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1st Central: Car Insurance reviews

Name: Car Insurance
Rating: 1.68 (858 reviews)

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1.52

Based on 858 reviews, last reviewed 30th Jan 2025

100% decrease in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

24% 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

*SCAMMERS * Untrustworthy keep well away from this c... *SCAMMERS * Untrustworthy keep well away from this company. Reviewed on: 30th 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 (858)

Review of the 1st Central, Car Insurance:

BEWARE!! Ludicrous charges! THEY DO NOT CARE!!

Took out insurance and over a week later they asked for proof of NCB and proof of claims. Asked my last insurance provider for this. When I didn’t get them in time they charged £175. I had told them I had contacted twice to get these documents. I decided to cancel after nearly 4 weeks and for this I was charged £156, minus my first payment, despite their website saying it’s a £10 cancellation fee after 14 days!! Very impersonal service and completely ridiculous charges!! Felt as though they grabbed me with a cheap quote and then added on extras to make money. My monthly payment went from £37 to £55!! Felt like dealing with robots whose job is to add money on excessively!! Wish I’d read these reviews first!! Reviewed on: 29th November 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi Katharine, Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear about your experience with us. All details on the policy impact the price of the policy we offer, if details are found to be incorrect we need to update them and this can impact the price of the policy. If you’d like to speak to the team about this process, please give us a call on 0333 043 2095. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 9am to 5pm. Ashley Response date: 2nd December 2024

hidden charges

I was asked to provide my v5c and it turns out I’d accidentally given them the wrong date of purchase. This resulted in a £21.50 charge which I don’t dispute (as it was human error on my part) but they also tacked on a £50 admin fee. They were most unhelpful on the phone and wouldn’t entertain the removal of this admin fee. They seem to do this to their customers routinely from flicking through their negative reviews. I wouldn’t recommend any company that uses such backhand tactics to increase their revenue. Reviewed on: 8th February 2023

Avoid at all costs

I chose this company for my insurance as they were on the mse website. After having been driven into yesterday in a no fault crash I was given the incorrect information on an excruciating phone call that took over an hour. Not only was I given incorrect information and put on hold several times without explanation, I was then charged £12.67 to change my address. I will be changing providers as soon as a decision is made on my car. Reviewed on: 7th February 2023

Unprofessional company

They made a change on my policy without contacting me before increasing the annual mileage resulting in a more expensive monthly payment. Definitely don’t recommend it!! Reviewed on: 6th February 2023

Misleading information

I made a claim after a natural disaster and wanted to keep my car. In their settlement letter not even a single word was about what will happen if I sell the car and want to cancel the policy. After selling the car I wanted to cancel my policy (in the meantime I bought another car and insured it with the same company) - they claimed all the remaining premium (£400). I complained at the Financial Conduct Authority and they came up with some bullsh.t saying that "it is quite normal to pay"...I did not accept their decision, and they said that it does not oblige me either. Now it is time to renew their policy on the other car which they set on automatic renewal so I could not cancel it online unless I call them. Now I paid the £400 reluctantly but I am leaving this review here to warn everyone - avoid this company by any means. Regards. Reviewed on: 5th February 2023

Cheaters

I received a phone call today from this insurance company. They wanted to discuss with me my yearly mileage which I was absolutley fine with. When I was asked the question I replied that I will do between 6k and 7k miles as I won't be driving as much this year. I was then forced to give exact figure so I replied 7k and that costed my extra 65GBP!!!!!I feel like I was forced to give the answer which allowed this firm to charge me 20% more for the insurance I already paid for! Discusting way to treat your customers! Reviewed on: 3rd February 2023

Avoid if you value your money

My wife was comparing policies and did not intend on completing the policy... Website very unhelpful and certainly not user friendly, once the mistake was realised the policy was cancelled within the 1hr... you supposedly get 15 days cooling off... but what they hide in the small print is there is a massive £50 cancellation fee... absolutely disgraceful and we won't ever consider this company in the future and will warn everyone we can. At these difficult times how can you justify a £50 cancellation within 1hr of application? Reviewed on: 3rd February 2023

Car insurance customer

Company policy is deceptive and they just want to rip off customers in every aspect. Reviewed on: 1st February 2023

Con-artists

They automatically up your insurance costs if you don't phone them. When I called and informed them of my change in occupation status, they doubled my premium. Absolutely avoid them at all costs—disgusting company. Reviewed on: 1st February 2023

Avoid

This is just a bad company, they use comparison websites and reel you in with a cheap price, Then they wait and demand more money, but will completely ignore emails… avoid Reviewed on: 1st February 2023

Rip off merchants

Purchased car insurance online. Email received “suspected identity theft” , need copy of my licence, which I sent. Further email received falsely stating had given them wrong date of driving test, they have changed my info resulting in additional £60 charge (50 of which was for admin) or insurance to be cancelled. Phoned and challenged them, they backed down, apologised for ‘mistake’. Emailed me to confirm back down. 1 week later another email ‘default notice’ demanding the £60 or will cancel policy. Phoned them, they advised latest email another ‘mistake’ As cover not due to start for another 2 weeks told them I want to cancel, with full refund of premium. They refused, stating refund would be subject to £50 admin charge, even though I was still within 2 week cooling off period and cover had not yet started. They may well be cheapest quote, but avoid them like the plague. Reviewed on: 30th January 2023

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