Login
Start Free Trial Are you a business?? Click Here

Hastings Direct Smart Miles Reviews

3.3 Rating 1,984 Reviews
57 %
of reviewers recommend Hastings Direct Smart Miles
3.3
Based on 1,984 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

Write Your review

Anonymous
Anonymous  // 01/01/2019
Very good value & very helpful staff
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Fairly new to Hastings Smart Miles - can you explain why I have 100 for speed, 100 for braking and a big fat zero for acceleration - makes absolutely no sense. Living in a small town I don't get the opportunity to accelerate at such speeds....surely harsh acceleration would lead to harsh braking??? I had a telematics box last year, with Admiral, which recorded Gold score all year - none of this nonsense - and feel that trying to accommodate the acceleration score is actually making me into a more dangerous driver. If I accelerate any less I'll be rolling backwards!! Sort your system out please - it's not accurate.
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Hi there, Thank you for taking the time to leave this review. Its really encouraging to see you have a score of 100 for braking, there could be a couple of reasons why your acceleration is so low. Just as an insight, your box picks up G-Force so it would suggest that when you are pulling away you are getting to the speed limit over too short a distance. If you can imagine a cup of water on your dashboard as your braking your not spilling a drop but as you are accelerating you are spilling the water in the cup. We do have a dedicated team who would be more than happy to go through how the box works and give you some really good hints and tips on how to improve. They can be contacted either on 0800 048 2955 or via email at firstresponse@hastingsdirect.com. I hope this helps. ~ Jamie
Posted 6 years ago
I can?t log onto the dashboard so clicked forgotten details and entered my email and reg in to receive an email which NEVER CAME. Not happy wat the moment and hope Hastings improve
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Hello, I'm sorry to see that you struggled to access your online account and I hope that you have since been able to do so. If you've still been unable to sign in, please ring the smart miles customer service team on the free number of 01733 308 380. An adviser will do all they can to assist you -Theo
Posted 5 years ago
On the day I thought it was fine. Agreed renewal and cost. Then received 2 letters in the post from Close Finance. 2 different amounts. I was told insurance company had increased price given - but I wasn?t informed.
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Quick and helpful renewing my car insurance
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Went with them in June last year after passing in April and my previous insurance with Churchill was ending. With the 1 years no claims while being a learner the price last year was around ?920ish with a B.B. and was the best price anywhere. Liked their app although could update more frequently, the overall numbers haven?t changed for about a month which does not really add up. This renewal price was under ?600. Was expecting something just over! They?ve always been very helpful over the phone when we?ve have questions etc and I would recommend to friends and family who have just passed/ still a new driver.
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
I was unable to renew my insurance online
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Excellent value, efficient, very easy to deal with, everything clearly explained
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
The only word that comes to mind is useless. This was my first ever car insurance which naturally cost me an arm and a leg. The smart miles box was ok but I hated the fact there was a curfew which didn?t allow me to use my car between 10pm-5pm without being penalised, it felt like an over controlling parent and a lack of freedom. Hastings have also been uncooperative in regards to claims and gave me incorrect information which has affected my policy with my new insurance meaning I had to pay more. They also tried to take money out of my account without my permission but then claimed they had sent out information but didn?t. As a young person I felt like I was taken advantage of because of my age and I will not be continuing my car insurance with them ever again. A waste of ?1200 and a poor experience, would not recommend.
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Hi there,I'm really sorry to see your experience with us was a bad one. We are very transparent with the driving between 10pm and 5am and suggest that you do drive, this is to protect our younger more inexperienced drivers that could be exposed to potential accidents. I really am really sorry to see that you were unhappy with our claims process and the fact you were charged more when changing provider. This must have been very frustrating and for this I apologise. ~ Jamie
Posted 5 years ago
took a while to get through your telephone system, but contact was amiable and knowledgeable, so with a black box rating of 80% -as I was told, I renewed at a slightly lower premium
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Easy to renew policy. Has no problem Very good service
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Wanted change vehicle most places charge admin fee happy pay that but not £548 they were going charge customer service extremely rude would not recommend
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Hi there, I am sorry to see that you have had so many issues whilst trying to change your vehicle. There are many factors that we need to look at when quoted, the size of the engine, size of car, alarm systems and desirability amongst other things. I do however apologise for the service you had from our Customer Services team. This is not acceptable. I'm sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. ~ Jamie
Posted 6 years ago
Never spoke to such helpful people. Every question I had, answered politely and explained everything in detail. Got me sorted as quickly as they could!
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Hastings have just insured my car at a really good price, I had a problem where i wanted extra cover legal costs but didn't want their breakdown cover. The web page wouldn't let me drop the breakdown cover, when I called them they made an adjustment to their website which allowed me to continue without the breakdown cover very helpful. Would recommend them.
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Brilliant and easy to use and fit they were ?100,s cheaper than anywhre else this is my second year with the smart box if it continues in this way l will be staying with SmartMiles forever.
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
quick and efficient
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
If there was a zero score we would be using that 1 is far too good !!!disgusting we are forwarding all information to watchdog as a matter of urgency ....your boxes are inaccurate and yet you fail to accept this ...
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Hello, I'm really sorry to hear you've not had the best experience with our telematics box and that it has caused so much frustration. If you need to discuss this and wish to arrange correspondence with our smart miles team please email the policy reference and a contact number to help@hastingsdirect.com. We'll do all we can to arrange some assistance for you -Theo
Posted 6 years ago
Avoid!!! Absolute joke! They should be ashamed of themselves.. that nasty device to monitor driving is utter rubbish.. We have just cancelled and had to pay £210 for the inaccurate box.. the stress if was causing with it’s monitoring was just too much, if you don’t want your son or daughter to become paranoid of getting in the car when there driving is perfectly fine then do I plead that you don’t use this company!!! I hope people read the reviews and take this as a warning I only wish we had :-(
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Hi there, I'm so sorry to see you have had such a negative experience with your SmartMiles box. The purpose of the box is not to make your child paranoid of driving but to monitor it, we do have a dedicated team that just works to help improve scores and give hints and tips to for them to use. The box also gives potential crash alerts so we can call out and make sure your children are safe when out driving. I completely understand your frustrations and wish the best with your new provider. If you do want to disuss this further you can cll our team on 01733 308 380. - Jamie
Posted 6 years ago
This is the most horrific and nasty device that I have ever come across. And Connor I would much prefer if you didn’t reply to this with your made up nonsense desperately trying to prove some sort of value in something which is quite obviously a failure. Save my sanity please. The box doesn’t work. It is a nasty piece of equipment that does not take reality into account. It’s doesn't consider the place you live, traffic or the necessity of using your brakes in such a way as in to react to what’s going on around you stopping collisions, or the necessity to accelerate at roundabouts. If you actually drove to the standards that the box requires your driving would be less safe, especially when considering the area I live, there is no doubt about it. You naturally have to drive with a little more panache and energy than if you lived the countryside otherwise you would be such a worried driver that it would make matters worse when considering how everyone drives around you. Anyway despite that. I made a real conscious effort over the warning week to drive a lot better. I was one point under the minimum of 40, I made an 8 point increase. I have no idea how I still scored so little as I was driving very carefully. I explained to the person on the phone that there should be a probation period whereby if you’re making obvious progress and you’re genuinely trying to improve you should be then given more advice to then improve for the week after instead of loosing £500 and your insurance being cancelled just like that. Furthermore, how am I supposed to know how much my driving has improved/ what points I have gained if I have not been told? It is unquantifiable as I have no information about how much my driving has improved according to the black box. If I knew it had only improved by a little i would have naturally been able to calculate what I needed to do to improve further. Instead my insurances was just cancelled throug email. She didn’t seem to understand what I meant. Must have been trained to say “there must be a cut off point” without being given the ability to consider what the caller is actually saying. Now this is disgusting, unfair and deceitful. It’s a company that should be closed down for this and quite frankly should go to court over this. I can only do what I can towards this and that is to write letters to who I can to make this happen. This is what I will do week in week out if necessary. Please steer clear form this! It is not a reliable or intelligent enough piece of equipment to give a realistic account of how good your driving is and you will lose money from not doing anything wrong.
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Hello there, thank you for leaving such a detailed and frank review. Firstly may I apologise that we have had to cancel your policy as I can imagine how much of an inconvenience this must be for you. I would like to clear up a couple of points though. We would never cancel a policy without contacting you and giving you an opportunity to improve your driving score, we would have emailed you to advise your driving score was under 40 out of 100 and gave you 200 miles to improve. We also understand that this sometimes is a tough fix so if your score hasn’t improved in that time frame we email you to give you another 7 days to improve. In regards to the driving itself, your scores are generated over an average journey so individual moments of hard braking to avoid accidents are not taken in to consideration, this is the same for acceleration as well. The box updates every 70 miles to give you an idea of what areas are improving and which are not. We also have a dedicated team that try and help you through the whole process. We would be more than happy to speak to you about any issues that have arisen from this on 01733 308 380 I'm so sorry that your policy has been cancelled and wish the best for the future. - Jamie
Posted 6 years ago
The system does not work and Hastings Direct are selling a product that is not fit for its purpose. Hastings Direct have made no statements on this site to show that the system works as they can't it's just flawed technology they use and just simply avoid the issue. The system could never work and customers are being mislead by Hastings Direct the technology being used is not capable of what it claims it can do, this will lead to young drivers effectively being ripped off by Hastings Direct and the evidence of this can be seen all over the internet.
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Hello there, I'm sorry that you feel the box data is incorrect, if the review is regarding your driving behaviour score, we do have a dedicated team that can go through individual journey that you have made and show you ways to improve certain elements of your driving. They can also explain how the box generates the data through G-Force ect. You can contact them on either 0800 048 2955 or via email at firstresponse@hastingsdirect.com. I hope this helps. - Jamie
Posted 6 years ago
Hastings Direct Smart Miles is rated 3.3 based on 1,984 reviews