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1st Central: Car Insurance reviews

Name: Car Insurance
Rating: 1.68 (866 reviews)

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1.49

Based on 866 reviews, last reviewed 16th Feb 2025

100% decrease in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

18% 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

I changed the address to another one 200 yards away... I changed the address to another one 200 yards away from the first one. They wrote that they would pay me 17 pence extra. But my renewal went up from ... Read more Reviewed on: 16th 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.

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1st Central Car Insurance reviews (866)

Liars and unhelpful

Recalculation of my insurance should have happened following the removal of a claim that was made against me, for an incident I was not involved in. They are telling me that the price for the fees is solely based on the information provided to them and that they do not run any internal check across the national claim database. Absolutely disgusting. I am paying more when I have done nothing wrong and never involved in any accident! Reviewed on: 15th June 2022

So many issues with so many of their staff and trying to take more of my money for their faults

Went for the full package, then bought a car, then when the car was faulty (only one break worked on my 200 mile journey home from the garage I our gased from and they wouldn't pay to recover it to repair) I wasn't covered because 'they don't do that sort of cover', after telling me they did. Secondly, I went to renew and change details of my policy last year, then had terrible service, and wanted to leave, so someone else spoke to me, said he'd do the changes and renewal together and got me to stay. Just to find out that he never did the changes (these don't appear on the policy attachments of email, just on your account. So I asked them to fix them, and they're trying to charge me for changes and admin fees, even though I'd already done this last year and they hadn't done the job. I can't wait for October when I can get rid of them. They're awful. I'm currently waiting till Monday because after speaking to different people today, one finally acknowledged that there were notes about changes made last year, so they need to review last year's phone call to check... No apology. All whilst I'm trying to keep my 3month baby entertained with what I thought was a 5 min job, which I've actually spent several hours trying to sort, all whilst bring told I need to pay them regardless. I'm raging. All because I was being honest about my policy. Why did I even bother?! Reviewed on: 15th June 2022

Terrible Terrible Company

Terrible terrible company - canceled within an hour of taking out the policy (Admiral beat the quote by a good chunk and has fab customer services) and have been charged a £50 arrangement fee that is non-refundable and "clearly stated" (hidden) on page 6 of the terms and conditions (not included with the clearly stated 14-day free cancellation section). What a con. Use a decent insurance provider such as Admiral I would say. Reviewed on: 14th June 2022

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

sCAM ARTISTS

they will scam you out of more money saying a dot was missing on information you gave them Reviewed on: 9th June 2022

Bad customer service

They charge way too much for change of address. I raised a complaint and it took me nowhere. They did not care they would loose another customer. I can't wait when contract is finished and I will not renew it. I would recommend other people to be aware of this company. They claim to be cheap when you first take an insurance but if you change details during your policy such as address , etc they charge you more than 50%. Don't bother with complaints because they will not consider it. Reviewed on: 8th June 2022

Disgusting customer service

Never experienced such bad customer service. Will never ever use them again. Tried to make me pay over £500 just to change my address Reviewed on: 8th June 2022

Terrible AVOID

They are keep sending me texts that I owe them money. I emailed them back with my bank statement to prove I pay monthly by direct debit. In the end I've cancelled my insurance with them but guess what. I still owe them money because I cancelled!!! Over 200 pounds for fee. I'm fuming Reviewed on: 8th June 2022

Reliable company to work with

No bad experience still this moment Reviewed on: 29th May 2022

Utter clowns

Don't wast your money or your time they treat you disgusting Reviewed on: 24th May 2022

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