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1st CENTRAL Reviews

4.0 Rating 5,230 Reviews
75 %
of reviewers recommend 1st CENTRAL
4.0
Based on 5,230 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
Terrible company! been on hold for over an hour and still waiting to talk to somebody. I had an accident in December 2022 and to date, I've had three physio appointments and one Dr's appointment. I have asked for some help with obtaining an MRI this was over 3 months ago and to date, I have heard nothing back. Their online portal states they will answer you within 2 days is rubbish. I messaged them back in June 2023 and I have heard nothing despite leaving several messages in the last 3 months. Stay away from them and use a no-win no no-fee claims company instead. I'm just about to do that as I need medical help and 1st Central Law has just left me with constant pain and has ignored me since June 23!
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
*AVOID* I was certain I had purchased… *AVOID* I was certain I had purchased insurance at 1st Central but each time I logged into the portal I saw an old policy from years ago, I could not find any emails with their details that had been sent to me when I took it out, but luckily found the charge coming out my account. When I managed to get through to a super loud call center at first they could find it, they then reset my password with a link then 3-month-old policy appeared I made them aware that I wanted to cancel which they proceeded to do for £105 I asked for the breakdown they said the £5 charge was telephone admin fee, but I could have done it online. I said well I wish you would have made me aware before proceeding as I would have done as you were aware my policy was not showing as you had to reset my password even though it was correct as I could see my old policy. He didn't care, no sorry, no I thought you aware. Horrendous customer experience based in an outsourced office in South Africa.
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Posted 1 year ago
1st Central asked a company called Copart to pick up my car, and when they delivered it back, it came with a huge dent in my hood. 1st Central closed my claim as it was my fault and doesn't want to ensure me anymore. Now I have a damaged car and am not insured - stoping me from driving! Shame on you, 1st Central!
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Posted 1 year ago
Systemic problems;. 1) The 'Customer Service' team, although well meaning, do not have the same systems we as consumers have. So, if there's a problem you are experiencing as you conduct business online ("to save admin costs") , and you encounter a problem, guess what? 'Customer Services have no idea what you are viewing, they cannot replicate your online account and see the issues experienced. So they can't help. They also cannot escalate it to someone that does know how to fix it. Customer Services also dispense different, conflicting advice depending on whether the touch-point is 'chat' or on the phone. 1st Central have an excellent looking dashboard, where you 'cam save money by administering changes online'. But I have never been able to change any data on my dual car policy, and 'Customer Services are polite but completely unable to solve the problem. But they can merrily charge the service fee as I have to call them (and wait more than 40 minutes for the transaction to be processed). It honestly is a very broken, frustrating customer journey at many (not all) touchpoints. If anyone from 1st Central reads this and cares enough to want to know more, then contact me on 07432857155. Happy to be very specific on areas where you can go from Zero to Hero.
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Posted 1 year ago
I booked car insurance a month in advance - i tried to cancel 1 hour later and they said yes £50!?! What happened to the cooking off period ?! Disgraceful !!
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Posted 1 year ago
Terrible experience Insurance cancelled because my daughter was on the phone whilst my son was driving. Dreadful experience phone in car but NOT used by driver - Disgraceful DO NOT USE.
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Posted 1 year ago
I had taken out insuranc on my car for a year with first central but unfortunately something went wrong with the car and i had to get rid of it. Cancelled my insurance and first central said i was owed 258.82 back from them and that it would be returned to me within 10 days. This was on the 23rd of august 2023 and today is now the 17th of sept 2023 so way over ten days and still no refund even after contacting them multiple times about the issue. Never will i use them again. Really unsafe company to deal with and I will never trust them again
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago
Absolutely terrible company have had car insurance for over 52 years and have never known such terrible service. Avoid at all cost I had a none fault claim last year which I told them about contact my previous insurance company for information they said they required and gave them my permission for them to contact the AA for the information they require,they state their not allowed to do this (someone is lying and I don't think it's the AA) so today they state that they want £60 to update my policy and £140 as I have not given them the information they need bunch of crooks
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Posted 1 year ago
Zero customer loyalty… poor service … renewed my car insurance policy with 1st Central in July… I have 12 yrs no claims… I failed to notify them of a 3pt fixed penalty speeding offence in February as an oversight … they were notified by price comparison sites as I had disclosed this when comparing quotes in July, so my failure to disclose was an oversight… premium increased by £265 in total which included £50 admin fee (nearly 50% increase) for a 3pt fixed penalty notice … won’t be going near this company again … avoid
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Posted 1 year ago
1stCentral CANNOT BE TRUSTED - AVOID AT ALL COSTS First Central charged me £80.54 for a 'mistake' on my application. The mistake was caused because the DVLA had the date incorrect on their system for the date that I purchased my car. Not only did I explain this to them, but they proceeded to take the £80.54 out of my account without my permission and after I was told, 'don't worry it won't be taken'. Now that I have had the DVLA change the date and emailed this to them, they have avoided contacting me back on 2 occasions to discuss having the £80.54 refunded. It seems like it is very easy for them to take this charge, but very difficult to actually speak to someone competent who is able to refund it. Every single staff member gave me different information, eventually I escalated the complaint to a manager, who assured me they would call me back. 2 Weeks have gone by and 1st Central have not contacted me back. I would have preferred to pay more money, for a more competent service. Lesson learnt.... YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU GET.
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Posted 1 year ago
Horrible insurance company. During time they adjust monthly price nearly double and for cancellation had to pay few hundred pounds extra. Avoid
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Posted 1 year ago
If you call them to get information, they will charge you 50£! They will add to your insurance 295£ if you say you change your occupation 295£! DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY NEVER!
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Posted 1 year ago
1st Central Insurance auto-renewal process kicked in and my premium went from £24 to £42 per month! No claims (EVER in my life), no alterations, nothing. Exactly the same circumstances led to 1st Central hicking my premium up by 75%! Then they charged me £55 for the privilege of canceling. Grab yourself a first-year deal, make sure auto-renew is OFF, then leave after a year. This is the second car 1st Central have done this on. No interest in retaining customers or nurturing loyalty whatsoever. Pile it high and sell it cheap in year one. Pull your pants down and hope you don't notice the draught in year two!
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Posted 1 year ago
Woke up to an email from 1st Central to say our telematics policy is being cancelled due to unrecorded trips being made, which we categorically refute. The trips in question have been accurately recorded via the mobile app, and there is clearly a data collection fault on the company's end. You’d think 1st Central would give us a courtesy call to check if the sensor is working properly and gather more information before abruptly cancelling the policy, but no. Despite providing evidence that the trips in question have been properly recorded on our end, 1st Central is proceeding with the cancellation, which will impact the cost of our future insurance policies massively. We have raised a formal complaint, and if we don't reach an adequate solution, we will contact the financial ombudsman. A quick Google search will reveal similar issues with other 1st Central telematics users. I know the company has a bad reputation overall, but the telematics department is particularly unprofessional. Would recommend avoiding them completely.
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Posted 1 year ago
Absolutely disgusting, took out a policy and 10 mins later the car i had just bought broke so got my money back for the car and cancelled the insurance the day after and was charged more money to cancel the policy. Even though there is a cooling off period. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY they are crooks
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Posted 1 year ago
0 stars. I hope you will bankrupt.
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Posted 1 year ago
DO NO USE THIS CON COMPANY This company will try every trick in the book to con money out of you. I paid in full for my car policy, I then got a call to ask me my exact mileage for the coming year, and then asked my exact mileage to my work, as this didn't exactly match my estimated mileage they said I had to pay a fee to change the policy, along with an admin fee! I was then asked my exact NCB years, I said your website only allows me to choose 9+, they said as I couldn't give them an exact number there will be another fee, this totalled £141 or my policy is cancelled. They have a scam going to call people after their policy is paid and demand the impossible so they can charge unreasonable fees. I have a claim with the financial Ombudsman now. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. FPM6017572054FC
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Posted 1 year ago
They give you a nice low quote to start with, then after about a month they email you to ask you to Contact them regarding a query with your insurance. For instance my wife put marketing Assistant instead of marketing co-ordinator on her insurance. When we rang, they informed us there would be no difference in overall annual price but to amend the insurance would be £120. Asking them to explain the difference in job roles they said a co-ordinator is in charge of people, my wife is in charge of nobody, but they would have none of as she had already confirmed her job role was actually marketing co-ordinator not assistant over the phone and reminded over and over that it was recorded. Then was told the job role effects the outcome of a quote and was told that we deliberately put in assistant as THEY told us we had searched other websites with co-ordinator and seen they where more expensive and deliberately changed it to Assistsnt to get it cheaper with them, (even though they have already mentioned that the annual price wouldnt change) They are just extorting money out of people over and over if you look at reviews (which aren't trustpilot)
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Posted 1 year ago
Total scammers... I gave them the deposit they needed but no policy was activated even when I submitted the necessary documents. I was not contacted by call risking serious penalty. All of the sudden my policy is cancelled by them demanding £707 from me?!
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Posted 1 year ago
What a rip off!! I sold my car after one month of taking insurance out with this company and they charged me £121.65 for the privilege. Be careful when taking out insurance with them and be sure to read the small print.
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Posted 1 year ago
1st CENTRAL is rated 4.0 based on 5,230 reviews