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Hastings Direct Smart Miles Reviews

3.3 Rating 2,010 Reviews
56 %
of reviewers recommend Hastings Direct Smart Miles
3.3
Based on 2,010 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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Charged me ?25 to update my change of address. And the curfew is stupid as it destroys my social life and driving between 10pm and 5am is safer than rush hour.
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Posted 6 years ago
Hello, I'm appreciate the frustration the fee and the measuring variable concerning the time would have caused. Hastings Smart miles do their utmost to disclose all fees and the measuring variable before the policy is purchased as they appreciate that the policy may not be suited for all drivers. I do apologise if you missed this information-Theo
Posted 6 years ago
A really helpful organisation, lots of advice.
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Posted 6 years ago
Cheap insurance for first time drivers and second year is even better
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Posted 6 years ago
I recently had a very negative experience when trying to renew my policy. Over a few days, I spent many hours of my time trying to get in contact with a member of the customer service team regarding my car insurance renewal and repeatedly being put on hold. I received verbal confirmation of a quote, just to have it change due to my occupation without any explanation. Hastings attempted to charge me ?250 on top of my agreed policy quote to change my occupation from a student to full time employment. Then additional ?200 to pay in monthly instalments. Which resulted in the quote for my second year of car insurance to be the same as the first - after having a 90/100 driver score rating on my black box. This is not the agreement which I signed when I chose to take out my insurance with them, a good drivers score will result in discounts for the following years insurance. Also, I was charged ?1,916.63 to my bank account, which has took me into my overdraft. I did not receive any notifications from Smart Miles of this payment and only found out my contacting my bank directly. This money is the sum of two car insurance quotes, yet I had verbal confirmation that neither would be taken out of my bank and did not give my consent for this payment to be deducted. When I asked the Smart Miles customer service team why I had received these charges, the only reason they gave is that they were 'unsure'. I am 18 years old and have just got my first job - it is unacceptable to assume I have this amount of money spare. In addition to this, I spend a further 3 hours of my time at work trying to call the customer service team and resolve the issue - and was repeatedly put on hold. I was informed by the manager that if I requested by refund on that day, it would take 5 working days to come into my account. I also would not be eligible to be covered for 14 days 'cooling off period', without explanation. This left me without any money in my bank account, but had to find an alternative car insurance by the next morning as I have commitments. He did not care to help me find an alternative insurance plan. This service is disgusting and I will make sure to avoid Hastings Smart Miles in the future.
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Posted 6 years ago
Hello Shayda, I'm very sorry to hear about the poor experience you've had and I hope that the the refund has since returned to you. It's disheartening to hear that you didn't receive the level of customer service you deserve and reading through I believe that you do have grounds to make a formal complaint. If you wish to do so regarding your message, please contact the smart miles customer service team at: contact@hastingsdirectsmartmiles.com. This matter would be investigated before they offer what is hopefully a satisfactory resolution-Theo
Posted 6 years ago
Good service and didn't overcharge on my next premium like other insurers have for an accident that I didn't even claim and wasn't my fault First year cost 1100 which is average and this halbed to 550 second year. Only complaint is the curfew, this shouldn't exist
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Posted 6 years ago
I had only been insurance a day when they sent me an email saying, ' we are cancelling your policy because your black box is not installed '. Their instructions say you have 14 days to install the box from your day of purchase of the policy so I've deduced not from the START of cover but from the day you paid for it ! BE AFRAID VERY AFRAID.
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Posted 6 years ago
Hi there, I do apologise that the terms and conditions were not made clear to you when you took the policy out, and hope that the policy is now running smoothly. ~ Jamie
Posted 6 years ago
SmartMiles has been a pleasure to be with I highly recommended them for other drivers!
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Posted 6 years ago
Fairly seemless
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Posted 6 years ago
The worst black box insurance I have been with. The scores did not work at the beginning and although tirelessly contacting them about this matter, there were no improvements. The scores starting at 0 meant that you could not improve them, allowing this company to threaten to revoke your insurance and apply extra charges, even if you did not drive dangerously. Completely unfair and rude during contact.
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Posted 7 years ago
Hi there,Thank you for your feedback. I'm sorry to see you have had such a negative experience with our SmartMiles policy. We do try to offer the help and support you need to improve your scores and have a dedicated team to assist with this. When the box first measures your scores, roughly after the first 70-90 miles, your average score will be shown. If your braking or acceleration over this period was late or a bit eager, your first scores will show as being very low. If you do require further assistance, please call the First Response team on 0800 048 2955.~ Jamie
Posted 6 years ago
Excellent service. Helpful people and very easy to work with
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Posted 7 years ago
Train all of your employees with the knowledge of what a black box can do. My car was stolen and several people under your employment weren't able to track my car to find its location. It was left to the police and I was without a car for 4 weeks when the car could have been pin pointed the day it was stolen which could have prevented the damage to my car.
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Posted 7 years ago
Hi there,Thank you for your review. I'm so sorry to read that you have had your car stolen, this must have been a terrible experience and one that we should have been able to help with. We do use the services of a company that can locate the vehicle, however, this doesn't necessarily mean we can recover it immediately. I do hope that the rest of the claim goes smoothly and that you come to a swift conclusion.~ Jamie
Posted 6 years ago
Absolute con for an insurance company. Literally was left not wanting to drive. Unrealistic driving expected! Lost 6 month no claims! Waste of time! Do not insure with this group impossible to get and maintain a score over 30!
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Posted 7 years ago
Hi there, I'm sorry to read you have had such a negative experience with our insurance. We do offer help and support for all policy holders who's scores drop below 40/100 so if you didn't receive this help I apologise sincerely. ~ Jamie
Posted 6 years ago
Terrible scores on braking and time of day very bad policy
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Posted 7 years ago
Hi there, I'm sorry to see you have had issues with your braking score and your time of day score. We do have a dedicated team that can offer you help and support in these area's if you require it. The First Response Unit can be contacted on 0800 048 2955. ~ Jamie
Posted 6 years ago
Sold my car people still trying to claim from me for accident which happened when I was not the owner very little help from hastings
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Posted 7 years ago
Hi there, I'm sorry to see you are still having contact fro us regarding this matter. I do hope that this matter gets resolved and apologise for any inconvenience this has caused. ~ Jamie
Posted 6 years ago
They had helpful customer service over the phone.
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Posted 7 years ago
Absolutely rubbish!! And I have definitely not renewed with this company and would not recommended anyone too take out a policy with these!! If I could of not given them any stars I would have done!but it doesn't give you the option....
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Posted 7 years ago
Hi there,Thank you for your feedback. Its very disappointing to see that you have had such a negative experience dealing with ourselves. ~ Jamie
Posted 6 years ago
Pleasant and helpful staff.
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Posted 7 years ago
it was good
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Posted 7 years ago
very professional ,helpful and knowledgeable
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Posted 7 years ago
Fantastic price and customer experience is great.
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Posted 7 years ago
Hastings Direct Smart Miles is rated 3.3 based on 2,010 reviews