test all week and do not go out in the evenings, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to get your score back up. They are very quick at putting the score down but they will not put it back up. You then get a 7 day warning that your policy is being cancelled as your score has not improved despite driving like Miss Daisy! It's a complete rip off, young drivers have no option other than to cancel their policy, losing money, before this useless company cancel it for them. The acceleration & braking scores are inaccurate, bumpy roads near you? That'll show up that your acceleration is erratic & your score will go down as the jerking of the car over the bumps makes their black box state you're driving like a lunatic as it works on g force! Traffic on the way to work? The black box doesn't like you braking too much, so that'll go against you too! It's totally unrealistic to expect anyone to drive without braking or going over bumps in the road. I've had black box policies for my sons with Direct Line, Admiral, Tesco & Insure the box & there were no problems. The software on the black box for Hastings Direct DOES NOT WORK. Go elsewhere, it's not worth the stress.”

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Posted 5 years ago

Hello, I do apologise if you feel you’ve been treated unfairly. We are transparent with our terms and conditions before you set a policy up with us, whether that is done online or over the phone. If your score reduces to 40 or below, our first response team will contact you with suggestions on how to increase your score. Alternatively, if you would like to discuss your policy details you can contact us at: socialmedia@hastingsdirect.com. We’ll do everything we can to help. ~Ethan.

Posted 4 years ago

Hello, I do apologise if you feel this way. We are very transparent with our terms and conditions on our website about driving between 10pm and 5am, the reason we have this timeframe is as an insurer, we know that most accidents will happen between these hours and we have a level of responsibility to ensure our younger, more inexperienced drivers are safe on the road. If you do have any questions around improving your score and you'd like to discuss this, our first response team will be happy to help and you can contact them on 0800 048 2955. They will do all they can to help. ~Ethan.

Posted 4 years ago


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Hastings Direct Smart Miles Reviews