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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

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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
So I have several reasons why you should avoid this insurer. Both my partner & I have had policies. First of all, when I set up my boyfriends policy my laptop auto filled some of the info with mine instead and I didnt notice (yes, my fault) so when he tried to phone up to get a change of car quote his email and birthday were wrong so they said it was sent to fraud department and blocked his account and he would need to send in proof to get it unblocked. All fair enough. But the length of the phonecalls to advisors who had NO IDEA what the hell they were doing was ridiculous, so we just cancelled his account and took business elsewhere. Then, I called to get a quote to change my car and was told they couldn't insure me for that car (unknown reason, and yet another advisor who sounded fresh out of highschool and no interest in helping me). Now my renewal is due in 2 weeks and have just received a letter saying that on my renewal date they will be cancelling my policy as they will no longer insure me. I have no idea why as yet again no one can give me an answer. The policy they are cancelling is for a X reg 1.4 litre Honda Aerodeck Estate. I have 6 years no claims, I am 25 and the car they couldn't insure before is a 2003 2.4 Honda Accord. Well weird.
Helpful Report
Posted 8 years ago
I am unfortunate enough to be a new customer to this unprofessional insurance company. After accepting a car insurance policy and their website setting up the incorrect payment date I called the company to ensure my payment date was correct. The customer service operator informed me that this had been changed to the correct date. Later in the month and unfortunately outside the 14 day cooling off period, I was informed I would be charged £30.00 as the payment date was taken on the incorrect day. I obviously complained to the company who offered to waiver the administration cost to change payment date and informed me I would still have to pay the £30.00 charge! I escalated the complaint and threatened to contact trading standards and financial service ombudsman to which 1st central said they would respond within 48 hours. True to their word they did reply however this informed me that if I didn’t pay the £30.00 charge they would cancel my insurance and issue and additional £50.00 charge. Currently I am now dealing with this company through trading standards and financial service ombudsman. Avoid this company unless of course you like being lied to, charged for their mistakes and threatened with legal action. I would also advice anyone to contact the financial service ombudsman who has had bad experiences with this company. On a final note I think there is one unique feature about this company and this is all their satisfied customers appear to all post reviews on FEEFO which is linked into their website, whereas all the hundreds of dissatisfied customer use any other review website. Could this actually be the case? I doubt it but trading standards can investigate false recommendations and reviews.
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Posted 8 years ago
rip off merchants they shaft you with they're ridiculous fees avoid at all costs
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Posted 8 years ago
Just cancel my policy because they renewed it without my concent, spoke to someone called Jennifer Bedford and apparently I have to pay £50 cancellation fee for 1 days insurance because they renewed my car insurance because they think that just because you insure with them they own your car, piss off no one owns my car but me, jeniffer Bedford I own my car not you or 1st central regarding the cancellation fee you can sod off
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Posted 8 years ago
Wouldnt even give them one star absaloute con artits thieves scamming & ripping people off STAY AWAY
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Posted 8 years ago
incompetent thieves with ridicolous fees.
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Posted 8 years ago
I had to cancel my insurance as I could no longer afford to keep my car on the road. There's no option to cancel online. I knew there would be a £50 cancellation fee - bad enough - but was told I would also have to pay a £50 set-up/administration fee, plus £19 - I think for lack of interest. So, £119 to cancel my insurance payment. Happy Christmas to me. I've already been paying interest to pay monthly. The website says that the £50 set-up fee won't be refunded if you cancel - it doesn't say you'll have to actually pay anything. I guess that, plus the £19, is due to the difference in interest lost, although I didn't think it was that much. Obviously, no-one thinks they're going to cancel their insurance, but to treat people in this aggressive and greedy way is inhumane. Not personal, just business? Where disadvantage is involved, it's always personal. These are monsters with calculators, not human beings. Obviously, I will never use this awful company to insure anything ever again. I recommend you go elsewhere.
Helpful Report
Posted 8 years ago
After seeing a cheap quote on money supermarket i phoned up to get my car insured by them. After two lengthy phonecalls spent going through a long sign up process, giving them all of my details which have never been asked by my previous insurance company i was told that they would call back to take payment (a month ahead of the insurance commencing so clearly they would be making interest). They arranged to call back as they were not able to take a deposit and take full payment when the insurance actually began. They would also not take payment from two cards therefore i had to arrange an alternative method to pay. I then awaited the phonecall but didnt hear anything. Phoned them again to make the payment. They took all my bank details to then tell me that they couldn't process the quote they had given. When i asked why they had no explanation. Complete waste of time and the team seemed clueless as to what had happened. So unless you want to spend the day on the phone - avoid at all costs.
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Posted 8 years ago
What did not go wrong is the question. Asked for so many documents and never even asked for the no claim bonus document. Then informs me all my information is wrong and asks me to pay extra £114 on top of the +£300 I paid. Then I go to cancel the policy and they charge me about £150 AS cancel fee though they informed as at the start we would only have to pay £50? By the way, this does not include the amount I had to pay coverage for. I strongly recommend to not apply for this insurance. Service is 1 out of 5
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Posted 8 years ago
I am insuranced on a bmw m3 I had a accident the insurance offered me half of the market value of the car. They did not take in consideration that it's a limited edition.
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Posted 8 years ago
I've just been charged a £50 arrangement fee when I called up to cancel my renewal, despite me opting not to take up the renewal before the policy start date. Utterly unacceptable. I'm still not sure where these fees come from: their website says "The £50 fee is included within your overall price. It's not an additional charge but we do have to mention it". As I've completed my full year's policy, surly that fee is included in the price. I'll be writing a letter to complain, and potentially following that up with the ombudsman.
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Posted 8 years ago
DO NOT USE THEM - Ist Central Insurance LIES LIES LIES Lies and silly admin fees. I called into them to query if as a named driver if I can use my no claim, they advised that I could. I then processed my insurance online which was the cheapest way than on the phone. i then find out a few weeks later that I cant use my no claims and they want another £120 plus admin fees of £75 to process the changes. I cancelled the policy to then be charged a load more money for admin fees.
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Posted 8 years ago
This lot caused me two months of misery which i wont bore anyone with, needless to say they took money from my account they wernt authorised to do and i was left £120 out of pocket, ive given up trying to get it back. Avoid this bunch like the plague.
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Posted 8 years ago
What a rubish customer service, I called to renew my car insurance and informed I wish the same price that is on internet (had more options on internet so more expensive that the renew quote I was sent) and customer service said they could not do it. I had to do a complete new insurance. Then, I realised, I made a mistake with the dates, called, they put me on hold for a long time, until my phone run out of credit and nobody ever called back or sent an email, meaning, I will have to cancel it (call again, be put on hold) and make a new one online again. What a rubbish, why can't they have an email address or a chat service, where we could send our queries and help us that way??? Or call back when the phone call drops and the issue was not solved??? I asked for email when I cancelled the renew and nothing was sent to me.
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Posted 8 years ago
I've been charged twice for car insurance ??
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Posted 8 years ago
took 4 payments out of my account in October. Told they would be refunded within days.... unsuprisingly was'nt. had to wait days and days for the refund. Charged £90+ by my bank because I went overdrawn. 1st central said they would refund these charges. Sent them screen shots of my statements as requested. No reply within 3 days (the automated email says they will contact you within 3 days)... sent another 3 days later... and another... and another... and another. Then eventually I had enough and phoned them myself.... after 25 minutes on hold waiting for an answer the woman put the phone down. I have been with them for 3 years out of lazyness. In that time they have overcgharged me 3 times. Cancelled my insurance by accident twice. Plus numerous other issues...... and not once. Not even once have they ever ever ever phoned me back. You phone them up, they say they will contact you straight back... and they don't. Probably happened to me 30+ times. Absolute waste of time. The worst was when they accidentally took a large amount out of my account on a friday afternoon by accident. I had my Grandads funeral the next day. I called them up around 3pm in a panic because without the money they took I would'nt be able to afford to go to the wake.... the woman on the end basically said our 'machine' is down and theres nothing we can do until monday. No apologies nothing. This incident is the straw that broke the camels back. I've emailed them stating my direct debit is getting cancelled and if they ever try and contact me regarding cancellation charges I will look to take them to court for the money they already owe me. Whatever you do, do not go with this company. I Pay about £600 a year, wish i'd paid £1000+ and gone with a mainstream insurance company.
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Posted 8 years ago
Car insured for less than 24 hours cost £50.87 due to the "arrangement fee" which you aren't told about until of course you need to cancel. Rip off company do not insure with them!!
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Posted 8 years ago
Tried to cancel car insurance, not £50 as quoted in policy but £117. Asked for an email breaking down the charges and was told they were unfortunately unable to send that. I asked if there was anywhere online to see the fees, was put on hold then told no, there isn't anywhere online to see the charges... Locked my keys in car a few months ago, they were unable to help and told me I wouldn't be covered if car was stolen because my keys were in the car. Go anywhere else for car insurance!!!
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Posted 8 years ago
Do not use this company, they charge a fee for any changes and loads of hidden costs. Their customer services skills are poor, 1 person put the phone down on me and another never got back to me with a query. DO NOT USE THEM.
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Posted 8 years ago
Sold car and cancelled OK so £50 cancellation fee, cant see hoe that's justified but it's there and then another £50 arrangement fee, bunch of crooks avoid them at all costs.
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Posted 8 years ago
1st CENTRAL is rated 4.0 based on 5,233 reviews