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1st Central: Car Insurance reviews

Name: Car Insurance
Rating: 1.68 (867 reviews)

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1.49

Based on 867 reviews, last reviewed 25th Feb 2025

100% decrease in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

14% 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:

2

Brilliant price. But very poor Customer Service Brilliant price on comparison site. Went with them and put partner on policy. Kept getting emails and messages, tried hardest to upload driving licenc... Read more Reviewed on: 25th 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 (867)

Review of the 1st Central, Car Insurance:

the duplicate your policy by accident.

the duplicate your policy by accident....I did get a refund for this but it was a headache.... I called them when i got a new car to cancel and go with someone else and they didn't do it so months later I had to ring them up again where they required email proof I was with someone else.....then said they have to wait to get that email cause the person on the phone couldnt see emails....will not be going with them again. Reviewed on: 20th January 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi Tzice, We’re sorry to hear on this occasion your experience with us hasn’t been as positive as we’d hoped it would be. We’ll use your comments to help improve our service. Ashley Response date: 21st January 2025

The Worst Ever!

Sent out car to scrap yard after saying its going for a repair. Would not bring car back with all sorts of excuses. Finally the real reason was exposed as under their care our car was badly damaged! No courtesy car offered. No car for two weeks over Christmas. And for how long still. customer service rude and sarcastic. Cant seem to understand why we would be upset about the major damage to our car Reviewed on: 19th December 2022

A stressful and horrible experience. £150 'admin charges'. Nothing left after 45 days cover!

Beware, they will find a way to relieve you of your money in whatever way available to them. I was charged £150 admin fees (fines, or nice income). When I submitted a request to add my Partner as a named driver they insisted that unless I could tell them what day of the week 31 years ago she passed her test it would incur another £50 admin charge. They took all my money and I had no other choice than to cancel the policy ( It is illegal to have two policies at the same time ) as I needed to get to work on the Monday. They would not quote for my new car without any reason, they now had all my money! I got it insured for £280 with AXA including my partner without a problem. My £208 dissapeared and I still owe them £4.46p. Why GoCompare still supports them is questionable. Reviewed on: 18th December 2022

Total Scam merchants

Do not use this company they lie and cheat to get your money. The scam is based in Gibraltar but luckily they are held accountable by UK financial ombudsmen which is where you will need to go to try and get your money back if you are (probably) defrauded by this disgrace of a company Reviewed on: 18th December 2022

Taking payment when customer asked to cancel insurance policy while recovering from cancer

I am recoering from cancer treatment and noticed money taken from bank account, contacted 1st central and straight away as soon as i mentioned i thought insurance was cancelled and a mistake had happened the advisor went on defensive telling me i cant get any refund and cant put account on hold for 3 months whilst i recover. I asked to be put through someone higher like manager, when manager finally came to phone it was same attitude with a added cant suspend account due to ilness cant refund money and refused to give full name. This i find totally unacceptable and discusting especially as i was told to now cancel insurance i would also be charged additional fee of a £100 not taking into consideration my medical condition. This is not acceptable, i wont reccomend and suggest avoiding like the plaugue, bad customer service and over priced as had insurance renewal qoutes cheaper by half. Reviewed on: 14th December 2022

Avoid them

They increased my premium without any valid reason. Reviewed on: 14th December 2022

Unreasonable premium increase

Below is the excerpt from the document I provided to policy analysis. However they still charged me additional £180. Avoid them! "We can confirm that no claim was never made against the insurance and your no claims bonus was allowed. We can advise that we have never made any payments to your self or any third party's in regards to any settlements nor have we dealt with any damages relating to your vehicle or to any third party property. There is a single payment on the incident for a sum of £18.00 as you spoke with our out of hours team who are a company called Coplus who are are contracted to pay upon notification of every incident brought to our attention. We can confirm that this single sum payment of £18.00 is an administration fee only and should have no reflection on this incident. This should not have and impact nor hinder your insurance in the future." Reviewed on: 14th December 2022

No responsibility at all

The worst car insurance company , my vehicle was damaged when it was taken by them for a catalytic onverter theft for 1 month I am trying to get a response with no help , you cannot even speak to any managers they transfer your call here and there. The worst insurance company ever. Reviewed on: 12th December 2022

Scammers. Steer well clear

This company are a scam operation, plain and simple. I signed up via GoCompare, accurately completing all the info required. After the first payment, I get an email asking for some trivial "further info". I replied. They then email to say my account has been "updated" and there's nothing more I need to do. Along comes the 2nd DD and my premium has been unscrupulously doubled. An email received a day or two before (in very tiny print) tells me I gave inaccrate info about "Date passed UK driving test". BULLSH*T. Email queries demanding an explanation go ignored. I then get a cancellation email (in spite of not having asked to cancel) with a giant bill including "non-payment penalty" (again complete BS), admin charge, processing charge, cancellation charge amounting to several hundred ££. A Google search shows I am not the only one who's been tricked in same way. Don't be sucked in by the 5-star Defaqto rating. That only refers to affordability, nothing more. Reviewed on: 9th December 2022

DO NOT USE! - STUPID EXTRA CHARGES

Tried to cancel my policy as I sold my car - to be told that I have to pay nearly £100 in cancellation fees, didn't take into consideration the direct debit that had been paid, and was told this was refunded. Policy wording is vague in regards to Arrangement fees etc. Avoid at all costs, if you don't want them taking money for the sake of it and not explaining the reasoning. Reviewed on: 9th December 2022

Deceptive. Disorganised. Disgusting.

This company is disorganised at best and complete scammers at worst. They will do anything to take your money and tell you your policies are cancelled when they aren't. It feels disgusting that a company can do this and get away with it: A few years ago I had an accident where my car was written off, 1st Central paid out but refused to let me cancel the policy despite there no longer being a car for me to be insured on . They forced me to pay for the remaining 10 months of the year despite me calling repeatedly asking to cancel. 3 months into this I cancelled the direct debit because the situation was ridiculous and shortly after, debt collection letters started arriving. I eventually paid the 10 months worth of insurance money for a car I couldn't drive and didn't have. The policy auto-renewed and so to avoid a repeat of the hassle of the last 10 months, I stuck with 1st Central. Last month I sold my newer car and then tried to cancel my policy. I spoke to a lady on the phone who seemed to think there would be no issue with cancelling and then told me I was due £650 refund. I told her I was surprised and wasn't expecting any money but after getting off the phone assumed it was compensation for the amount I had paid them from before. She transferred the money and cancelled policy. Over the next few days I received multiple phone calls telling me I needed to sign for the money, that they were unsure if I was owed an extra £50, or if I owe THEM money. A few more days later I get a phone call saying she got it wrong, I shouldn't have been given the £650 and they want the money back. I told them I cant pay it right away because my account was in an overdraft when she sent me the money in the first place, so she would have to wait until I got paid. She said 'ok' but that meant she wouldn't be able to cancel the policy until she has the money back and therefore policy would resume and £70 will be taken from the account as usual in a few days. They said someone would be in touch to arrange a payment plan. Days went by and I heard nothing from the payment team, so in an attempt to avoid them taking even more money from my account, and in the hopes they would cancel the policy they told me they had cancelled 2 weeks ago, my girlfriend helped me pay back the £650. This was 7 days ago, today I received 2 separate texts from 1st central asking me for £72. I do not know if they have cancelled my policy or not. I don't know how I can possibly owe them any more money but the last time I refused to pay them they blacklisted me, affecting my credit score and whether or not I can get a mortgage in the future. It feels disgusting that a company can do this and get away with it. This company is disorganised at best and complete scammers at worst. They will do anything to take your money and tell you your policies are cancelled when they aren't. DO NOT use this company. Reviewed on: 7th December 2022

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