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1st Central: Car Insurance reviews

Name: Car Insurance
Rating: 1.68 (859 reviews)

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1.51

Based on 859 reviews, last reviewed 31st Jan 2025

100% decrease in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

19% decrease in 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

12%

79%

Latest highest rating:

5

Very good quote on car insurance, and recommended on... Very good quote on car insurance, and recommended on go compare site Reviewed on: 25th September 2024

Latest lowest rating:

1

The worst experience and the worst insurance company. The worst experience and the worst insurance company. My car broke down at the beginning of the insurance and they refused to suspend the insurance ... Read more Reviewed on: 31st January 2025

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About this product

Here at Smart Money People, we collect 1st Central car insurance reviews from genuine customers, to help you make an informed decision about your next provider.

1st Central was founded in 2008 and has been growing fast ever since. Specialising in car insurance, the brand offers a variety of products with different levels of cover, including a telematics policy for newer drivers.

When choosing a new policy, take the time to ensure it is suitably robust and meets all of your needs. Do you want breakdown cover included in the policy? Do you need legal cover? What about cover for any medical expenses that may occur after an accident? Working out your priorities before searching for a policy can make the selection process much easier. Check out our 1st Central car insurance reviews to find out what others think.

Have you had a car insurance policy with 1st Central? Whether good or bad, share your experience with the Smart Money People community to help us increase trust and transparency in financial services. Were you satisfied with the price of the premium? Did you have any interactions with the customer service team? Leave a 1st Central car insurance review today to help other drivers just like you.

1st Central Car Insurance reviews (859)

Review of the 1st Central, Car Insurance:

TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I could give 0 I would, Please please please do not waste your time or money on this 'insurer'. This company is not an insurance company they are brokers who will scam you, rob you and affect you both mentally and physically. I have no idea how this business is still running with the amount of people they are scamming. Out of the blue they cancelled my insurance, they said they needed extra documents. I was not notified at all, neither by text, phone call or post to indicate they require additional infomation. The only way I found out about this was because I checked my bank balance and they had refunded my money for the month. I gave them a call to understand why I had been refunded and only then they told me my insurance was going to be cancelled on 08/06/22 11:59pm - I FOUND OUT 10 HOURS BEFORE THE TIME IT WAS DUE TO BE CANCELLED. They expected me to pull out the documents out of thin air. To avoid this tarnishing my good record I asked the policy to be cancelled and they kept passing me over person to person - I was trying to deal with this whilst I was at work. Then in the end I had to ask them to call me back and then the lady said she will at 6:00 after I finish work. 6:00pm comes and no one has called me, instead I got a lazy email to say 'sorry we cannot cancel your insurance and there is nothing we can do'. The 'analysis' had locked my account so i was unable to cancel the policy online. Even the website is extremely dodgy, they had added a fee of £135 on my account and it said once i make the payment my account will be unlocked. I paid it and it was still locked - luckily I had sent written proof that i want my insurance cancelled and this was the only thing I had to cover my back. I called this morning and spoke to a man who was also very useless and he did nothing to help me and he kept saying to me the insurance cannot be cancelled and he has spoken to his manager. Later i conferred with a family lawyer and they advised me that what they have done is unlawful and should be reported to the ombudsmen. I then called them and threatened them with legal action and notified them that I have also contacted ombudsmen. After this they changed their tune and agreed to cancel my insurance on my behalf rather than them doing it and tarnishing my good record. This has caused me an unbelievable amount of stress and anxiety. PLEASE RUN AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY - The few pounds and pennies you save going for this insurance will only last a month before they start slapping random charges on your account. I insured my run around car with them and for a 2005 mini i essentially paid approx. £200 a month with all the charges they gave me and i only had this insurance for 2 month. I own a BMW X4m and the insurance is no where as expensive. I must say I have learnt my lesson and I will definitely do research before looking for insurance. STAY AWAY LIKE THE PLAGUE. Reviewed on: 9th June 2022

DO NOT USE!!!

I went to a Comparison site for a quote and 1st Central gave me the cheapest so obviously i went with them. No soon as everything was sorted about a week later they doubled my account saying that there was an accident reported of which i know nothing about. I rang these up and was told that i had to get evidence from my previous insurers and they also know nothing about there was nothing on their records. This has now gone by the by and when threatened to cancel cover they told me that i had to pay a fee. All this company wants to do is get as much money from you as they can fleece from you recently i changed my car sorted it out online thanking that i wouldn't get charged for doing it that way and was slapped with an admin charge which i did myself because of being online. Very recently i changed my plates on the car to private plates again did this online it first said nothing to pay then on the next page charged me £25.00 admin fees again for something i did online. Biggest insurance scammers out and should be checked by the ombudsman of which i may do myself. When my insurance is up for renewal trust me if they cahrged me a penny for cover i would steer in the opposite direction. Reviewed on: 9th September 2023

They overcharged me twice

They claimed that an instalment was impossible to collect. But the money is in my account as normal. It isc2nd time it happens. I have other direct debits on my account and never had an issue. Avoid them I'll change company for sure Reviewed on: 9th September 2023

Impossible to speak with an advisor

This is a very disappointing company if you need to speak with them . When i needed to make a minor change i was twice cut off by the helpline after waiting for ages . There is no easy way to communicate with this company . It took ages on the computer - although was resolved . I would never use them again . I would pay more to have a better customer experience Reviewed on: 8th September 2023

Worst Insurance company Ever

AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS! I’ve been with this insurance company for just over 4 months,The original pricing of their cover seems impeccable however they will constantly threaten to void your insurance over false detections on their systems, I’ve had phone calls to tell me they’ve detected collisions which haven’t happened (my car was parked on my driveway) and they take every opportunity to charge you extra, impossible to contact as they don’t answer the phone or their emails and after the hours you spend on the phone attempting to get through the advisors are the most unhelpful people you could ever speak to Reviewed on: 7th September 2023

AVOID!!! - Worst insurance company out there

Very appealing price to begin with then two months later they contacted me to say that some details were incorrect. I contacted them on the number provided in their email address and they claimed that I did not provide enough evidence. To start with they wanted a copy of my driving licence which I dont understand considering I put my unique licence number but I was not too fussed about that. Then they told me they needed some sort of quote from DVLA (not sure what thats about as I never been asked for this), still wasn´t too fussed. Then they said that I had put details wrong for example- instead of puting my wife (second driver) as a staff nurse I put as a registered nurse and they had to change that in the policy. Then I was informed over the phone that the service I was provided over the phone was NOT free and I had to pay £50 admin fee to amend these changes from staff nurse to registered nurse. On top of this my monthly payment would go from £36 to £83 because of these minute changes. I was so frustrated with this company that I decided to cancel the policy which I was charged another £50 cancellation fee (fair enough). I ended up wasting more momney by cancelling, however, I would much rather cancel and go with another insurance (which I did straight after) than continue to give them any more of my Money. I sincerely hope their approach changes altogether but small advice to others ‘Do not be fooled by their initial low prices as I came to find out that apparently what happened to me happened to a lot of people and it is very common with this company’- AVOID !!!! The only reason I dont give 0 starts is because its not an option here Reviewed on: 7th September 2023

Horrendous

Deliberately misconstrue a previous no fault claim as fault. This is just an excuse to charge more. They place all the onus on the customer to run around phoning other insurance companies. The quene for calling the Helpline is hours Reviewed on: 5th September 2023

Awful insurance company

I went on a comparison site for car insurance. 1st central were the cheapest i went with the company, my policy wasn't going to start for another month. I decided the next day that i was going to sell my car due to the price of my insurance and downsize. I phoned 1st Central and told them this, they then told me that there would be a cancellation fee of £50 even though i have a 14 day cooling off period and my cover hadn't even started yet. Stay away from this awful company do not touch with a barge pole. If i could give a zero rating i would. Reviewed on: 5th September 2023

Fraud organisation keep away from them...

Fraud organisation. Rise cost of insurance with fairy tales reason, after you order your online car insurance. How long you owned your car" They axplain-You said you have your car 5 year but wee think you own your car 3 year, and that is the reason why wee have to rise your insurance price by 250£. It's nonsense. Keep away from this bullocks. Will never have a business with them. 100% Not recommended..... Reviewed on: 5th September 2023

Zero customer loyalty

Zero customer loyalty… poor service … renewed my car insurance policy with 1st Central in July… I have 12 yrs no claims… I failed to notify them of a 3pt fixed penalty speeding offence in February as an oversight … they were notified by price comparison sites as I had disclosed this when comparing quotes in July, so my failure to disclose was an oversight… premium increased by £265 in total which included £50 admin fee (nearly 50% increase) for a 3pt fixed penalty notice … won’t be going near this company again … avoid!!! Reviewed on: 1st September 2023

1st Central CANNOT BE TRUSTED

1stCentral CANNOT BE TRUSTED - AVOID AT ALL COSTS First Central charged me £80.54 for a 'mistake' on my application. The mistake was caused because the DVLA had the date incorrect on their system for the date that I purchased my car. Not only did I explain this to them, but they proceeded to take the £80.54 out of my account without my permission and after I was told, 'don't worry it won't be taken'. Now that I have had the DVLA change the date and emailed this to them, they have avoided contacting me back on 2 occasions to discuss having the £80.54 refunded. It seems like it is very easy for them to take this charge, but very difficult to actually speak to someone competent who is able to refund it. Every single staff member gave me different information, eventually I escalated the complaint to a manager, who assured me they would call me back. 2 Weeks have gone by and 1st Central have not contacted me back. I would have preferred to pay more money, for a more competent service. Lesson learnt.... YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU GET. Reviewed on: 1st September 2023

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