Hastings Essential Recensioni 109

Worst car insurance company ever. They wrote off my car, with very minimal damage. Now they won’t give me a buyback price, or tell me under what category it has been written off. They want you to sign over your car to Copart ie a scrap yard, before they will froward you this information. Then you would have to buy your own car back from Copart at a premium. Most insurance companies will provide you with this information as standard procedure, before you make any decision. So take care if you deal with this company.They have some very shady practices.Expect to wait up to an hour on the phone, two weeks for an email reply. A lifetime for a fair settlement. I’ve contacted BBC watchdog with regards to this company’s practices, they have shown a strong interest

Called at 11am to renew policy no problem with price so paid it on a different card they had on file
Checked bank payment taken of 2 separate cards very poor customer service and told 2-5 days before money will be returned to my account
Start of month bills coming out this has left myself very short
Be mindful if using a different card to what they have on file they take the payment from both cards and then pass you from department to department before you get any sort of help
Shocking

My discovery got broken into but they failed to steal it and vandalised it. It got recovered and took straight to the salvage yard. I knew it would be right off. However I didn’t read the docs in full detail, in all the small print and policy booklet, your NBC loss is higher than their normal policies. I assumed it was a slimed down policy (no hire car etc, breakdown, windscreen etc) I didn’t know I had downgraded all my small print term and conditions when I changed policies to save a few pounds. I had 17 years NCB, the max they offer is 9yr discount. So mine got reduced down to 3 years. Scandalous really.
But I’ll read every detail next time on any policy. There’s no standard.
Other than that, I did the claim details on the app and on the day, spoke to someone on the phone. She was great to be honest. I got an update the morning after that the car was being assessed and got a payout offer the morning after. I was happy with it to be honest, it was market value so I took it. Got paid out the same day.
So loss of 2 stars because I feel like I’ve been conned having been a customer on their normal plans before and wasn’t told I would be amending my policy terms on important things as NCB. It’s actually a good way to upsell so maybe start telling people.

If zero stars were an option, I’d choose it. Customer service was very poor — I was asked the same questions multiple times, then ignored for hours, and later blamed for not replying quickly enough. Disappointing and unprofessional. I would not recommend!

I'd give this zero stars if I could. I took out home insurance with Hastings and it has been nothing short of a nightmare. After a legitimate storm brought down a section of my garden wall, they used every excuse to avoid covering the claim—ranging from claiming the wall (that stood for 20 years) was not built to withstand normal wind levels, to "gradual deterioration" when there was no previous visible damage to the wall, to trying to tell me the wind was blowing the wrong way. All of this was decided without anyone ever visiting my property to inspect the damage. By Hastings’ logic, "storm damage" in an insurance policy doesn't exist, as any structure damaged by a storm must have been unfit to begin with so they won't cover it.

In our final dealings, their agent explicitly admitted in writing that the cause of the collapse was the wind—literally the definition of storm damage. Yet, they still refused to pay, citing exclusions that legally can't overrule a covered claim in my policy. Worse still, they issued a "final" decision without even opening the evidence link I provided.

After 3 months of arguing and a sham of an investigation into my complaint, I have now been forced to escalate my case to the Financial Ombudsman Service to get a fair hearing. A completely cold and unprofessional experience.

Terrible company to deal with we have 3 cars and home Insurance with these and after my experience of trying to claim due to vandalism on 1 of the cars I will be cancelling all policies

Had insurance for 2nd car which they cancelled due to lack of data (telematics box). Essentially this was for a cabriolet rarely driven, and then only on the odd sunny day. they suggested it wasn't the "right" policy for me. Tried to get quote for new policy as suggested which they refused. 67 years of age, full no claims, car to be parked overnight in a locked garage. Call centre probably in India, kept on hold at least 20minutes. Will not renew 1st car policy now. Your loss.

Really bad company, rang up to cancel policy and was told i owe £89 for days covered. When asked to break it down it was actually a cancellation fee. Completely lied to about the reason. Adviser was SEBUENG

What a waste of time this company is, dishonest and fraudulent, takes the payment first and then threatens to cancel the policy or increase the price.

Very bad company and they are stealing money from people especially for young generation.

Been trying to make a change to my policy for the last 4 days. Cannot get through on the telephone.
Apparently the quickest way to make a change is on the app. But it takes 24 hours plus between each message so trying to have a conversation on there is ridiculous.

Whilst trying to make a change to my policy I’ve noticed they’ve insured the same van on different number plates… so although I have 2 policies one of them is wrong! How they made this error is beyond me.

I would not recommend insuring through these and I will not be renewing. Definitely easier insurers to go through. It’s not worth the hassle. I’d rather pay £100 more per year for good customer service.

Beyond belief. 2 days ago I got a home insurance quote for £273. 2 days latter I rang to organise insurance & got a new quote of in excess of £600 for the year. £ 400 more! Just shocking

My wife did a search for car insurance on Confused.com and was quoted £247.89 for a policy from this company. She spent some time filling in the form but, when she clicked on 'Pay', the price jumped to £291. Fortunately, she noticed and rang the company. They were unable to give a satisfactory explanation for this, and insisted that the higher price was correct. Needless to say, she took out a cheaper policy with a more trustworthy company.

Avoid.
Hastings owe £300.00 refund for cancelled policy since September 2024.
Hastings admit they owe the money.
Hastings keep trying every technique possible not to pay £300.00 that they owe us.
Giving us a massive run around.
They acknowledge the money is ours.
Vile.

I had such an awful experience with Hastings following an accident that was not my fault. The communication, information and mixed messages from different team members was terrible, caused me a huge amount of stress when the situation was already upsetting.

I recently purchased an insurance policy with your company, and to my shock, it was cancelled because I did not activate the black box within 7 days. I understand there may be requirements to meet, but the way this was handled was extremely disappointing.

Not only was the cancellation abrupt, but the staff I spoke with were very rude and dismissive, which made me feel like I was being treated as a criminal rather than a valued customer. This experience has left me with a very negative impression of Hastings, and I believe management seriously needs to review how customers are treated, especially in sensitive situations like this.

I regret choosing Hastings and would not recommend the company to others unless there are significant improvements in customer care and communication.

I’m disappointed with my experience.

After moving out of my apartment and no longer needing the contents-only insurance I had, I contacted the company to cancel the policy. I wasn’t making a claim—just doing the responsible thing by informing them I no longer needed the coverage.

To my surprise, I was charged a cancellation fee. When I asked for clarification, I was told it was included in the policy documents. While I understand there are terms and conditions, this important charge was not made clear at the time of cancellation. I expected more transparency.

What added to my frustration was the not friendly customer service I received. I was simply trying to understand the fee, yet I was told that if I didn’t pay, the account would be passed to a debt collector. That felt like an unnecessary escalation for a genuine inquiry.

I hope the company can improve how it communicates key terms and how it supports customers who are just trying to do the right thing.

If I could give 0 I would, I got a quote through compare.com for my daughters car, I then rang through and spoke to customer services to make sure all was in order, and all details were correct, which they were, my daughter was on holiday but they needed her to give me permission to speak even though I was paying the direct debit and a named driver, they spoke to her and she gave permission for me to speak on her behalf on the policy, I said we were likely to be picking the car up 2 days later, yes that was fine, arrived at the garage after a two and half hour drive, car was perfect it just remained to action the insurance etc. rang through to customer services with the reference number expecting just to give the go ahead, that’s when I realised I was dealing with a company I would choose never to do business with again, is your daughter there, no, I said there are notes on the account giving me authorisation to speak, so after back and forth for 20 minutes they decided that was fine, we went through the policy and they said it stated my daughter was a home owner I said no and that’s not the information I gave, oh we will have to redo the quote, guess what, it went up by £200, because it was now a new quote, needless to say, I asked to speak to a manger, after going round in circles and now been on the phone for an hour feeling totally embarrassed in the dealership I said I wasn’t taking the policy, I said they were a disgrace of a company and I felt like I was being scammed, I wanted the calls listened to and a manager to call me back, I was informed that can take up to 48 hours, I would be interested to know how many customers this has happened to, they know you are getting a quote previous to purchase, you will ring when on purchasing, so they then think they have got you over a barrel as you would then need to find another insurance before being able to drive away, in the end I got a 4 day cover to enable me to get the car home and relook at insurance. What an awful experience, all I will say is buyer beware, I always thought Hastings was a reputable company, I came home, checked the information I had originally entered into go compare and guess what, it said my daughter was NOT a home owner, I refreshed the quotes, I rang another reputable well known company. Admiral, I got a gold policy for less than the original basic quote with Hastings, I was sorted in 30 minutes, but interestingly, the Hastings essentials quote was coming up the same as it had originally, so tell me how when I rang they tried to increase it by £200, make your own mind up!

I thought I’d found a bargain with Hastings Essentials when I took out a policy, but it quickly turned into a masterclass in bad faith. Just days after payment, they urgently demanded a full suite of documentation... every page of my V5C, both parts of my licence, and proof of address, with a strict one week deadline.

Despite sending everything promptly (including my government issued rates bill as proof of address, the only thing I had as I'm moving house), they rejected it as “invalid.” Then came their absurd nit-picking... they claimed I’d entered the wrong “licence held since” date, despite my input matching exactly what’s printed on the card, and penalised me for getting the car purchase date slightly off by a matter of weeks. I had entered both from memory, since my documents had been in storage as I was moving house. Any reasonable insurer would have exercised common sense and flexibility, but instead they hit me with a premium hike and a £30 admin fee.

I cancelled the policy immediately, it hadn’t even started, assuming that would be the end of it. But no... they charged an additional £20 for cancelling, labelled “non-refundable.”

Hastings Essentials live up to their name only in the sense that the essentials seem to be hidden fees, rigid processes, and a complete lack of customer empathy. Their terms are inflexible, their documentation standards vague and inconsistent, and the overall experience felt punitive from start to finish.

One star is too generous. If you value fair treatment, straightforward service, and basic professionalism, look elsewhere.

The insurance was taken out, but they're in no hurry to pay out.