Budgetdirect Reviews 

Left on the side of the road for nearly two hours because they didn’t transfer our policy to our new car correctly.

We did everything right and called more than two weeks in advance to have the policy updated. Despite that, they failed to update their system.

After spending 1.5 hours on the phone, we were told we had to pay because our policy had only been updated “today” — even though they never processed the change when we originally called. We were passed around from contact centre to contact centre, with no one actually helping.

We have all the emails and proof.

I can’t express how poor this experience has been. You get what you pay for.

And as I type this, I am still sitting on the side of the road. I have been here since 11 a.m. Hung up on multiple times, transferred over 9 times. ****DO NOT DO IT****

I made a claim on a van that my company had insured with Budget Direct under their Comprehensive Vehicle Insurance policy. The van sustained front-end damage in an at-fault accident.

It took two weeks and multiple phone calls to their Claims Department before the van was even collected and taken away for assessment. It then took a further week before a repair quote was provided.

The repair quote was approximately $9,000. Despite the van having an agreed insured value of almost $11,000, Budget Direct decided to write the vehicle off.

They eventually paid the agreed value, but after deducting GST, the $1,000 excess, the $2,000 buy-back value, and the remaining $1,000 insurance premium, my company was left with the damaged vehicle, had to fund the repairs itself, and was approximately $3,000 out of pocket.

This was my experience with their “Comprehensive Vehicle Insurance” after being a loyal customer for many years.

I also had other vehicle and home insurance policies with Budget Direct, but following this experience, I have cancelled my policies and will never insure with them again.

I encourage any prospective customers to carefully read the policy terms and fully understand the claims process before choosing this insurer.

Budgetdirect are extremely helpful with meeting requirements

Requested a car insurance quote, online, but was advised that Budget Direct could not issue a quote, as one or more of the alterations/additions that had been made to my vehicle, rendered it uninsurable. They did not specify which of the alterations/additions that they were referring to. I had side steps fitted to my Mazda BT50, by the dealer, prior to delivery. I had Pedders add a heavy duty leaf spring to raise the Ute by 100mm, for added stability when loaded. I had ARB fit a recycled plastic bullbar (as used by police and ambulances and the only bullbar that can be legally used in Europe). I would consider that all those alterations enhanced the safety and performance of the vehicle and my current (long established and highly rated) insurer has no problem with any of these alterations. I lodged a complaint with Budget Direct and I received the standard computer generated acknowledgement of my email. I received a subsequent email advising me that Budget Direct had tried to call me but got no response, however, my missed call list on my phone tells me a different story. I would like to say that Budget Direct customer service is woeful, but its actually non-existent. My questions were never answered. All I received were vague statements and out and out lies. The best I can say is that I dodged a bullet, by finding out that this company is the opposite of what it’s slick adds suggest, before things went any further.

It was an easy one
And felt so good have 30% off an a new member

I was shopping for comprehensive insurance and was delighted with the price, customer service person was very helpful and friendly

The staff were very helpful and friendly.

Thank you🙏🙏🙏

If I could give 0 stars, I would. This is hands down the worst insurance company I have ever dealt with. Months after I canceled my policy, they secretly continued to deduct money from my credit card. When I contacted customer service, they gave me conflicting stories and made up excuses that completely contradicted each other. Absolutely untrustworthy.

It was all good but I think for someone 49 years old it is a bit expensive

This company does not pay claims. We had a burst water pipe causing damage to a ceiling. Had a plumber repair the leak and a plasterer repair the plaster and paint it. After submitting the claim, they asked for more and more detailed receipts, forms, assessments of damage and this dragged on for 4 months until I realised they were simply not going to pay and I cancelled the policy and went with another more reputable company. Would not recommend

It is great value for money and the process was so easy on line. I have recommended your company to all my friends and anyone who will listen!! I was really impressed.

I rarely leave negative reviews, but my experience with Budget Direct Roadside Assistance was so disappointing that I feel compelled to warn others.

I joined Budget Direct Roadside Assistance on 3 September 2025 and maintained my membership for approximately 10 months without making a single call for assistance. When I finally needed help for the first time, I expected the service I had been paying for. Instead, I was met with confusion, conflicting information, excessive delays, and ultimately no assistance.

On Tuesday morning, I contacted Budget Direct Roadside Assistance and spent approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes on the phone. The representative I spoke with, Daniel, advised that the vehicle details on their system did not match the vehicle covered under my membership.

I was then transferred to a customer service representative, Sophie, who reviewed my membership and confirmed that my vehicle details were correct. She verified that the vehicle listed on my policy matched the vehicle requiring assistance.

Importantly, I also have a copy of my official Budget Direct Roadside Assistance Membership Certificate, which clearly identifies the covered vehicle as a 2013 Toyota RAV4 Diesel. There was no ambiguity and no discrepancy in the documentation provided to me by Budget Direct.

After customer service confirmed everything was correct, I was transferred back to the roadside assistance team. Astonishingly, I was once again told that their system showed a different vehicle and that they could not proceed with the assistance request.

I offered to provide my membership certificate and supporting documentation immediately to resolve the issue. However, before any solution was reached, the call was disconnected.

I then called back and waited for over another hour to speak with the roadside assistance team, only to receive exactly the same response. Despite Budget Direct's own documentation and customer service department confirming the correct vehicle details, the roadside assistance department continued to rely on conflicting information within their system and refused to provide the service I had paid for.

By the end of the ordeal, I had spent well over two hours on the phone, been transferred between departments multiple times, repeated the same information over and over, and still received no practical assistance.

What concerns me most is not that a system error may have existed. Mistakes can happen in any organisation. The real issue is that Budget Direct's departments appeared unable to resolve an obvious internal discrepancy, even when presented with their own documentation confirming the correct details. As a customer requiring roadside assistance, I was effectively left stranded because Budget Direct could not reconcile information within its own systems.

Roadside assistance is not a product people buy for convenience. It is a service people rely upon during stressful and often urgent situations. Customers pay year after year with the expectation that when they eventually need help, the provider will be ready to deliver. In my case, after 10 months of paying for membership and making no previous claims or requests, Budget Direct failed at the very moment the service was needed.

My experience left me questioning the reliability of the entire roadside assistance operation. If a customer can hold a valid membership certificate, have customer service confirm the vehicle details are correct, and still be denied assistance because another department's system shows different information, then serious questions need to be asked about the effectiveness of the service.

I cannot recommend Budget Direct Roadside Assistance based on my experience. I paid for peace of mind and support when needed. What I received instead was over two hours of frustration, conflicting information, repeated transfers between departments, and no roadside assistance.

Potential customers should carefully consider whether they are willing to take that risk when choosing a roadside assistance provider.

I would not recommend Budget Home insurance and we will be moving our policies to another provider. We had a burst pipe in our home so we acted promptly to mitigate damage and turned our water off. We have made a claim and according to their PDS in section 7 they cover exploratory works, but they are refusing to pay. Because we acted promptly and had our water turned off for 3 days and employed plumbers to come out, dig up our concrete slab to locate the leaking pipe, and reduced the damage caused, they will not pay. They are not acting in accordance with their own policy. We will be submitting a complaint and appeal and if unsuccessful will move all our insurance elsewhere. Having been customers of Budget for over 10 years it is very disappointing.

Great service and prices, easy to setup website.

Consultant very helpful, information easy to understand, and very easy to ask questions
Very happy with the experience

I have previously held comprehensive insurance with Budget Direct, I then switched to Home & Contents. Totally satisfied, I have returned for my comprehensive insurance and will continue with my Home & Contents policy.

I had I few problems with my battery and budget direct were there to help within 30min and resolved the problem

I was extremely happy with the help I received from this lady, she was easy to understand and very helpful which made transition to Budget great.