Today I received a phone call from my car insurers - Hastings Direct. I was told that the underwriters (Highway) had given Hastings Direct the wrong price for my car insurance and they were therefore going to cancel my insurance. I asked how long I was covered for and was told my insurance will expire in 7 days. I was told they can set me up with a new insurance policy but that it wouldn't be at the same price.

Are they actually allowed to do this??? I have documents from Hastings Direct confirming that I am insured until June 2008, I paid my premium in one lump sum so I have paid for the entire year. Can they really just cancel my policy via phonecall and leave me uninsured? If they are able to do this then am I entitled to a full refund of what I paid for the years insurance or only the proportion of the year from the date they cancel it onwards.

Please could you advise me of my rights and where I stand with this. I have asked Hastings Direct to put it all in writing to me as the person who rang me did not explain very clearly what was happening, just that they were cancelling my policy and that in 7 days time i will be uninsured!!

Hi there Gemma,

As far as I know, Highway are Highway and underwrite themselves. Hastings underwrite Advantage Insurance.

Usually when an insurer gives 7 days notice and cancels the policy, this is due to a non-disclosure that they have found out by searching MID/speaking to previous insurers. It also concerns me that they are going to cancel the policy, but set you back up at a different price??! To me, it sounds like you are going through a broker or intermediary and that the error may have been caused by them.

Technically, they are allowed to do this. It is bad practise but within their rights. You should receive a pro-rata refund for the amount of time you have been on cover. You will not get a full refund because any claim that could have been made within the insured period, would have been honoured regardless of error.

Can you post back with any updates that you receive to clarify?!

All the best

hi

 i also recieved a phone call from Hastings Insurance today saying that my insurance policy is to be cancelled, because the underwriters had made an error at the time i took the policy out in may, can they do this, as i signed a contract for 12 months for the policy

 they also told me that he had to phone 3000 people about this matter so i assume that these 3000 people are losing there policys,  he offered me a new policy at a higher rate nearly £700 which i cannot afford, this is my first insurance policy so i was trying to build up the no claims but because of this i will have to start again.

 surely they cannot do this.

 kevin

Hi Folks Ok I have had this same phonecall today, 16/07/07. I was rather inquisitive and I later rang them back asking for more information. In total 3500 policies are being cancelled by them, the reason being to do with our postcodes and apparently places like Moss Side and other areas like that should never of been offered the prices we were quoted, however I am mistified as where I live it is quiet and in the 10 years I have lived here not even 1 house has been burgled so how my area can be compared to Moss Side I will never know. Anyway apparently this has only happened to people who took out insurance online and seems to be on their part that the mistake was made, I have also been given 7 days notice and have asked for it all in writing, they have offered to insure me again and say they will waiver the deposit but in my understanding the whole payment will just be split over the payment period (I was paying in installments) they say also they will give me 4 months no claims bonus,,, I have never been asked how many years and months NCB I have, only years so this is useless. I feel they should honour their policies as it was their mistake but in the booklet on page 17 it states that they can cancel a policy with 7 days notice without giving a reason, I am angry because if we were to cancel the policy they would be charging us a percentage of the premium plus an admin fee which is usually around £40 if I remember correctly, I have taken the matter further and I have put in a complaint to their Customer Services which you can do at: customerservice @ hastingsdirect .com, I have also put in a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman Service which you can do at:complaint. info AT financial -ombudsman. org.uk. and just to top it off I have contacted BBC's Watchdog at: http://www.bbc.co.uk /consumer/tv_and_ radio/watchdog /contact_index .shtml. Maybe it will just come to nothing but I can't see 3500 people just accepting this without saying anything, I urge you to complain to the same people I have and see if we can at least get some kind of compensation as this is not due to us failing to disclose anything like a previous poster has suggested, to my knowledge and understanding it is done directly through Hastings and it is them who have sent us to the insurer Highway and it is them who have messed up not Hastings but this isnt going to look good for Hastings is it. Also dont be in too much of a rush to sort out new insurance as I am sure some other companies will get onto this and maybe offer us a better deal with the intention of gaining a few new customers. I put my complaints in this morning but as of yet I have had no replies. As soon as I have any contact from any of the aforementioned I will let you know the response. Please anyone who has had the same problem let us know on here as if we all stick together we have a better chance of getting somwhere

Eggy

Hi there,

I heard about this at work earlier today. Luckily the company were fine and not 1 policy out of the 3000+ to be voided came from us; mainly because we do not accept purchases of insurance over the internet, and we have a support team that field/proof incorrect information.

This happened just over a year and a half ago at Insure and Go, with Provident being the insurer forcing cancellations. This was partly to do with the online purchasing and telephone agents not knowing what they were doing due to lack of training on this particular product. It was all based on 'Other Cars in the Household' coupled with younger drivers on the policy.

I am just wondering if this is a similar incident? All 3000+ Hastings customers affected must have something in common, and if those affected can input onto this forum, we may be able to get to the bottom of it. Could it be the postcode/area? Modifications, Young drivers on policy, other cars in household not being declared?

I must add, however, that both Hastings and Highway are usually very good companies, and I'm quite shocked that something like this has come about. However, if incorrect prices have been given then I can see their reasoning to ask for more money or cancel the policy altogether; this would leave everyone, from any insurer out of pocket I can assure you. As the saying goes 'Sh*t rolls down-hill' - and stops at those paying!

If you read some other posts, you will see my signature used to say "Always confirm internet quotes over the telephone. No internet quote is ever guaranteed" - although as a customer, one should expect big companies to know better!

Good luck all!

but i think it is shocking, that they can cancel policies so easily, they dont about anyone but their own pockets, how am i supposed to get to work now?

i live in a quite respectable area, i am only 19, but the car has no modifications,

i dont think they should be able to cancel policies because they are cheap due to there mistake, if i wanted to cancel 3 months into the contract, i wouldnt be able to

also its taken them 3 months to discover this mistake, no way

Hi there,

I am in the exact same situation.

My policy has been active for four months already but they are to cancel the final eight (For the same reasons as above: I'm 19). This gives me the same issue as others relating to no-claims, etc.

 I am also having trouble finding new quotes anywhere near the price. My next best is £250 more.

 Will be keeping an eye on this for any updates.

Thanks.

 

Just to give a little more information - I am 23 and live in south Manchester, do we all live in Manchester or is it being under 25 that is the common trend here? (or both?)

I have no more to update on the actual issue, but have not received anything in writing from Hastings yet. I do not plan on taking any action until I have received a clearly worded letter from them detailing exactly what the problem is with my policy and how they propose to rectify it. I am very worried I am going to have to end up forking out an extra couple of hundred £ for my insurance.

 Will keep you posted!

Hi

 I have not got a letter from them yet, either, and I do not intend to act on the phone call alone - I am waiting until I get this information in writing.

I am not sure if this has been discussed but I was told that there were two reasons why people were having insurance cancelled - a) Aged 19 or under b) Live in a high risk area (Eg, city such as Manchester or Liverpool).

People affected by either one or both of those two were having their insurance cancelled. I believe beyond this there is no such thing as a "trend".

 Thanks

 
PS - I have been informed by Hastings customer service that this was THEIR technical error and so both people ringing up (As I did to check before placing an online quote) to get a quote AND those that completed their quote online are affected.
 

EDIT -- I am affected by the cancellation as I am 19 (They confirmed I am not classed as living in a "high risk" area). 

Hi Folks

Well I am 36 and I live in Bolton, I am female, no modifications etc, 1600 engine, 6 yrs no claims bonus, Purchased online, I was told by Hastings that it was people who purchased online and I believe that even if you then rang to check they would still give the same price as you give a REF number which will just recall the same quote with the same information. I have been checking around for prices and I have found one for £50 more than Hastings quoted me. I have received a standard letter from Hastings this morning which gives absolutely no information at all other than the policy is cancelled 7 days from the date of the letter. No cover iunder the existing policy will be in force after this time, it reminds me it is illegal to use a car without insurance then goes on to tell me to return the Insurance certificate and the insurance will be cancelled upon recipt of this. I do hope they dont go cancelling peoples who are good enough to send theirs back immediately before the 7 days is up! otherwise were to KINDLY fill in the lost certificate declaration and return it in the reply paid envelope provided for our convenience. How considerate of them!  

I have received a reply from the Financial Ombudsman service:

Thank you for your email.

Depending on the nature of your enquiry, it could take us up to six weeks to provide you with a full response - because of the very large volume of enquiries we are currently receiving.

In the meantime, please find below some details of our service - and how we can help you. This may be useful for you to decide whether to take forward a complaint.

We can't step in and investigate a complaint, until the financial firm you're unhappy with has itself had the opportunity to put things right. The steps to follow are set out on our website

Unless you've already done so, this means you need to complain first to the financial firm involved. You can do this in two ways:

(1) You can contact the firm yourself - asking them to put your complaint through their official "complaints procedure". Firms have to complete this procedure within eight weeks - keeping you up-to-date with the progress they make on your complaint.

(2) We can send details of your complaint to the firm on your behalf - if you send us a completed complaint form telling us the relevant details. Or you can phone us directly on 0845 080 1800 (office hours) to give us details of your complaint - which we can forward to the firm for you.

If you would like more information (or our complaint form) posted out to you, remember you will need to tell us your postal address!

We will need your handwritten signature on the complaint form - and copies of any paperwork that you think are relevant to your complaint (for example, copies of bank statements, policy documents etc). You need to post these to us at:

Financial Ombudsman Service

South Quay Plaza

183 Marsh Wall

London

E14 9SR

Hi

Thanks for that information. It seems that in the short term the ombudsman will be little use.

In response to the fact that it was just internet insurance I can only go from my experience and what I was told yesterday which was that phone and internet policies are affected. I did mine online and then rang up (totally seperately, without giving a ref number) to check that I couldn't get the price any cheaper (Eg, online you were unable to state you had a Pass Plus certificate if I remember correctly). In any case both gave the same price.

It was confirmed further by the adviser yesterday (Though, in fairness they were not particularly well informed themselves) that both phone and internet sales were affected (Apparently it was the database not necessary from where the information was entered).

In anycase I'm glad that we're managing to bring together some kind of information here and hopefully it will become to our benefit soon.

 Thanks again.

EDIT -- For what it's worth I am 19 year no years of no-claims bonus, 1.5l car living in Leicestershire.
 

Hello there,

It seems I am in the same boat see http:// forums.moneysavingexpert.com/ showthread.html? p=6042097#post6042097 (remove spaces)

Very angry with Hastings and their total disregard for the inconvenence caused. Looks like they have all bases covered though but I think the public should know. 

Did anyone get through to their customer relations department someone was going to ring me but never got back? I spoke to someone "in the department that was dealing with it! who refused to give me any compensation but did say at least we aren't charging the cancellation fee!

I do live in S Manc by the way 5 years NCD 11 y-o car.
 

Hiya John

It seems that the best thing to do first is to complain to them via mail or E-mail, I have put the e-mail addy in one of my previous posts. They have to respond within a given timescale which is given in the letter I received from FOS also in one of my previous posts. If you go onto the FOS website it gives you clear instructions on how to submit a complaint.

 Again I would urge as many people as possible to contact BBC's Watchdog because although they are not on air until the autumn I am convinced they will be interested, even if it gets us nowhere it will shame them and lose them some potential customers I would of thought. Some of the 3500 people who's policies have/are being cancelled will probably not even question what has been done but im sure there has to be a fair few of us out there who won't just sit back and say nothing. If I did a job in something like house repairs got paid etc then went back 3 months later and said sorry I undercharged you and either asked for my materials back or asked for more money how would that go down? I understand they have their small print but this is usually for cases when they discover things like a non declaration from the policy holder of driving convictions etc. It isnt going to look good if we can get it on Watchdog while Hastings are advertising on TV at the same time declaring they can save their customers money when they are now costing some of their old/present customers hundreds of pounds

 Eggy

i totally agree, i want to do everything to try and get my money back or if not shame there name. i rang the insurance company again earlier and just got fed a loadf of rubbish again, im not happy.

 i was wondering, as there was a fault with the policies being wrong, i was wondering if they were ever valid and if i had to make a claim, would it of been covered?