1st Central Car Insurance

toydriver

I also have had trouble getting through on the 0845 number.Also they are not recognising my max NCB from morethan and trying to charge extra as they say the ncb is only 6 years. I did not notice that there is no cover to drive other cars so I am now determined to cancel as I want a helpful car insurance company!

lavieenrose77

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!

Despite reading the reviews on here, I read through the policy details and caled up to talk to the sales team at 1st Central. We were getting a really good deal and so I went ahead and purchased a car insurance policy. Done.... Happy...sorted. We were covered and could get on with driving in our lovely new car...

That was 2 days ago.

I have come home this evening to the following email: We are sorry to hear you no longer wish to continue your Insurance with 1st Central. Your Certificate of Motor Insurance should be returned to us immediately for cancellation. If you do not have this in your possession please complete, sign and return the Lost Certificate Declaration form which can be found on www.1stcentralinsurance.com.

Baffled, I then did what anyone would do and call the customer service team, which as per the same document as above states: If you require any further assistance you can email us on policysupport@1stcentral.co.uk or alternatively call our Policy Support Team on 0845 194 9930. Our opening hours are Monday to Friday 08.00 – 21.00

Were they open? Did I get a response? Was I able to clarify if I was still covered amidst the panic... NO! Not one of the numbers on their website worked and it is 7pm in the evening!? I got through to one number which is supposedly for "Making a Claim". In actual fact, it's nothing of the sort - the company I got through to is their out of hours message service... who are unable to pass on any messages.... nor do they have any access to any details on the 1st Central database... ????? They are only there "to deal with emergency call outs / breakdown" .......... I am absolutely LIVID!

I now cannot get in touch with my partner who uis currently out IN THE CAR... and I have no idea if he is even covered as we speak.

I am within my cooling off period and will be phoning them 1st thing (within hours obviously) to cancel... thankfully we ended up ony paying a deposit and not a full amount and hopefully it will not take long to get THAT back.. I fully intend to keep you posted, and in the meantime, STEER WELL CLEAR!!!!

lavieenrose77

I just wish I'd gone with my initial gutt instinct... Direct Line was my 2nd choice... they're getting a call first thing!!!!

dacouch

In my experience Insurers registered in Gibralter are at the cheap and cheerful end of the scale...

lavieenrose77

dear lord... I managed to get through to them ... after them not bothering to call me... and I was told this was purely down to an internal error - a total accident... now - imagine I had been driving around and something happened, and noather so called accident happened... I wouldn't have been covered... I didn't even have a chance to confirm that I was cancelling... they had already processed the cancellation!!! I am not going with Admiral who have been extremely helpful...

mrmski

This insurance company is top of the list of cheap policies on all the comparison sites. BUYER BEWARE You pay for your policy before you get access to the full details After paying and reading the small print I was informed that the car would "not be insured if left on the driveway overnight" and that the car would only be insured if I had "a thatcham approved" immobiliser. No other immobiliser would do. (THIS WAS NOT EVIDENT BEFORE THEY HAD MY PAYMENT DETAILS)My policy was therefor invalid before it started I immediately rang 1st central and asked them not to take payment. They refused and said it was too late the money had gone off my card. (lies - we all know that they only gain authorisation to take money from the CC company - they do not have to take the money!). They would not refund me until I returned the policy which would be in the post the following day. (they hadn't yet posted it out) The electronic copy sent to me was not good enough to return (they only communicate electronically)
It took 2 weeks to get a refund - they did not refund the full value - they kept the credit card fee,£1.76 how sad- great for the P.R though:) I had to return my documents recorded delivery and made £5.00 of phone calls. They were very rude and even suggested that as my car was not a porsche or similar expensive car that the "thatcham issue" would not matter. sure it wouldn't - I can guess that when or if I tried to make a claim that the policy exclusions would "not matter". Stay away I got burnt by this "company" insurance comparison sites should not entertain them they give the industry a bad name. They are quick to try and defend their actions but their actions are indefensable. (see above) PLEASE DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY:mad: They are boring tiresome and tedious to deal with. Pay a few quid more and get the real deal or you will have to waste more time moaning about them as I have done. (and yes I do have a life! )

tootsieloop

My friend is having trouble with this company at the moment. She was in an accident a week ago and tried to get through to claims for 4 days. She would be on hold for half an hour then it would disconnect. When she finally got through they told her they would get someone to contact her the next day with a time that they would be over to collect the car and take it to the garage. As yet she has had no call and she is waiting for them to get back to her with a courtesy car. This has gone on far too long. She works full time and has a small child. She needs the car to get around as she is far from her work and the shops.

Also, i used to work for a big insurance company and i was surprised when my friend showed me what they sent through the post in regards to her policy. Just a certificate! She has no idea what the cover is on her policy cos it doesn't state it on the cert and the excesses are not shown either. There is also no policy documents with terms and conditions. I have never had a policy nor sent one out that has less than 10 pages with it. I've told her she should cancel the policy at renewal and go elsewhere, even if she has to pay more. This company are a shambles and i would tell anyone to avoid at all costs.

dacouch

Its strange how Tom who claims to represent 1st Central on MSE has been very quiet recently when we have been having a lot of complaints about them taking ages and ages to answer their phones etc. He is obviously logging on and reading the posts and was last logged on the 5th October 2009...

Tootsieloop try sending a personal message to Tom by clicking on this link and sending him a personal message Tom1stCentral

It would be nice if he came on here or even sent personal messages to the people with problems on MSE, oh and employed some more staff to answer their phones.

Come on Tom, prove me wrong that Insurers based in Gibralter tend to be cheap and cheerfull...

mo_c

i was pulled over by the police last night the reason being my insurance came up on their system as "a bit strange" the policeman was not convinced i was insured but i asured him i was he checked the usual personnel details and let me go but i felt a bit puzzled so decided to check my policy and realised the problem may be where the company is based, i dont have a good feeling about all of this thats why i checked the forum as i drive for a living and being caught uninsured could cost me my job i will be checking there breakdown and claim numbers to see if i get through if not CANCEL!!!!

piscass

I would stay well clear of these as the customer service is terrible, also i sent a scanned image of my no claims bonus but they just dont want to accept it. They keeps sending me reminders to sya they have not got it and to ring a number that is always busy. The latest thing is if I dont send my no claims bonus within 7 days they will charge me an extra 80 pounds so I am about to contact the insurance ombudsman about it YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED STEER CLEAR!.