terrible experience with hastings direct

[juzza]

i have currently been insured with hastings direct,i am in my second year with them and up until now never had a problem....

my issue has now come from me adding my partner to my insurance as a named driver,i did this in november last year.

 

anyway on friday the 4th april,her car wouldnt start so she used mine,i must stipulate that it is very rare she uses mine,its only for emergencys,so on the m62/m60 to manchester in the smog/fog pollution that was around she lightly bumped a van in front in the fast lane but in very slow moving traffic,the highways agency came to move the car to the hard shoulder but said she couldnt drive it due to the sides of the bumper sticking out over 2 inch.

my car was then taken to bury,not sure where and by who, my partner tried dealing with the issue the best she could but she was stuck 50miles from home so a tad upset.

later that day i got a call from hastings total loss who told my my car was a write off,i told them it wasnt and at most would need a new bumper and very most a slam panel,no airbags had gone off,no damage to lights or bonnet or suspension.

 

anyway the weekend passes and im thinking its fine,il just get the car back from hastings and fit a new bumper,i am a mk4 golf enthusiast and a member of all the forums,so i could prob get the parts free

yesterday morning tuesday i call the number to see whats happening,i get told the car is now at a salvage place in wigan,even further from where i live,i tell them i havnt even taken my stuff from the car and they tell me to contact the salvage place directly,i do,so am now going over to collect my stuff.

what bothers me is the car hasnt been assesed so dont know what cat it is or there class of damage,if when i get there to remove my stuff, there is stuff missing i will be getting the police involved as the car is legally still mine.

 

i also asked about getting my car back from them,it is a mk4 golf gt tdi pd130,it has high milage but i also know these cars will do 2 to 3 times round the clock,1 owner from new and full service history,i just know when they have deducted my excess and the rest of the years premium i will be lucky to get £100!!!!!!!

i want my car back,i am happy to pay the excess and not have hastings deal with my car,just give me it back,

it concerns me they told me it was a total loss before even anybody had seen the damage,they obviously know how much money can be made from these cars in parts.

i am not going to send in any documents as they will just sell the car with all my personal stuff in it.

i have read other peoples dealings with them but untill you have an accident with hastings you really dont know how bad they are,i also need an explanation why the car didnt go to nationwide to see about repairs..

help needed before i contact the insurance ombudsman..

regards

justin

[rebel11]

Hi juzza

 

Welcome to CAG

 

We have a Hastings Rep who can pass your details back to the company to be looked into.

[JoeyJoeC]

They pulled a fast one with my brothers a few years back. Had some very expensive mods put on the car, was told initially he could remove them as long as he replaced them with the originals, but someone had already noticed, and must have worked out a dodgy deal somewhere and the car was no where to be found. Lost around £6k worth of amps / exhaust / kit.

 

Perhaps someone really likes your car and told the insurance company it was a write off and wants to "take it off their hands".

[unclebulgaria67]

The car is yours until you agree to let someone take it. Hastings representatives should not be doing anything with the car until you have given instructions.

 

This same thing has happened to several Hastings policyholders who have posted to CAG. As you say, the people that handle claims for Hastings appear to be very quick to write off cars, eager to make a profit from salvage. What they forget to do is actually speak to the car owner to make sure they are happy with what is happening.

 

I will leave it to the Hastings rep to assist you, by intervening with the Hastings claims dept.

[Hastings Direct. Joe - Soc]

Hi juzza,

 

Thank you for taking the time to post about your experience. We are very sorry to hear that you are unhappy that your vehicle has been written off and with the service that you have received, can you please contact us directly and we will assist you in making a complaint, please supply the policy/claims details by email to [email protected]

 

Many Thanks,

Jamie

[juzza]

Just a quick reply as I'm at work, got to the car today and in my opinion is a cat d, slam panel, bumper and maybe a rad, realised that the kids booster seats and say nav was also missing, rang hastings who called the people who had towed the car from motorway, they said they had removed them for safe keeping, really!!!!

So now I'm expected to do a 100 mile journey to pick them up.

[JoeyJoeC]

Surely you should be able to take this to a small claims court to reclaim all the costs. They should be returned to the car, not taken 100 miles away (presumably in hope you decide it's not worth it and they can profit on them). Who are the tow company?

[dacouc]

This from the Ombudsman should help you.

 

"16. salvage of the "written-off" vehicle and contents

 

When a vehicle is “written off”, the insurer becomes the owner of the salvage once the consumer accepts payment of the full market value. If the consumer asks to keep the salvage, the insurer is entitled to deduct what it would have been able to sell the salvage for – though this is usually not very much.

 

Consumers sometimes complain that the insurer (or its agent) disposed of the salvage before paying the full market-value. At this stage, the vehicle still belongs to the consumer, so we look to see if the insurer asked the consumer’s to the settlement of the claim – even if the insurer says it was only acting in the public interest by keeping a badly-damaged vehicle off the road.

 

If we find the insurer disposed of the vehicle without the consumer’s consent and there were items belonging to the consumer inside, we are likely to tell the insurer to pay the cost of replacing these – usually on a like-for-like (rather than a new-for-old) basis.

 

If we think that the policyholder was unfairly deprived of the salvage, we may tell the insurer to pay compensation for any financial loss or distress and inconvenience we think the consumer has experienced."

 

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/motor-valuation.html

 

Read the whole link as it will help you.

 

As others have stated the car is still your property until they pay you, I would be inclined to send them an "Official Complaint" re the missing Sat Nav and Child seat and the additional costs you have incurred due to the actions of their agent (They're responsible for their agents actions).

 

Be aware that Hastings do not usually allow their customers to retain the salvage of their cars. The vast majority of Insurers would allow you to keep the salvage in these circumstances

 

Unfortunately you have had the miss fortune to insure with Hastings

[juzza]

jamie wicks message sent

[juzza]

well the weekend has now passed and although i thought i was making some progress things have now gone back to square 1,

. i spoke to some1 on thursday who said i could have my car back and withdraw from the claim and that they would deliver the car back to me,great i thought,untill now that i have just called hastings,who now tell me thats fine,but i now have a charge of around£250 for the storage and removal of my car which they wont cover.

so i am expected to pay auto rescue of ramsbottom this money,even though they stole items from my car.

and this £250 would have been the money i used to repair my car,so im guessing im going to have to wait to see if my offer goes up.

so far been offered £1550,once you take the excess off and rest of years premium it leaves me with £800.

i have now emailed examples of the price of my car,ranging from £2200 to £4000, these are examples of a golf gt tdi 2002 pd130,with full service history and no more than 2 owners,if you know these cars,milage isnt a problem just service history....

so fingers crossed.......

[JoeyJoeC]

Might be worth going along with the "right off" but ask hastings to buy the car back. If they think it's a total loss, they shouldn't ask too much for it . Might be able to make a profit if you do it that way around.

 

Also did you get your sat nav and car seat back from the rescue company?

[juzza]

Not heard anything from auto rescue regarding my items, although they got very nasty with person from hastings when she rang on my behalf, holding off for time been in case I get car and they try to charge me, even after stealing from my car, hastings won't let me but the car, I have 2 options,

1. Accept there offer and don't get another car, pay my excess.

2. Withdrawn my car from claim, my insurance pays for damage to other cars, I don't pay excess, get my car returned for free but pay auto rescue £250

 

 

Iv seen the car and can repair it for £300 approx, so it seems a shame.

1 thing I have learnt is never to put any1 on my insurance again, it sucks that I wasn't driving but I'm the 1 left without a car, but hey ho, that's life I guess

[JoeyJoeC]

It is a shame. Always best to use the AA or RAC to recover your car back to your driveway than to allow a cowboy recovery company to take it. Some times the police will insist that you let them arrange the recovery but defiantly don't let them.

 

I would personally go to the police station and report the theft of items from your car. Let the police recover the goods.

[dacouc]

Might be worth going along with the "right off" but ask hastings to buy the car back. If they think it's a total loss, they shouldn't ask too much for it . Might be able to make a profit if you do it that way around.

 

Also did you get your sat nav and car seat back from the rescue company?

 

Unfortunately for reasons best known to them, Hastings do not allow you to buy your written off car back.

 

OP have you asked Hastings for a "cash in leiu" payment for your car to enable you to repair it