Login
Start Free Trial Are you a business? Click Here

1st CENTRAL Reviews

4.0 Rating 5,233 Reviews
75 %
of reviewers recommend 1st CENTRAL
4.0
Based on 5,233 reviews
Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods
Own Driver, Postal Service
On-time Delivery
99%
Customer Service
Communication Channels
Telephone, Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In
Under An Hour
Customer Service
4.1 out of 5
Read 1st CENTRAL Reviews
Visit Website

Phone:

0333 043 2066

Email:

marketing@1stcentral.co.uk

Location:

Capital House, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath
RH16 3SY

Write Your review

1st CENTRAL 1 star review on 8th January 2025
Anonymous
1st CENTRAL 1 star review on 8th January 2025
Anonymous
1st CENTRAL 1 star review on 22nd August 2024
Mehrdad
1st CENTRAL 1 star review on 21st August 2024
Valeria
1st CENTRAL 1 star review on 21st August 2024
Valeria
1st CENTRAL 1 star review on 21st August 2024
Valeria
1st CENTRAL 1 star review on 9th May 2024
Marcus Wickwar
5
Anonymous
Anonymous  // 01/01/2019
I am still going through a situation, and have empathy with some of the other reviewers. only recently joined 1st Central as they appeared to offer a better price than my previous insurer with equal benefits. I completed the application everything stated was accurate, no issues. I was then asked to provide some documents proof of NCD and V5c form. I uploaded these then within a week got a reply saying I only had 6 years NCD and not 7 years NCD I put in my original application. I thought that was very strange. So I sent an email stating that was not correct and giving the reasons why. No reply other than an auto email stating why they ask for documents. After a couple of days I decided to call 1st central. I spoke to a representative who said that the policy team could not open one of the documents and the accompanying document which was my previous insurers document from a year ago stated 6 years NCD (with NCD protection). I then checked on the account where I had uploaded the documents and they had accepted both documents. I cannot comprehend that if I uploaded 2 NCD evidenced documents and they couldn't open the other why on earth have they accepted (it said accepted by 1st central in my account) a document they cannot open. Do they truly believe I don't know how many years NCD I have, and why did they make no attempt to inform me to upload again so they can check it. But no, their move was to take away a years NCD and ask me to pay an additional charge. I was then asked to send the document again directly to the analysis team confirming the 7 years NCD which I have recently done. Once again complete silence, customer service is non-existent. And then today another email saying they will cancel my insurance if I do not pay the additional charge. I am beginning to believe this is a scam to extort money out of customers. I am hoping this will be resolved and maybe there will be some sensible approach, at the moment I feel totally disgusted with the customer service and the way they ignore correspondence, being a Chartered Engineer if I acted this way with my clients I would lose all credibility. 1st central sort yourselves out.
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Thank you for your feedback. We're so sorry to hear about the experience you've had with your policy and trying to resolve this. Please send an e-mail to customer.relations@1stcentral.co.uk. If you could include your policy number and a summary of your experience and we will look into this.
Posted 4 years ago
Called to cancel my car insurance a month ago; premium rate service and first representative took a very long time to locate my account, and didn't appear to be aware of the site/programme. The assured me it had been cancelled, but I was still billed the following month, on a car I had told them was scrapped. Phoned back and spoke to another representative who apologised and referred me to management, assuring me that I would be called the same evening to conclude the matter and that all I had to do was forward the DVLA document, which I duly did, within 10 minutes of our call. I received a separate email from accounts saying that I would be charged a payment default on the account, my having cancelled my standing order after being told my account was closed... I called back again the following day after not hearing back as customer services had promised. At last I dealt with a customer representative - Chris, who was polite and efficiently closed what was still termed a 'Live' account, despite my two prior assurances of it being closed. On top of this, the added administrative extras have meant that I have had to pay above and beyond the two months' insurance fees I had been charged extra. Overall, my experience in closing down this account has been nothing short of calamitous - in the way in which it has been dealt by 1st Central; I have had to continually chase up what appears to be a discordant departmental/communications system, and the extra fees have been a difficult one to swallow given the time and phonecalls I've made. I would certainly not recommend this company based on my experience.
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Hi K Dettman, Thank you for your feedback. We're extremely sorry to hear about the experience you've had with cancelling your policy and the service received when speaking to our team. If you would like us to look into this further for you to try to resolve this for you and to help improve our service. Please send an e-mail to customer.relations@1stcentral.co.uk. If you could include your policy number and a summary of your experience and we will look into this.
Posted 4 years ago
Avoid this company as they are just about get your money!!!! I have been stuck on the phone for 3 days trying to contact them and, despite they insist on "call us on 03......" they never answer, so I am wasting an important amount of money on phone calls which nobody answer and the worse, I can not cancel my renew so they will try to charge me again....by their behavior, I guess this is their real bussiness: scam people!!
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Hi Jose, Thank you for your feedback. We’re extremely sorry to hear about the experience you've had with trying to speak to our team about your renewal. We would like to look into this further for you to, please speak to us on web chat which can be found here:https://www.1stcentralinsurance.com/get-in-contact. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 8am to 8pm, Sat: 9am to 5pm, Sun: 10am to 2pm. We will use this feedback to help improve our service.
Posted 4 years ago
Had insurance with 1st central. The beginning was good when I was paying. But after accident that changed very quickly. Lets put it that way I haven`t received a single call from them. Just a constant promises to call me back. The car was taken to a garage for for repairs after about 2 and a half weeks from the day of accident. On the same day I received a courtesy car but not for long. After about a week I received a call from rental company who said they are collecting car today. Again not a single word from insurer. Had to chase them on a daily basis. Very bad experience. Would not recommend to anyone. Would like to give half a star. Its a shame its not available. Everyone should rate insurance companies after the accidents on how they dealt with them and not how easy was to buy it.
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Hi A.R, Thank you for your feedback. We’re so sorry to hear about the experience you've had with your claim. We would like to look into this further for you to try to resolve this for you and to help improve our service. Please send an e-mail to customer.relations@1stcentral.co.uk. If you could include your policy number and a summary of your experience similar to your review, we will look into this.
Posted 4 years ago
Save yourself the hassle of being constantly hounded by their 'policy analysis' team to provide documents with the threat of cancelling your policy. Extortionate cancellation and policy amendment fees. Customer service reps who will try to find any way of catching you out and charging you additional money once the cooling off period is over. If you really suspect your customers of lying to you when taking out a policy then it would make sense to validate documents before they take out a policy. Instead they will constantly hound you a month after you've paid until you want to cancel yourself and then be charged £100 for the privilege. Completely unethical business practice in my opinion and would not recommend anyone give them a penny.
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear about the experience you've had with your policy and the service received when speaking to our team. We would like to look into this further for you, please give us a call on 0333 043 2066 or speak to us on web chat which can be found on our website. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 8am to 8pm, Sat: 9am to 5pm, Sun: 10am to 2pm. We will use this feedback to help improve our service
Posted 4 years ago
Policy cancellation - Not classed as a major change 1st Central Cancelled my policy without calling me (direct debit details incorrect- however they were not). They had explained they’d sent me an email. When I told them that in my contact preferences I only selected PHONE Jan said “We only contact customers via phone regarding major changes to a policy or promotions” Naturally I asked to why they offer the contact preferences with no “contact conditions next to tick boxes” - no response I asked is policy cancellation not a major change? She said “no” 🙈 She couldn’t explain where I could find what is deemed as a “major change” it is essentially in my case Jans opinion on what is or isn’t a major change. Be sure to check your inbox and junk inbox on a daily basis if insured with 1st central as I was left driving my vehicle with no insurance for nearly a week NO LETTER,NO PHONE CALL. If you let the customer choose how they wish to be contacted you should honour that choice!
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Hi Adam, Thank you for your feedback. We're so sorry to hear about the experience you've had with your policy cancelling and the service you received when speaking to our team to try to resolve this. We would really like to look into this further for you to try and correct what has happened and help improve our service for our customers. Please send an e-mail to customer.relations@1stcentral.co.uk. If you could include your policy number and a summary of your experience similar to your review, we will look into this.
Posted 4 years ago
Please avoid these bunch of fraudsters. They are happy to take your money for insurance, but when you do get into an accident and want to claim, they will definitely look for a way to make sure they don't pay you and will ensure your insurance gets voided and cancelled. I have put in a complaint against them and will be taking the complaint all the way to the financial ombudsman. I cannot believe that a car insurance taking out in good faith gets voided because the car had alloy wheels??? The end result is my car insurance costs has gone up from £650/year to over £3000/year due to my having to declare a policy voided by these fraudsters. Please avoid. If you choose to ignore this advice and you get into an accident or your car gets stolen and you want to claim, I can assure you you wouldn't get a penny because they will go through your policy and void it because you didn't declare you had a a sat nav!! I have to pay over £21,000 for my car repair from my own pocket and also have to deal with the high car insurance costs due to a voided policy. Avoid these scam artists like a plague! I'm taking them to the financial ombudsman and will be posting this negative reviews everywhere so people can be forewarned.
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Hi Izzy, Thank you for your feedback. We're extremely sorry to hear about the experience you've had with your claim and having to raise a complaint. We can see you've already raised a complaint but if there's anything else you want to add or let us know about, please send an e-mail to customer.relations@1stcentral.co.uk. If you could include your policy number and anything else you want us to look into, we will pick this up as part of your complaint.
Posted 4 years ago
It's very strange company. I have bought insurance for my car, it's cost for my £210. But at first week after this insurance start I have found other car and like loyal customer try switch my insurance at new car. I absolutely understand it's can cost come many and insurance can cost more because its diferent cars. But I have check how much it's cost at the company if I have insured this car like first time, it's £260. But ater trying to wait on a phone 4 times and more at 30minutes, guy try explain for my if i switching my insurance need to pay around £270 on a top :) - realy??? Absolutely non logicle. I have got cancelation fee £50 but I have canceled before expere 14d. and have bougt other insurance from the same company for my new car for les as £260 WTF guys?
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Hi Jurji, Thank you for your feedback. We're really sorry to hear about the experience you've had of trying to change your car and then cancelling your policy. We really would like to look into this further for you, please send an e-mail to customer.relations@1stcentral.co.uk. If you could include your policy number and a summary of your experience similar to your review, we will look into this.
Posted 4 years ago
Yet another bait and switch scam... cheap quotes, you sign up then they wait for the cooling off period to expire before finding discrepancies or claiming you've not sent documents. At this point any change ir cancellation is charged at least £50 for admin charges. In my case the discrepancies actually meant my policy should be cheaper, but because of their outrageous fees they are demanding I pay more than I already paid for a policy which should be cheaper. Ombudsman complaint will be filed.
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Car insurance premiums change randomly after initial purchase Car insurance premiums change randomly after initial purchase. Poor customer services. Prices for making any changes are exorbitant. This company manipulate with prices. They keep our money, in addition to charging abusive prices for cancelling or changing the policy. They make their money from applying extortionate charges on top of the premium. They will offer you a competitive price, take your money and then ask for further "validation" paperwork which will result in your premium being increased. Onwards to the Financial Ombudsman.
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Hi Anderson, Thank you for your feedback. We're so sorry to hear about the experience you've had with your policy and the service you've received. We would really like to look into this further for you, please send an e-mail to customer.relations@1stcentral.co.uk. If you could include your policy number and a summary of your experience similar to your review, we will look into this.
Posted 4 years ago
Was with this company for a year, but will never return and would not recommend anyone to this company, customer service poor and in general not a good company to be with.
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Thank you for your feedback. We're very sorry to hear your experience hasn't been as positive as we'd hoped it would be. If you would be happy to explain your experience in more detail, please give us a call on 0333 043 2066 or speak to us on web chat which can be found on our website. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 8am to 8pm, Sat: 9am to 5pm, Sun: 10am to 2pm.
Posted 4 years ago
Avoid this company like a rash .this so called company let my wife drive around for 2 months with no insurance because in there words the lady did not push her button believe me you could not make this up .the say my policy has been cancelled even though we pay every month then get nasty debt collection letters sent to my home address then when you ring them to see what's going off tell you you owe nothing do your self a favour do not get insurance from these guys there a nightmare please be warned
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Hi Tracy, Thank you for your feedback, we're extremely sorry to hear about your experience with your policy and speaking to our team to try and resolve the situation. We would really like to look into this further for you, please send an e-mail to customer.relations@1stcentral.co.uk. If you could include your policy number and a summary of your experience similar to your review, we will look into this.
Posted 4 years ago
My Car Insurance auto renewed and took the first payment (double the price of my old policy) which I never had selected or agreed to. When I phoned to cancel I got charged an additional cancellation fee. I was told even though I never signed the credit agreement and wasn’t aware of the renewal I still had to pay the 1st payment and a cancellation fee. This was all within the first 14 days, I was told if it was after 14days I would have been £80 cancellation fee!
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Thank you for your feedback. We're so sorry to hear about the experience you've had with your renewal and trying to cancel this. We would like to look into this further for you, please give us a call on 0333 043 2055 or speak to us on web chat which can be found on our website. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 8am to 8pm, Sat: 9am to 5pm, Sun: 10am to 2pm.
Posted 4 years ago
Only had a policy for 24 hours before i tried to cancel the policy. Ended up costing me £50 even though they had provided no service other than making me talk to customer service for 30 mins. I am sure the insurance is fine but i guess you have to beware if you change your mind, it will cost you.
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Hi Matthew, Thank you for your feedback. We're sorry to hear about the experience you've had when trying to cancel your policy. We would like to look into this further for you, please give us a call on 0333 043 2066 or speak to us on web chat which can be found on our website. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 8am to 8pm, Sat: 9am to 5pm, Sun: 10am to 2pm.
Posted 4 years ago
Quick and easy to set up but help pages are misleading. Had to cancel within the 14 days of the policy start due to car being written off in an accident. Was told the arrangement fee was non-refundable whereas the help pages state they have the 'right to retain the fee' (which means they don't have to) was told that non refundable is clear in the 'fee' section. Advisor wasn't interested.
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Thank you for your feedback. We're sorry to hear about your experience of having to cancel your policy. We will use your comments to help improve our service and process. if you would like to look into this further for you, please give us a call on 0333 043 2066 or speak to us on web chat which can be found on our website. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 8am to 8pm, Sat: 9am to 5pm, Sun: 10am to 2pm.
Posted 4 years ago
Absolutely disgusting money thriving company. If you want to pay £100 to. cancel your insurance this is the company for you. Will NEVER be insuring any vehicle with this fraudulent company and will most certainly not be recommending to anyone. Absolutely appalling, misleading service. I am shocked.
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Hi Joanna, Thank you for your feedback. We're really sorry to heat about the experience you've had when cancelling your policy with us. We can't see your details but we would really like to look into this further for you. Please send us an e-mail to customer.relations@1stcentral.co.uk. If you could include your policy number and a summary of your experience similar to your review, we will look into this further for you.
Posted 4 years ago
Never going to recommend this company to anyone. Horrible experience i had few years ago. So very big noooooo
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Hi Saima, Thank you for your feedback. We're sorry to hear your experience hasn't been as positive as we'd hoped it would be. We would like to look into this further for you, please give us a call on 0333 043 2066 or speak to us on web chat which can be found on our website. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 8am to 8pm, Sat: 9am to 5pm, Sun: 10am to 2pm.
Posted 4 years ago
**AVOID, AVOID,AVOID** Absolutely awful company. The poor reviews are correct & wish I had seen these before taking out Ins. After a month of being Ins with them threatened to cancel the policy even after sending in proof of no claims, them saying they hadn’t received it which surprising they found when we called. They are now wanting to charge £357 + £50 admin fee to change job on policy. No matter who you try to speak to about the astronomical fee they just fob you off and now wanting to charge £300 to cancel the policy which has only been running a month. My advise do not take out Ins with this company the quote may be cheaper but trust me it will cost you much more in the long run.
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Hi Annie, Thank you for your feedback, we're sorry to hear about the experience you've had with your policy and speaking to our team to resolve this. Unfortunately, we can't see your details but we would like to look into this further for you. Please send us an e-mail to customer.relations@1stcentral.co.uk. If you could include your policy number and a summary of your experience similar to your review and we will look into this further for you.
Posted 4 years ago
Over the last few months I've been charged 130£ in two seperate excess charges. So the first charge came as I wanted to change my policy from personal to business use, I checked on a compare website and it said first central would charge near enough the same as my current policy, so I rang up first and asked why it would then be costing me so much more a month for the new one (when going through their change details service). They said if i wanted to i could just cancel and get a new policy. I did this and was told it'd cost me 80£ just to cancel my policy. Oh well this was still cheaper than what they were quoting me to change my details. Despite pleeding that this change was a requirement in order to drive for a charity I was helping, they didn't change their mind. Stupidly I got my new policy (with business) with first again, as they are annoyingly the cheapest provider. So now my car dies with this plicy and I get a new one. I tried changing the details before buying the car a few weeks ago to see how much itd cost and it didnt seem too bad so i went ahead and bought it. Today I tried again and it wouldnt work. I rang up and they said i had to be over 26 to get this policy, and they must have changed the policy in the last few weeks. Still no concession. I assumed, and they agreed, that as it was their fault for not being able to offer me the change i desired they would not charge me the £50 cancellation fee! Result. Combined with the fact the original car had been scrapped, an I had informed them and DVLA, and they then said I absolutely had to cancel the policy within 7 days. But that was only one of the cancellation fees. They then went on to say that ofcourse I had to pay another fee, of £60. I was so shocked. I wanted to stay with these guys but they wouldnt offer me a policy, and i was still being charged? I asked about just cancelling the direct debit but they scared me into saying that wouldnt end well. I wonder how much of that is scaremongering? Maybe That is the best option. Anyway I paid it as im a wimp and rather not take a multinational insurance conglomerate to court over £60. I just feel defeated. The only thing I can do is leave this bitter review and vow never to use them again. I warn anyone the same. Yeah they're cheap but at any possible way they will mercilessly charge you absurd amounts of money. Also the people on the phone were obviously fed up of my pleading and moaning but they were shocking customer service reps with no compassion. The first woman a few months ago was rather compassionate but these two almost seemed to be mocking me in my missery. Sorry but £120 doesnt come too easily for me!
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Hi Theo, Thank you for your feedback. We're extremely sorry to hear about the experience you've had of trying to update your policy and the service you've received when speaking to our team about this. We want to look into this further for you, please send us an e-mail to customer.relations@1stcentral.co.uk. If you could include your policy number and a summary of your experience similar to your review, we will look into this further for you.
Posted 4 years ago
Absolute load of rubbish. After 4 months of car insurance they increase the monthly amount by £15 with no changes to the policy. Then when questioned on it they say we haven’t owned the car for as long as we said. Which is rubbish I know how long I’ve owned the car. Will definitely be going elsewhere
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Thank you for your feedback, we're sorry to hear about the experience you've had with your policy. We would like to look into this further for you, please give us a call on 0333 043 2066 or speak to us on web chat which can be found on our website. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 8am to 8pm, Sat: 9am to 5pm, Sun: 10am to 2pm
Posted 4 years ago
1st CENTRAL is rated 4.0 based on 5,233 reviews