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[terry paget]

I bought my first Astra in October 2018, transferring the insurance cover to it from an Omega. I renewed in March 2019, and again in March 2020. Yesterday Hastings Direct e-mailed me, saying as they had insured another car with the same registration number, they would have to cancel my policy by the end of the month, would that be all right?
They suggested I contact them by webchat. All busy. I tried phoning, nobody there, corovirus. I replied to the e-mail, demanding a reply. They replied, promising to answer my questions within three days.
What do you think is going on?

[henryd]

Sounds like your car number may have been cloned so you really need to speak to someone,it could be an honest mistake in that a wrong digit has been tapped into a computer but you do need to check just in case your car is the dodgy one !

[terry paget]

Sounds like your car number may have been cloned so you really need to speak to someone,it could be an honest mistake in that a wrong digit has been tapped into a computer but you do need to check just in case your car is the dodgy one !

Thanks. I have owned this car about 18 months. I bought it from a garage in Southwick, who sold it to a guy as a new car and had serviced it throughout its first 8 years and 160K miles. I have the log book, I suspect the other car is the clone. But why did Hastings not reject the other car proposal, rather than try to cancel mine?
Whom should I approach, DVLA. police?

[henryd]

Sounds like your car number may have been cloned so you really need to speak to someone,it could be an honest mistake in that a wrong digit has been tapped into a computer but you do need to check just in case your car is the dodgy one !

Thanks. I have owned this car about 18 months. I bought it from a garage in Southwick, who sold it to a guy as a new car and had serviced it throughout its first 8 years and 160K miles. I have the log book, I suspect the other car is the clone. But why did Hastings not reject the other car proposal, rather than try to cancel mine?
Whom should I approach, DVLA. police?

Thats the odd bit and is why you need to speak to them

[Doctor Gollum]

Check all three vin plates against the V5...

[terry paget]

Check all three vin plates against the V5...

Good thinking. The car is in Chippenham. I will e-mail son Jonny. One is at LH windscreen base, second is at driver's door rear pillar, I read the third is stamped on the floor between driver' door and driver's seat.

[dave the builder]

I don't understand why an astra insured by you Terry ,at your address in midsomer norton is being used by your son Jonny ,30 miles away in Chippenham and you are using a Vectra and Omega (when lock-down allows) 
Jonny may be a "named driver" but that's not how insurance works
Maybe Jonny has now taken out his own insurance on the Astra ,being the keeper and main driver 

I expect it's an admin error your end ,NOT the insurance company's error
OR....
 there being a cloned astra knocking about on the same plates 

people don't tend to pay for the Tax ,or insurance or MOT a cloned car 

[Doctor Gollum]

I don't understand why an astra insured by you Terry ,at your address in midsomer norton is being used by your son Jonny ,30 miles away in Chippenham and you are using a Vectra and Omega (when lock-down allows) 
Jonny may be a "named driver" but that's not how insurance works
Maybe Jonny has now taken out his own insurance on the Astra ,being the keeper and main driver 

I expect it's an admin error your end ,NOT the insurance company's error
OR....
 there being a cloned astra knocking about on the same plates 

people don't tend to pay for the Tax ,or insurance or MOT a cloned car 

You say that, dodgy garage sells cloned car to a normal person who then taxes and insures it as a normal person would

[terry paget]

Jonny is the policyholder, using his Chippenham address, I am a named driver.

I suspect it's a keying error, by the owner of the bike.

I imagine the point of cloning is you clone the number of a car like your own, and then need not pay insurance, road tax or MOT, and the cops will not pick you up. If you are caught by a speed camera, that's all right too. If you have a serious crash, you're in trouble.

 

[Doctor Gollum]

That is one purpose, the other is to give a dubious car a legitimate identity in order to make a profit from selling on the legitimised car such as a cut and shut...

[dave the builder]

Jonny is the policyholder, using his Chippenham address, I am a named driver.

I bought my first Astra in October 2018, transferring the insurance cover to it from an Omega. I renewed in March 2019, and again in March 2020.

so which is it ?

Hastings Direct would email who ever took the policy out ,not named drivers

I expect, as I hinted too earlier, that you have a policy and Jonny has a policy on the same car

speak to your son and ask him who insured it ,check your policy ,compare notes

saves waiting to find out off the insurance company 

[terry paget]

Jonny is the policyholder, using his Chippenham address, I am a named driver.

I bought my first Astra in October 2018, transferring the insurance cover to it from an Omega. I renewed in March 2019, and again in March 2020.

so which is it ?

Hastings Direct would email who ever took the policy out ,not named drivers

I expect, as I hinted too earlier, that you have a policy and Jonny has a policy on the same car

speak to your son and ask him who insured it ,check your policy ,compare notes

saves waiting to find out off the insurance company 

As told before, I run cars for my children. His car policies were all had him as policyholder, at his address, I buy it online. He has been the policyholder for many years. Correspondence by e-mail comes to me. We meet most weeks, and are in frequent e-mail contact.
I forwarded the Hastings e-mail to him, with my response.

[STEMO]

Do you deliberately go out of your way to make your life as complicated as possible? 

[terry paget]

Do you deliberately go out of your way to make your life as complicated as possible? 

No, that's just the way it evolved.

[STEMO]

Do you deliberately go out of your way to make your life as complicated as possible? 

No, that's just the way it evolved.

Well...the insurance companies probably had to write a whole new computer program just for you 

[dave the builder]

I have emails for my 77 year old mum set up the other way round ,
I have the address everyone contacts and pass on the emails that she actually needs to read to an email address she has access too.
So, I'm my mum's spam filter 

Today Airport Storage and Cargo Unit Charlotte Douglas International Airport needs her details to deliver a Consignment box in a metal box valued 10,316,000 USD

had I known she had that much cash  , i'd make her buy her own shopping   

[Andy B]

 

[YZ250]

I bought my first Astra in October 2018, transferring the insurance cover to it from an Omega. I renewed in March 2019, and again in March 2020. Yesterday Hastings Direct e-mailed me, saying as they had insured another car with the same registration number ......

What do you think is going on?

I'm reading this as Hastings insured both cars ........ what are the chances of a clone car being insured/being insured with the exact same company. 

I would hazard a guess that the computer threw up the car reg and policyholder, but then spotted the same reg against the payee, and because the two don't have matching addresses it threw a wobbly. The solution, if this is the case, is for the son to let Terry know how much his insurance is, and then, if Terry wants to pay the fee, Terry transfers the funds to his son's bank account. There seems too much confusion having multiple names (email addresses) involved.
Hope you manage to sort it and that nothing is genuinely amiss. 

[terry paget]

Thanks to all for advice. I asked Hastings Direct why they tried to cancel Jonny's cover rather than cancel the other guy's. They replied they wrote to both parties, now I have responded my cover will remain. I have e-mailed Jonny to check his car's VIN number, as on the log book. He has yet to respond.