First Direct Car Insurance 10% guarantee

pa2539

I rang them up, I had a quote of £314 for myself and my husband. The gentleman on the phone was really nice, great customer service and said he would beat my quote by 10%. I went through the process and he ummed and aahed at the end and said it says I have to refer to an underwriter but as I'd rung on a Friday evening they had all gone home so he would return the call on Monday. I asked why it had been referred, he said the quote was £700+ Lo and behold, Monday came and wait and 3 weeks on I'm still waiting for that return phonecall. Take this offer with a pinch of salt!

Premier_2

I've just done some playing on their website.
(I was originally rejected as my car has a modification,( not one that insurers tend to worry about, but I like to declare it so they can't wriggle out of paying later) - so I had to ring them, and that's when they said I didn't qualify as my renewal was under £200.

Anyway, I've used the website again and didn't mention the modification.
Used all the same data as I told them on the phone (except for the modification)
Only difference I did was to change the price of my renewal.

First time I said £200 - they came back with £180 (or thereabouts)

Next I said the renewal was £400 - they quoted £360 (or thereabouts)

Next I said the renewal was £1000 - they quoted £450 (or thereabouts)

I think the last price is the genuine price. The price I was quoted (see earlier post) probably included the £100 introductory discount these insurers typically provide.


So, on the surface, it looks like it may work for most people requireing a standard quote for standard cover.
But beware, don't expect a competitive quote at renewal!

(I must admit, I hate this type of pricing just to attract business - it's one reason I refused to accept MoreThan this year because I couldn't get a consistent quote from them based on the same risk details I supplied ... I'm certainly not loyal to any insurer, but unless there is a considerable saving to be had, I won't be bought for a few quid either)

john_lancs

Hi all, car insurance due recently with swift cover gone from £271 last year to £410 this year, got my renewal down to £346 by cutting it just to fully comp cover. i then went to 1st direct who then ghave me 10% off. ithink the whole situation is disgrateful these companies seem to be able just to jack the prices at leasure, and there seems to be no control over what appears to be a CARTEL operating by the companies invovled. Again the goverment as with the banks seems to have no back bone controling this fiasco of price fixing by the insurance companies, when will the goverment do there job and stand up and protect the people of this country...take care all need a coffee after that

coloquil

hi everyone,
dont even think about directline car insurance they are rubbish as they put up my insurance by hundreds and would not pay out in a genuine claim so have cancelled all my other insurance with them and am now much better off

keith

dinesh17

I gave this a try and filled in the form honestly, however it said it could not quote me. I noted that I had entered the correct renewal price of £384 that I'd been offered by my insurer. I then hit the back button and put a much higher renewal price in (£800), lo and behold it beat that quote and came out at £760.
So I tried again for my mother's car which is also due for renwal, entered everything honestly and it couldnt quote me. Increased the renewal amount and AGAIN it was able to beat the quote.

This is little short of dishonesty. Sure the company can turn down any business it wants, but surely the advertising is misleading - it should be "we'll beat your quote if it's high enough only!"

Martin I suggest you take this off the email and website as it's a waste of your readers' time.

Anyone else encountered the above, please post?

jinnjenn

Was quite impressed when i put in my initial details and a cheaper quote by about £70 came up......but there quote is based on a number of assumptions and does not include the addtional things that are often added to a quote i.e. additional drivers, claims etc etc. First Directs quote will be cheaper if you are a driver with a perfect driving record who does not require anything other than the basic's from a policy....problem is there are very few people out there who can say this is what they need from an insurance policy, oh well will keep looking!!

diamondbob

Car insurance is not a commodity. Different insurers offer different levels of service which you need to check out first. I had the unfortunate experience of trying to make a claim with First Direct Insurance, and got nowhere. So the premiums may be cheap, but what's the use if it doesnt pay out ? Dont take my word for it, read other posts in this forum. The provider here has no relation to First Direct Bank. Well worth paying a few $ more for a provided like Direct Line who will sort out accidents where you are not at fault, rather than this lot who expect you to pay and make all the running to get your expenses back. Bargepole !

dawneybee

MSE_Wendy wrote: »

We've included this promotion in our weekly email, and whilst it looks good on paper we're not sure it's good in practice.

Please let us know if you've tried to use this offer and whether it delivered savings others couldn't

Did you save 10% on your cover or were there too many caveats to make it worth while?

Thanks

we used your link to first direct and it saved us £100!!! :money::beer:,thanks, highly recomend this link!!

MitchyT

I've just renewed my car insurance and swapped to First Direct by taking advantage of their 10% off your renewal quote offer. My renewal quote was £556 and First Direct undercut it to £524 including all my 'add ons' Personal accident cover, breakdown cover & key cover. I went back to my previous insurer who then undercut again to £521 so I called First Direct again who then undercut to £491. I emailed my revised renewal quote as confirmation and set up the policy. I am a very happy girl as the average quote i was getting on line for the same cover was £750. Happy Days......:j

geographygirl

No one was coming close to my renewal on the comparrison sites; infact my exact renewal quote was always top. FD did beat it by 10%. Then I read what had been written about the actual insurers and I thought ugh. Rang Endsleigh (backed by my union, but I've never made a claim so no real idea how good they are) and they gave me a better price. So yes it did work but in a different way. Thanks for all the top tips MSE