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1st CENTRAL Reviews

3.9 Rating 5,239 Reviews
75 %
of reviewers recommend 1st CENTRAL
3.9
Based on 5,239 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

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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
Anyone considering purchasing car insurance from 1st Central, beware! Initially, their policies appear to be the cheapest on the market, but they drastically increase the cost once the policy starts. They conveniently wait until a month after your policy begins, just after the cooling-off period has passed, to raise the price. This happens even though they've been provided with proof of your No Claims Discount (NCD), claiming they can only verify some of it. If you try to cancel your policy early, they'll ensure you pay two sets of admin fees, even if you only cancel the extras you've added. Expressing that this is unreasonable will result in their online chat personnel threatening you with debt collection agencies right away. Additionally, if you ask to speak to a manager, the staff often disconnects the call, forcing you to start the process over. This company has been a nightmare to deal with, and I strongly warn anyone considering their insurance. My cancellation cost was £181, on top of the £50 admin fee I had already paid, despite my annual insurance cost being around £480. It has been the worst experience I've had with an insurer in nearly ten years.
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Posted 1 year ago
cancellation is £0, but admin fee is £50!!! Awful, set up insurance, following day got better quote, told cancellation is £0, but admin fee is £50!!! You have been warned. Don't touch them with a barge pole. Told it would be no charge if I sent new providers certificate of insurance, I did, telephoned to be told as its new business I have to pay. If I had have known this I would have stuck with 1st Central as now heavily out of pocket!! Rest assured will be alerting users where I can! Never will I use despite comparison sites..
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Posted 1 year ago
While my policy was active everything was fine, however since cancelling and paying relevant fee’s they’ve done nothing but harass me & waste my time. They are incompetent enough to tell me I have not paid and even after sending them proof they deny that they havnt got proof. Wouldn’t trust there employees to put jam in doughnuts never mind insurance.
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Posted 1 year ago
Please be careful, Big NO for any money involvement,these people are frauds.They scammed me but i reported the issue to MADACOVI. CO and i got my stolen money back From 1st Central withing a week
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Posted 1 year ago
1st Central is the most corrupt and dishonest insurance company about! Took out insurance with them 3 years ago for £450 fully comp, it has gone up incrementally for the previous 2 years as to be expected this year they want £1000! I'm 43 this year, I have no claims or convictions so surely my insurance should be getting cheaper? So I went on my online account to see why it's so much and they have removed my No Claims Discount and put down on my account that I have made a claim. I haven't made a claim! I haven't even had an accident! and I certainly haven't been paid any money out! After many phone calls back and to they have finally reinstated my NCD and put it down to an admin error, but I now have a claim on my file which they say they can't remove and is affecting my insurance quotes with other companies. My theory on this is they fabricated this claim to justify such a significant increase on my renewal relying on the fact that most people will just renew without ever realising the increase or just pay rather than question it if they do notice. Avoid like the plague!!!!!!!
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Posted 1 year ago
Poor experience. Ended up bringing my insurance to 7.3 grand from 1.8 and then couldn't get to the bottom of their own mistake. Forced me not to pay and cancel my policy. Now I'm insured with them for 2.8 grand. And they want 813 pounds off me when I feel like they should pay me 1000 over my cover increes8ng in price by that much. Choose elsewhere if u can
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Posted 1 year ago
Discusting the way they run a business it took a week and hours on phone loads of emails to sort a very minor error made by my daughter, we were pushed from piller to post constantly waiting on the phone while they read notes over 2 hrs in one day and still couldn't give us the answer we wanted, they wanted to charge an extra £780 because she put a wrong date in which made no difference at all,no help just money all about how much more they can screw out of you ,put a complaint in they come back with £50 refund ,I bet no body gets intouch with me about this because they don't care ,go some where else even if its a bit more expensive . Don't waste your time on theese cowboys they don't deserve your hard earned money.
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Posted 1 year ago
Don't do it Don't do it. Don't use 1st Central. Yes they are cheap, but admin costs are through the roof. My car broke down and was irreparable. Admin costs of ending the policy ended up higher than the policy itself. When I called to complain the customer service rep refused to deal with it and then hung up on me. Just don't do it. Pay a couple of quid more on a company that doesn't treat its customers as a cash cow.
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Posted 1 year ago
Cancellation is a joke. Insured with them for a couple years and service is fine and online portal etc is handy. Cancellation however is an absolutely, borderline criminal joke. I paid for all optional extras consistently for the duration of my policies and cancelled after a 3.5 weeks of a renewal and was charged £240 for the privilege. Breakdown is below: Cost of policy £240.11 Cost of 31 days insured £32.93 Interest for paying monthly £14.19 Arrangement fee £50 Personal Accident Cover £30 Hire Car Cover £35 Excess Protect £27.99 Cancellation fee £50 Payments received £0 Total to pay £240.11 Cost of Policy: £240.11 - Payments Received: £0 = Total to Pay: £240.11 Absolutely insane that you have to pay the full fee for extras not even four weeks into a years policy. Should be illegal.
1st CENTRAL 1 star review on 9th May 2024
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Posted 1 year ago
More than doubled the price after agreeing. Now want to charge £ 150 to cancel, this is not the price agreed to. You have tried to rip me off. See you in court.
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Posted 1 year ago
Same as others. Upped my direct debit for no reason. Difficult to get in touch with them. Poor customer service. Can't access documents online.
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Posted 1 year ago
Much like other reviews, I was offered reasonably priced insurance after answering ALL the questions I was asked. After 14 days, they emailed me stating they needed additional information. After happily submitting what they were asking for, they replied that my insurance was increasing by £120! NEVER GO THROUGH THESE GUYS, it seems to be a running theme.
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Posted 1 year ago
AVOID! At first they took the payment every month which was fine but then they put the price up and started taking the payment twice. Have cancelled direct debit to them and hopefully can somehow get my money refunded :/
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Posted 1 year ago
Horrific, terrible company, deliberately evasive, shocking experience avoid
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Posted 1 year ago
AVOID SCAMMER!!! Between 1 year period I was changed my car and that cheeky company changed automatic renewal. When I recognised charge my card phone them but not available Sunday. Phoned another I spoke african accent people who eat when talk to me! 2 hours tyr to sorted I get back my full money. They charged me 3 days insurance and also ARRENGMENT FEE! AVOID THAT COMPANY!!!!! Date of experience: 02 April 2024
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Posted 1 year ago
Scammed by this company.. After 2 months of my policy, this company decided my 9+ years of no claims bonus wasn’t good enough because it was previously on a pickup truck… So they doubled my premiums and reduced my no claims to zero, even though I have never made a claim. Not wanting to lose all my no claims I was forced to cancel the policy, which they very nicely charged me £119 to cancel… Absolute scammers stay away
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Posted 1 year ago
This company is rubbish. I drive to Europe. I know they cover Europe countries for 90 days and I don’t have to have green card. But I rang them told them I’m going drive though Serbia and because they not in EU I needed a green car or international insurance certificate that show which countries they cover. But they don’t provide me one. I rang them about 20 times spoke to every single person there. I explained the situation, I said I pay if there is fee but they don’t give sugar. I have drive to Europe few times before I was with admiral and Esure they provided me with green card. I been asked green card before so I know what they like when you drive to other countries but I went without one because first central refused to give me one. So I drive and at the Serbian border I paid about £100. had to get insurance to drive in Serbia otherwise they wouldn’t let me into country. this company don’t care dant give sugar about they customer. Specially if you are foreign they don’t even wanna listen you. very bad customers service. I’m cancelling my insurance with them I had multiple insurance. If you wanna decent service don’t go near them
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Posted 1 year ago
I kissed someone bumper no damage at all but I reported them in case they opened a file for me and they told me it will be close in next 6 months i have passed 6 months I called them and they telling me now will close it in 1 they lied to me and for last 2 years they didn’t give me good service iam not recommending them to anyone
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Posted 1 year ago
If I could put -* I would. My dad tried to renew his policy after being insured with 1st central for last couple of years. With him not having Internet and no knowledge of it, I have been doing his online car insurance quotes for a couple of years. Got his renewal email on my email address which again has been used for last couple of years with all his policy being sent to me for print off. He phoned to speak with them and pay his renewal price over the phone. Having partial hearing and not properly understanding the advisor, he got to point where he was asked to put his long 16 digit card number in to his keypad, not having a touchscreen mobile phone he was 1 digit short everytime he tried to make payment from his bank card. He explained he was not good with this sort of thing, being in his 70s, not very savvy with technology.....he asked could his daughter, me, get in contact with them and deal with t on his behalf. So I did this, was asked to send email to confirm who I was and that I had authorisation from my dad to deal with, after 2 emails, I then called back again, went through all the security details that I provided on the 2 emails. Got to the point where card number, expiry and 3 digit security code was given, to be told payment didn't go through, which was rubbish as the funds were there. To then be told they ave declined the insurance. I ASKED WHY? TOLD COULDNT TRLL ME. So My dad attempted to call 1st Central to find out why he has been declined. In his 58 years of driving he has never had a declined insurance. Fuming to say the least, they will not tell him why it has been declined. A complaint letter will be sent to them, and furthermore to the Ombudsman. To get to the point of insurance due for renewal and not an English speaking person to speak to, is ridiculous, poor customer service and will never recommend this insurance company. The fact my dad now has to get me to try do further comparison site quotes for his car insurance due within 2 weeks, that question HAVE YOU EVER BEEN DECLINED INSURANCE has now got to be answered YES for a reason unknown.......avoid dealing with this Company !!!!!......no matter how, I will get to the bottom of this......this now will potentially stop him getting a decent renewal price, all because this company are useless at dealing with people, especially pensioners !!!!! He is not a risk, nor is it fraud, so why can they decline this insurance after already being a customer with no insurance claims.
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Posted 1 year ago
Very similar experience to a lot of other customers - 1st Central will lure you in with a cheap price. Once the cooling off period has finished they'll follow-up with small discrepancies (such as purchase date of car being out by days), you'll then be hit with a premium increase and £50 admin fee. Avoid as it's not just the money, but the hassle of sorting through all this
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Posted 1 year ago
1st CENTRAL is rated 3.9 based on 5,239 reviews