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1st Central: Car Insurance reviews

Name: Car Insurance
Rating: 1.68 (860 reviews)

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1.51

Based on 860 reviews, last reviewed 6th Feb 2025

100% decrease in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

10% 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

Almost got me arrested Opened a new policy in November, now currently February 2025. It turns out these scammers cancelled my insurance without telling me and allowed me to ... Read more Reviewed on: 6th February 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 (860)

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

Scammed

I purchased via a quote engine answering yes to no claims on this or any other vehicle. No 20 days into the policy they tell me they won't accept my no claims as it was gained on a different car. This is not how the qualifying pre purchase question was phrased. I'm now looking at double the original insurance cost to stay with them or a cancellation fee. In trying to raise a complaint I've now been kept on the phone for over an hour. I think this is typical of their business model having read other reviews. Don't make my mistake. Buy elsewhere. Reviewed on: 5th January 2023

Absolute scammers

Same as other reviews - they will find anything incorrect with your information and scam you by updating the policy and adding a £50 admin fee to it. This is clearly their business model - to find errors and get more money from you. Avoid at all costs! Reviewed on: 4th January 2023

AWFUL COMPANY

Charged me an admin fee to cancel my insurance within the cooling off period. it states you wont be charged a cancellation fee, however they dont tell you about an admin fee. Customer service is awful!!!! so hard to talk to anyone and get told different things by different people. honestly avoid avoid avoid i cant stress it enough Reviewed on: 3rd January 2023

Cheating customers

I had a very bad experience with this company.They increased our insurance payment without any notice.When we called them ,they tried to find to many excuses for this and finally they came up with the reason that my driving test date was wrong and they had to change it in their system which cost £75.We finally cancelled their insurance and they charged £173 for that too.The entire experience was soo bad and it is not a company we can trust.The staff is also not too supportive.Initially they fool the customers with low insurance cost but eventually they will cheat you by charging extra money ,that even for the reasons no one can ever think of.*DON'T GET FOOLED* Reviewed on: 30th December 2022

Shockingly bad

I cancelled my policy earlier this year and paid the cancellation fee. Since then, I have had to prove to them that I paid it (I sent bank statements), which they have ignored and I am now being chased my a debt collection agency with the threat of my credit score ruined for a bill I’ve paid. Absolutely useless, no customer service, scammers who have caused me stress for several months. Avoid at all costs. Reviewed on: 30th December 2022

Nightmare is understated

Nightmare is understated. I filed a claim in August 2022. It's now a few days to Jan 2023 and my car hasn't been sorted out after doing all the legwork myself. I spoke to different people in their call centre in South Africa who gave me varied information. First I had to source my own repairer because theirs are not bothered. Second I had to chase them all the time, no courtesy calls for an update. The courtesy car company kept calling me for an update, which I didn't have. I had to cancel the courtesy car to stop the annoying calls. I have been passed on, put on hold, etc. Endless. Don't be deceived by low prices. Reviewed on: 30th December 2022

Extra charges

Avoid at any cause, they are applying extra charges to everyone. That is how they make money. Reviewed on: 29th December 2022

Horrible company. You will regret your decision.

They quote cheap on GoCompare, all obliging and attractive. Then they will find fault with your application input information to cause them to slap an admin fee change on you. I was bombed with £150! The following experience got so bad I was really upset as I reckon I do not cheat as a way of life. Over the phone I was challenged because I could not remember the day of the month I passed my test! ( 40 years ago) You will regret Could you? It got worse from there. I paid and ended up owing them! Reviewed on: 27th December 2022

Cancelled my policy and charged me

I renewed after a year of being with them to avoid having to sign up to a new company (might aswell have) I even paid an extra £100 they added onto my insurance quote. Paid the whole year then a month after my renewal they needproof I'm from the UK, I sent them my bc, council tax bills, national insurance number, p60s etc anything I could find to proof I was born and live in the UK, then they said they needed a 5 year or older bank statement which I told them I couldn't get from the bank at short notice they need to send it to my house, so they've cancelled my policy and deducted a £75 cancellation fee plus I've lost a month's insurance so I'm nearly £200 down and my car is now uninsured for tomorrow! It's ridiculous why I would need to provide so much details when I've sent the correct proof you guys need, and I renewed to avoid having to send all my documents to a new company!! Reviewed on: 22nd December 2022

Awful do not insure with this company

Took out policy.. after 14 days they asked for NCD proof which I haven’t been asked for by previous company’s for years. I thought I had 12 years but I only had 11 so they they have charged me £11.02 plus £50 admin charge. They state on their website that there is no admin fees. Clearly they do so miss selling policies.Customer services are not helpful, even spoke to manager. They should have requested this within 14 days so that I had the option to cancel and go elsewhere, which would have now been a lot cheaper. Do not use this company, avoid at all costs. Reviewed on: 20th December 2022

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