Peoples Choice Services Anmeldelser 

Just taken out the cover and found out their Hastings Direct under another name since Hastings are abysmal they're clearly needing to fraud customers to take out a more expensive policy under a different name when Hastings is cheaper! Can do anything else other than cancel this policy!

Extremely disappointed with this bank. Before travelling overseas, my card was blocked when I tried to withdraw cash. I spent over 1 hour on hold to have it unblocked and was assured there would be no further issues.

The next day, my card was blocked again. During my stopover in Dubai, I spent 1.5 hours on hold only to be told to call back on Monday. I then woke up at 4 a.m. to call Australia and spent 2 more hours on the phone, was transferred to 6 different people, disconnected 3 times, never received a callback, and still couldn't access my own money while on holiday.

After 4.5 hours on hold, I was left without access to my own money. Absolutely unacceptable service. Worst banking experience I've ever had. Do not bank here.

I had held a Polish driving licence since 2014 and had been driving in the UK for several years without any issues. After exchanging my Polish licence for a UK one, I informed my insurer about the change, expecting it to be a simple administrative update.
To my surprise, I was told that my premium would increase significantly because I was now considered an inexperienced driver due to the recent issue date of my UK licence. This makes no sense, as exchanging a licence does not erase years of driving experience. The original date of obtaining my driving entitlement remains the same and is shown on the back of the UK licence.
Other insurers confirmed that they take into account the date when the driver first obtained the entitlement to drive, not the date when a replacement or exchanged licence was issued. I believe insurers should assess risk based on actual driving experience rather than the issue date of an exchanged licence.
I was very disappointed with the way this situation was handled and decided to look for insurance elsewhere.

I have had insurance with People’s choice (Hasting’s Direct) for a few years, but I always had a Polish driving license, which I got in 2014. This year I decided it was time to replace my Polish license with a UK one, and having done that I called Hastings Direct to let them know. I nearly fell off my chair when the lady I spoke to on the phone told me my insurance premium would more than double triple as a result, from around £40 to £90 per month! Of course I queried this and she explained that I was now treated as an inexperienced driver because I only just got my UK license. Utter nonsense.

I made a written complaint, pointing out that I did not become an ‘inexperienced driver’ overnight, and that clearly Hastings was incorrectly assessing the ‘risk’ when calculating my new premium. I thought Hastings would come to its senses when someone other than a call-centre person looked into the details of what happened, but no – my complaint was not upheld, and the reasons they gave were the same complete nonsense – that the risk was assessed based on the date of issue of my UK license! In my opinion this is a deliberate and calculated scam.

When I sought other quotes from other insurance companies they all confirmed that it is the date when you get your original license which is taken into account(the date which appears in column 10 next to the picture of the car, on the rear of your license). It is NOT the date of the most recently issued license which matters. Hastings Direct must know this too, which means they are deliberately trying it on, to see how much money they can scam from unsuspecting people. This is no better than any other internet scammer trying to steal money.

Needless to say I cancelled my policy and got insurance with a reputable insurance company, at a cheaper rate than my original Hastings premium. I’ll be seeking compensation via the Ombudsman for the cost of my cancellation fee.

Car insurance renewal: I called the company a week before my car insuance was set to auto renew. I asked for this to not auto renew, as I was not a named drived but the owner of the vehicle. My wife (policy holder) gave permission over the phone for me to be able to make policy changes and call without having to speak to her or get approval which was fine, policy was set to not auto renew. A week later and right before my policy was expiring I called again to get a revalidated quote with y 17 year old son on the policy. I was told that as I am not the named driver, they would not be able to do anything and need to speak to my wife?! I waited 25 mins on the line to talk to someone, explained that I had been added as a person that had authority from the policy holder to make changes. They said that the system had not reflected what I was saying and that I should call back when policy holder is able to talk. I asked if they could call me back in 1 hour then to save me waiting in a que for 20-30 mins. I was told no they wont do that. I asked to speak to the persons supervisor to negotiate a call back, she fabricated that her supervisor was in a meeting and doesnt know when it will end. Disgraceful customer support, hung up the phone and renewed with a different company, will not use again.

Glad I cancelled my policy. Whilst they're cheap compared to competitors in this sector they do not notify you of fees. Even though I did not start the policy, to cancel an £20 arrangement fee is to be taken as it's in their T&C's. This is something that isn't mentioned when taking out the policy for vehicle insurance.

Be aware and always read the fee's section on the website.

You might want to consider a different coop than the Peoples Choice coop. It is poorly managed and very run down. Repairs are made with used materials, if repairs are done at all. If they don't like you (or they just Don't want to do the repairs) repairs for major issues don't get done. I lived there for over twenty years and during my first year the flooring needed to be replaced. I was told that it would be replaced. Good thing that I was not holding my breath for it to get done. They should have been replaced before I moved in. It wasn't replaced in the years that I had lived there. Neighbors are loud and aggressive. Lots of bickering and name calling. Not a good place to raise children.

They set your car insurance to autorenew by default - and if you don't arrange payment, it doesn't cancel. You have to pay a fine to get out of it. I don't like that at all. Nice staff in the call centre though!

Every time I have called to make a claim I'm on hold for 40+ minutes.

Every time I call to make a payment or buy a product I'm on hold no longer than 3 minutes.

It's deliberate and disgusting.

I selected People's Choice through MoneySuperMarket as the quote was competitively priced and supported by a 5-Star Defaqto rating.

The policy was required to commence on 17 February 2026, which is the start date displayed during the quotation process. However, the end date shown was 16 March 2027, which created some confusion. As the displayed start date was 17 February 2026, I proceeded with the quote and paid the required deposit.

Following payment, I received confirmation by email stating that the policy start date was in fact 17 March 2026. I contacted your office today to correct this error, but I was informed that to amend the start date I would need to pay a new deposit, with the original deposit to be refunded only after 17 March 2026, as this is recorded as the policy start date.

I expressed my dissatisfaction and requested cancellation of the policy. I was again advised that any refund would not be processed until 17 March 2026.

It is unreasonable to take payment a month in advance while refusing to process a refund until a later date, particularly where the issue appears to stem from inaccurate information presented during the quotation process. I request that this matter be reviewed urgently and that my refund be processed without delay.

I raised a claim with People's Choice, handled by parent company Hastings, in the middle of November. Simple siutation, someone opened their door into my car denting it. CCTV evidence should have been fetched to show the incident and solve the issue straight away. Their online form read my description and tried to put the liability on me to start with (good to know my insurer is ready to accept liability before I have even put the claim in properly) and I have been left with no idea what is going on at all. The claim is still open, which I am now going to have to declare when getting new quotes (because you can be sure I'll be going nowhere near People's Choice, or Hastings again) and when I ask for an update on the complaint I have submitted about all this, I am told it has been assigned, but I can't get an update because the one person handling it isn't available, and apparently no one else can see their notes! Having worked in Insurance based customer service for a decade it all stinks to high heaven of a company who cares about getting your business and then doing as little as possible afterwards. I'm fairly certain this will end up being referred to the FOS, especially if I end up getting smacked with huge premiums because Hastings have let such a simple claim drag on for months, or even (as I fear) they let someone fraudulently claim I was to blame and I end up getting stuck with the liability. Don't let the advertised cheap premium fool you, this might be the most costly insurance policy I've bought if it all goes wrong. Absolute evidence of "You get what you pay for" I guess, just a shame it could cost me so much over the next few years because of the poor service and staff training provided by People's Choice and Hastings

Update following reply from People's Choice:

I had already raised a complaint.... I had to chase for a response after more than two weeks, so the "five working days" mentioned in their reply is a dream.

This bank blocked my card multiple time for legitimate transactions with out my consent. They are useless to deal with especially when applying for loans

Considering they're Hastings insurance its unbelievable that my peoples choice renewal went from £600 to £1000 but a new quote was under £400. So much for the new law that they cant charge you more than a new customer. Just incase they reply saying something must of changed, it hasn't. I'm just glad I had auto renewal turned off.

In reply to peoples choice (Hastings) below I took out a new policy with Hastings for less than half the price of renewal with peoples choice (also Hastings). They should reward no claims and being a good customer but they would rather chance it by adding £400 a year to your policy and making excuses. This is why the first thing i do with car insurance is turn off auto renewal.

Had car insurance from them. They cancelled it after 5 months claiming that they hadn't received proof of no claims bonus. Once I re-provided it - they charged me an admin fee (I paid for their ineptitude). Also, you cannot cancel auto renew without phoning them and listening to someone reading off a script for 15 minutes. Please - stay away at all costs. They are owned by Hastings. Give them a swerve as well. A garbage outfit. Not able to give no stars - otherwise I would.

Not enough that they hide the fact that they are part of scam group Hestings Insurance, They charged me 2 times in one week. Tomorrow i will make one trip and i'm cancelling my policy with this scammers.

Update on their reply:
I don't do business with scammers. So i cancelled it, and you know what, not enough that they charged me a £50 for like...7-9 days, when all insurance was around £700, so this people will not going to cancel you policy if you won't tell them what you going to do with your car. WTF?! It's none of your business what i will do with my car after cancellation. Disgusting.

I 100% selected do not auto renew months before policy ended. Before policy ended I Sold car and then a month later I get charged for a new Insurnace that started even though i selected don’t auto renew!!!
I was charged 20 for the renewal cost and the 10 days I had car insurance on a car id didn’t even own and never signed anything saying I wanted new insurance.

So stupid. And they won’t give me any of the money back saying it’s procedure.

Terrible service from start to finish. I was transparent, provided all documents, and even police evidence of the theft. Hastings mishandled my claim, lost my key, delayed everything, and offered only £200 for the security risk they caused. Shocking treatment of a loyal customer.

Car insurance renewal came through, £30 cheaper than last year. Quick pop onto Compare the Market and found a new policy for £308 (nearly £230 cheaper than renewal). Called People's Choice to tell them not to auto renew. After a couple of 'fact finding' questions from them, they came back with a NEW renewal price of £320. Its an absolute disgrace that they can miraculously find another £200 down the back of the sofa to bring the renewal down even further.
FYI, nothing changed re personal situation, job, car or anything.

Thieves broke into our house through a fan light window when we were asleep. A small fan light window was left partially open to allow some fresh air in during a hot night. Now a month later they have rejected the claim as, although their engineer states the window was jemmied, it was not a forced or violent entry. Absolute cowboys avoid at all costs

I strongly advise everyone to stay away from People’s Choice car insurance (underwritten by Hastings Direct). My experience with them has been nothing short of shocking and feels like a complete scam.

I paid monthly for over 7 months on a policy for my BMW 1 Series, covering 208 days, and when I chose to cancel, I was hit with an outrageous “outstanding balance” of £298.73. This was on top of the £643.13 I’d already paid.

What’s worse:
• I was told there was no cancellation fee, yet I’m being charged as if I completed the full policy term.
• They’ve added £75+ in interest, despite cancelling early.
• “Extras” and so-called fees that were never clearly explained are now non-refundable.
• I was left with no clear breakdown, just an unjust demand for more money.

This is not how reputable insurers operate. I’ve had car insurance with other companies and never been treated like this. The way People’s Choice structures their payments and hides cancellation costs is incredibly misleading.

I have now filed a formal complaint and will be taking this further with the Financial Ombudsman Service.

DO NOT trust this company. They appear cheap at first but will rinse you if you try to leave. Learn from my mistake — choose a provider that’s upfront and fair.