Hasting SmartMiles wants to charge me £152 for having put down 8 instead of 9 years No Claim Bonus

[aym280]

I am very upset after reading the email from Hastings Direct Smartmiles, threatening to take £152 from my credit card and if I don't pay up, they will ruin my perfect credit history.

 

I made the mistake of putting 8 years No Claim Bonus instead of 9 and the woman operative told me that according to the live rate this moment, I will have to pay £159.53 (£25 admin fee) on top of the £800 plus I paid last month (my son is 19). I was very shaken. I kept telling the woman that I did not inflate the figure with a view to lowering the premium. I made a genuine mistake of giving 8 years instead of 9 which is what I have. To any rational people, the common sense rule is that the more NCB years you have, the less you pay. The woman operative, a Ms Gill, kept saying that because of LIVE RATE, I actually had to pay more. Then she probably pretended to help me by running through my quote again and of course, according to her, I still have to pay. I googled the internet and found a similar amount being quoted by another person with a complaint on this site. It seems to be it is their practice to whack people with £152!

 

My policy number : 22039TET0039072

 

The tone of the email is plain nasty. Please read

 

Additional Premium £134.93 Your change caused your premium to increase

 

Administration Fee £25.00 As stated in our Terms and Conditions

 

Amount due £159.93

 

Please contact our Customer Service team. If we

 

do not hear from you in the next 7 days we will

 

collect this amount using your securely held card

 

details. If we are unsuccessful your policy may

 

be cancelled and the amount shown will be

 

passed to a debt collection agency and your

 

credit rating may be affected.

 

*****

 

If I cancelled the policy, I would only get back £600! What a nasty company. They have no right to hit people with a genuine mistake like this - not to say I have ONE MORE YEAR OF NO CLAIM BONUS. The woman operative stuck to her gun saying that it is because of the LIVE RATE, she could not get me a lower quote!

 

I hope anybody reading this take this as a lesson - I wish I had stayed with my previous insurer.

 

Beware of this company. It is NO JOKE! It seems to be this company have a penchant of whacking people with £152! Would you like to deal with a nasty company like that???

 

Next time when you see the name, stay away or you will live to regret it!

Edited May 6, 2015 by aym280
put in policy number to show people that this is a genuine case

[renegadeimp]

Have you contacted them? That reply looks like a standard form letter.

[aym280]

Have you contacted them? That reply looks like a standard form letter.

 

I certainly did. I was on the phone for half an hour. A woman supervisor said that it was my mistake and the Live RATE meant that I needed to pay more even though I actually had ONE MORE YEAR OF No claim bonus!

 

Of course, she quoted the third party, Advantage, their underwriter (I hope undetaker!) as the party insisting on the payment. I then googled and found out that it is discussed on forum that Hastings Direct and Advantage were nasty companies - some even described Hastings Direct as SKANKY and that they always went back to their customers for MORE MONEY!

Edited May 6, 2015 by aym280

[unclebulgaria67]

If you have more NCD than stated, it should not lead to a premium increase. Sounds like a mistake.

 

send an email to [email protected] with your contact details plus policy details and they will ask someone to take a look at this for you. Mention your CAG posting, when you email them.

[aym280]

Thank you so much. They basically use the excuse that I made a mistake and there is administrative change ... but this is very greedy behaviour.

[unclebulgaria67]

Thank you so much. They basically use the excuse that I made a mistake and there is administrative change ... but this is very greedy behaviour.

 

They would be breaking Treating customers fairly, so mention that to them.

 

http://www.fca.org.uk/firms/being-regulated/meeting-your-obligations/fair-treatment-of-customers

[aym280]

I have fired them so many emails that I am hot, sweaty and feeling rather unwell. My son must be reading this and feel the same. He tracks all my emails. I will send your link to them and thank you sooooo much.

 

I was soooo upset. I could not believe my eyes. The way they operate just confirms the opinions in moneys... forum. I wish I had read them. But I had used them twice before and there had been no incidence! What a shock to the system. My heart-felt thanks again.

Edited May 6, 2015 by aym280

[aym280]

Sorry, I kept saying Hasting .. It is Hastings Direct SmartMiles and it is more than £152 - it is £159+. I am just hopeless with exact figures. BUT I did not inflate the NCB to get a lower premium.

[Hastings Direct. Joe - Soc]

Hi,

 

Thanks for raising your concerns and the feedback you've offered. I'm very sorry that you feel let down and unhappy with the adjustment to you and your son's policy. I've let the team know about your issue and we'll look into the situation for you. As Smartmiles is a policy for young or inexperienced drivers, the NCB is a very important detail and there could be an issue with this high amount that possibly we are not communicating clearly. Hopefully you'll receive a call with more info today and I trust that we'll come to the right outcome soon.

 

Many thanks,

 

Joe

[aym280]

Hi

 

Apparently, it has been discussed in forums since 2011 that your company and Advantage have a history of quoting it low and then going back to ask for more. It seems your company enjoys some kind of dark art with regards to getting more. money.

 

To the general public and to myself:

 

1. MAKE SURE WHEN YOU AMEND SOMETHING EG when you get married, WITHOUT BEING PENALISED for £25 for any insurance.
    
   
2. Keep a copy of all your details.
    
   
3. Google the insurer's history before you part with your money!
    
   
4. That NCB belongs to me, not my son. You have nearly £400 excess for my son, so please do NOT MUDDY the water.
   

By behaving like this, you give yourself a VERY BAD NAME. Do you think I will insurer with you next time??? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

 

aym280

[aym280]

Thank you for those who responded to my predicament. Someone saw sense and removed the threat and the demand for money. Thank you once again for all the help and suggestions which I have followed religiously.

[tobyjugg2]

Hi,

 

Thanks for raising your concerns and the feedback you've offered. I'm very sorry that you feel let down and unhappy with the adjustment to you and your son's policy. I've let the team know about your issue and we'll look into the situation for you. As Smartmiles is a policy for young or inexperienced drivers, the NCB is a very important detail and there could be an issue with this high amount that possibly we are not communicating clearly. Hopefully you'll receive a call with more info today and I trust that we'll come to the right outcome soon.

 

Many thanks,

 

Joe

 

Rather rich given that HD reduce their customers over 10 years NCD on a regular basis per reports here and all over.

[aym280]

Rather rich given that HD reduce their customers over 10 years NCD on a regular basis per reports here and all over.

 

What annoyed me was that I talked to a guy first and asked to speak to a supervisor. This woman was most adamant that even though I had one MORE year of no claim bonus, I had to pay more. She even declared her name to me, a Ms S Gill, as if she knew she was doing and had full support of the power-that-be. I told her I did not INFLATE the figure, in fact, I tried to be safe and lower the figure. She said according to LIVE RATE, I had to pay that amount. Then I was insistent and she said she would re-run my quote and of course COMPUTER SAID NO. I could not fathom how a business could run with woman like this one - forthright and unfaltering. It's the attitude that stank.

 

I am sure a weaker mortal will yield to this aggressive stance. They compensated me for the No Claim Bonus and said any change might still entail another demand for money!

 

Good to hear the name and learn the lesson, albeit a very painful and sweaty episode. I was sweating and angry. I run on a tight budget. Yes, I do budget and try to avoid debts.. Thanks for the interest!

 

FOR MONEY, PEOPLE WILL STOOP VERY LOW!

[unclebulgaria67]

If you feel that Hastings did not deal with your complaint fully then you should write to their head of customer service saying that you remain unhappy and if necessary will escalate to the FOS. Often when you go back to say that you remain unhappy, Insurers will take another look. The first complaint response can be inadequate because of the volume received.

[aym280]

If you feel that Hastings did not deal with your complaint fully then you should write to their head of customer service saying that you remain unhappy and if necessary will escalate to the FOS. Often when you go back to say that you remain unhappy, Insurers will take another look. The first complaint response can be inadequate because of the volume received.

 

It's OK for now, but whenever I see the company logo, my heart sinks. I have to reply to Financial Ombudsman Service as they sent me a complaint form. I think people should fight their case when companies like these charge £25 for change of anything. Thanks for the suggestion.

[tobyjugg2]

I can understand and even accept the £25 administration charge for changes to policies, even when honest mistakes are made by the customer. Some online accounts do not charge admin fees for changes now.

What I can't understand is how a higher number of years no claims can equate to a higher premium (the £152) rather than a lower one with everything else being equal.

Especially as HD are only apparently interested in up to 9 years NC so a year extra in those

 

Am I missing something?