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1st Central Reviews

Ratings based on 177 reviews Last review 3 days ago
3.09 / 5Good overall rating

1st Central insurance reviews can help you to find out more about this UK insurance provider which launched in 2008 based in Haywards Heath. Smart Money People is the place for 1st Central reviews. Read and write reviews, and together we can help to...

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1st Central insurance reviews can help you to find out more about this UK insurance provider which launched in 2008 based in Haywards Heath. Smart Money People is the place for 1st Central reviews. Read and write reviews, and together we can help to increase trust and transparency in financial services.

5 59
4 33
3 14
2 7
1 64

Your 1st Central Reviews (177)

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17th September 2020

Avoid this company

2 months after policy taken out, they want completely unnecessarily proof of address. Evrrything i supplied was deemed not acceptable including driving licence and wage slips. Then my policy was cancelled and they demanded £75 cancellation fee, which ...

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2 months after policy taken out, they want completely unnecessarily proof of address. Evrrything i supplied was deemed not acceptable including driving licence and wage slips. Then my policy was cancelled and they demanded £75 cancellation fee, which they won't get a penny of. Scam company, unhelpful and robotic staff who rip people off.
AVOID AVOID AVOID

Luke Seffens's avatarLuke Seffens
(0)
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11th September 2020

Avoid, scam company with poor customer service

I have currently been on hold for an hour and ten minutes and still counting. Very poor customer...

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I have currently been on hold for an hour and ten minutes and still counting. Very poor customer service.

Update: they have renewed without my consent and threatened me with financial debt management company if I didn't pay renewal or an admin fee that was just as much. I could only make a complaint via a letter and I would have to be on hold for two hours to speak to a manager.

On their renewal quote they said their renewals are better than for first time customers. A comparison website was £50+ cheap with them for the same level of insurance.

Very poor service. I will never use them again and strongly advice anyone reading to avoid using them.

Stuart's avatarStuart
(0)
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3rd August 2020

Avoid this company, they lie and scam.

The company tend to be the cheapest but go on to make their money by trying to scam newly registered customers. They will send an email asking for scans of license etc. to double check dates. They will then insist what you entered is incorrect, change...

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The company tend to be the cheapest but go on to make their money by trying to scam newly registered customers. They will send an email asking for scans of license etc. to double check dates. They will then insist what you entered is incorrect, change it on your policy without asking, and charge you for it. DOUBLE CHECK on you policy data - they will try and do this even if you enter the correct info, in the hope that you don't push back.
I made sure my dates were correct and they still lied. Thankfully I had the evidence.
They also rely upon people coming in from comparison sites, where the exact date you passed your test isn't entered. It will default to the 1st of the month on their system, so if you don't manually change it on their own website, they will charge you for providing wrong info.

This isn't a one off, I was with the company several years ago and the exact same thing happened. Of course I decided to go for them again as they were cheaper, and I didn't learn my lesson!!

Absolutely avoid. Rather pay an extra £100 than go through the stress of dealing with this terrible company.

Cy's avatarCy
(0)
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30th July 2020

Policy not activated paid in full

Paid for policy in January for full year about 3 weeks before policy start...

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Paid for policy in January for full year about 3 weeks before policy start date.
5 months later police pull me and say car has no insurance. Police gave me my rights and impounded my car. Spent nearly 3 days on phone constantly trying to get 1st central to sort it. Said they had no proof of payment kept getting fobbed off. Eventually get through to manager who admits it's their fault sends me cover letter. Took proof to police who rang them and they said they have no record of me being insured with them. So back on phone to them arguing with them to sort it out.
Seriously avoid if you can !

Robert Swift's avatarRobert Swift
(1)
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27th March 2020

Appalling service, appalling company, appalling staff. AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!

I recently cancelled my insurance with 1st central as I took my car off the road due to not needing it during the COVID-19 social distancing. They charged me over half the total insurance amount as a cancellation fee and the person on the phone...

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I recently cancelled my insurance with 1st central as I took my car off the road due to not needing it during the COVID-19 social distancing. They charged me over half the total insurance amount as a cancellation fee and the person on the phone completely ignored me questioning the fees and simply was trying to rush me through the phone call. He was completely unfazed when I said I would never recommend them as a company or use them again and was down right rude ignoring everything I said.
Appalling service, appalling company, appalling staff. AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!

Annabel's avatarAnnabel
(1)
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28th February 2020

APPALLING

Absolutely APPALLING customer...

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Absolutely APPALLING customer service
Absolutely APPALLING customer service. My policy automatically renewed without my knowledge, the email informing me of automatic renewal sent went straight to spam, and I wasn't aware of the renewal until the confirmation email came through to my inbox (funny how that one didn't go to spam). I called to query this and also, cancel the policy due to having renewed elsewhere already, to be faced with unbelievably rude and arrogant staff. As someone who works for a regulated broker in a compliance role, I know the FCA would not be pleased with how customer services handled my calls. I had the phone put down on me TWICE, was laughed at and although one member of staff accepted my security information, the other couldn't find my policy, and the other said my information was wrong. I asked if calls were recorded, and was told "some are, some aren't, luck of the draw"... Seriously? I was told I would be charged £60 to cancel, although the renewal email came through on a Saturday and their offices were closed, so I could not cancel right away. When I questioned the charge the man I spoke with stated "look, your paying it" even though I never asked for them to deduct the payment, I was nothing but polite and all I did was query why I was being charged, even though the renewal was not agreed upon and I was not notified properly. Surely a phone call is more sufficient when automatically renewing a policy? When I eventually got through to another gentleman and explained my experience and expressed my desire to make a formal complaint, I was told a manager would be in touch and have had no contact since. I will be referring my complaints directly to the Financial Ombudsman. If I had the time to detail each call word for word as a warning to potential customers, I would. All I can do is seriously advise you go elsewhere, this company is horrendous and the staff clearly have not had the appropriate training required to work for an FCA regulated firm.

SASH95's avatarSASH95
(1)
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29th January 2020

£120 to cancel car insurance after 7 months WHY?

Insurance quote was good £330 for my car even though I am 51yrs old BUT after 7 months paying monthly I sold my car and rang them to cancel before the folowing months payment came out to be told I had to pay £120 in cancellation charges!! £50 admin wh...

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Insurance quote was good £330 for my car even though I am 51yrs old BUT after 7 months paying monthly I sold my car and rang them to cancel before the folowing months payment came out to be told I had to pay £120 in cancellation charges!! £50 admin which is too much just to answer my call and tap a few buttons on their database, £50 cancellation charge which is just another name for the first charge.
£20 pro rata for the cover Id already had but as I had paid for that month and we where nearing the next month I was actually giving them the last 5 days for free.. These charges are grossly unfair and where not explained upon taking up the car insurance online!!!

David Hancock's avatarDavid Hancock
(2)
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17th November 2019

Cheap insurance but very happy to squeeze out money the other way...

At first glance the quote appears to be a really good...

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At first glance the quote appears to be a really good deal.
All is well until you try to change your policy details... even 9 days before the renewal.
The lady on the phone was nice enough but it was difficult to understand and she did not understand correctly at all time what was said.
At the end, they charged me short of £60 for address change to the policy and a couple of other small changes. I am still struggling to find this charges on their policy = £30 or maybe £35 would be fair.
Total rip off and needless to say will not be renewing with them.
She also confirmed if I called a week later to renew, they would not charge me!
Thanks for nothing!

Angela's avatarAngela
(1)
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22nd October 2019

Go Elsewhere

Have been with First Central for some years with a one year break inbetween. Premiums have always been competitive when I've bothered to check. They've auto renewed my policy so I don't have to do a thing. The only way to cancel your policy is to call...

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Have been with First Central for some years with a one year break inbetween. Premiums have always been competitive when I've bothered to check. They've auto renewed my policy so I don't have to do a thing. The only way to cancel your policy is to call them. I have a letter stating that. Imagine my surprise in May when I was stopped by the police for driving with no insurance! It had lapsed by two months. First Central say they sent me a new quote of which I'm still to see the evidence. In regards to the auto renew, no response. So I'm now on a 6month driving ban and a £600 fine.
Thank you First Central I couldn't recommend you enough.... Not!!!

Paul Williams's avatarPaul Williams
(0)

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