Why did my car cover suddenly leap from £233 as I looked online?
A.J. writes: I was searching online for car insurance, and Hastings Direct quoted £233 for comprehensive cover, though the policy mandated that a black box had to be fitted. I was unsure what this entailed, so I called them to enquire about installation costs. While the staff member was looking into this, out of curiosity I looked online at what difference it would make if I lowered my excess from £250 to £150, but it appeared to make no difference. I decided to proceed with the policy and was told to proceed online, only to find the £233 quotation had risen dramatically.
YOU had been told that the original quotation was valid until midnight that day, but when you asked Hastings Direct why the premium had risen, you were told that because you had considered lowering the excess, the original quotation had automatically been cancelled, even though a change to the excess would make no difference to the premium.
I asked Hastings Direct to explain, and staff blame a ‘technical issue’ that meant customers who applied for the company’s YouDrive product were incorrectly shown a much higher price if they experimented with possible changes, such as a lower excess. The system should have taken you back to the original figure of £233. This does not, of course, explain why staff did not correct this when you complained, before you contacted me. You have told me you have now taken out cover elsewhere.
If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, Scottish Mail on Sunday, 20 Waterloo Street, Glasgow G2 6DB or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co. uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.