1st Central Car Insurance Cancel Fee

Hello123_2

Hi.

This is the 3rd year I have been insured with 1st Central Car Insurance on a 1998 1 litre car worth £300. I am a home owner, full time employed no accidents or claims etc.

Just upgraded my car to a £1500 1.2 car. Current insurer 1st central quoted me £900 but there were around 15 other insurers on the comparison site coming around £600.

Called 1st central - they would not price match or budge on price so obviously I said I will have to cancel & go with cheaper.

They advised me there will be a £93 charge to cancel! £50 for admin plus £43 for legal fees/coutesy car extras that I had with policy (never used).


I was expecting an admin charge like £30-£40 but not £93! Just wondering if there is anything I can do?

I would be happy to stay with them if they wernt £300 more than the others!


(also got to pay £130 'deposit' on new policy with new insurer so it's an expensive day for me :-(


Thanks

dunstonh

They advised me there will be a £93 charge to cancel! £50 for admin plus £43 for legal fees/coutesy car extras that I had with policy (never used).

That seems reasonable.

£50 is within the typical tolerance of an administration/cancellation fee. Add ons are normally non-refundable.

Bigdazman1

First of all the £93 is not a charge to cancel, it's what you owe on the insurance based on your time on cover. Completely separate from cancellations fees. Even still this seems completely reasonable compared to most companies.

Bez3000

I've had to cancel my policy with 1st Central and can't help but feel ripped off with the outcome! I paid £400 up front less than 3 months ago and am getting refunded just £213! That's 84 days worth of cover, £50 cancellation fee and the £50 fee for setting up the account in the first place! I knew when I took out the cover that I'd need to cancel it at some point so I made sure that I enquired about the cancellation process when I took out the policy. There was no mention of having to pay the setting up fee, just the cancellation fee.

In their favour, the calls I made were answered promptly and courteously, and when I was promised a call-back within 24 hours it came just an hour later.

So, decent enough service, but I still can't help the feeling that I've just been ripped off!!

Tow_Mater

My wife bought from the cheapest quote on a comparison site. Cancelled 47 days later as our beloved 15 year old car was scrapped. Shocked to find lots of fees deducted when the policy was refunded. We only got £180 back having paid nearly £400!
£50 taken as set-up fee, £50 taken for cancellation fee and £54 for legal that was part of the price even though no choice was given over inclusion.

Also very weird time trying to get through to them on the phone. Option 1 "Payments, Direct Debits, and Refunds" I press one and the only two options are "Someone's finance company (I can't remember the name) Press One, 1st Central Finance Press Two"....that's it, I paid by credit card and had no finance but no other options are given. In today's time and technology this is weak, amateurish and a great example of you get what you pay for.

Don't give your money to the lowest bidder.
I would not use this company again.