1st Central Insurance. Hard credit search

Exmouthgardener

I took out a car policy with them at the end of March. It was a cheap policy but I’m in the habit of paying monthly for my other car policies so I chose that option and agreed to a soft credit search in the process. They carried out a hard search though. When I complained they told me “we’ve asked the policy department and they say it’s nothing to do with them”. I then made a formal complaint and was advised that they don’t ask for permission “within the quotation script” so I asked for a copy of the written online form. They refuse to supply that. (Surely that’s a contravention of GDPR compliance) and they have not yet responded to my subsequent written complaint or reminders ( now 5 weeks later ). The hard search has affected my credit rating. I requested advice on cancellation, again they ignored my email. I cancelled the policy and had to pay a cancellation fee and an admin fee to do so even though they refused to offer any response or defence. I paid in full but they have not updated their information to the credit agencies. Is this legal and have many others had this problem (most wouldn’t know of course, without checking). It might be a good idea to check your credit file if dealing with this company. My other insurers have never done this and still don’t. Soon after I started getting offers for expensive loans too. If any company can just run a hard search without permission then surely all our private financial details are basically public !

Phoenix72

How has it affected your credit rating? If you mean your make believe credit score then it hasn't. One hard search means nothing.

Don't know exactly what you agreed to but paying monthly usually involves a credit agreement = hard check.

I think you have blown it out of all proportion.

dunstonh

I took out a car policy with them at the end of March. It was a cheap policy but I’m in the habit of paying monthly for my other car policies so I chose that option and agreed to a soft credit search in the process.

Paying monthly means you are taking out a loan to pay for the annual premium.

I paid in full but they have not updated their information to the credit agencies. Is this legal and have many others had this problem (most wouldn’t know of course, without checking).

It won't remove the hard search.   However, any reference to the outstanding debt should return settled within several weeks.

My other insurers have never done this and still don’t.

Are those other insurers using a credit facility to pay for the premium?

If any company can just run a hard search without permission then surely all our private financial details are basically public !

They state the following in the privacy notice:

When we process your information it can have an impact on you, for example:

• When we view your credit score it will leave a footprint on your credit report, which may be visible by you and others
• We will record defaulted payments on your credit report which can be seen by other financial companies who view your record
• We provide information to industry databases which can be seen by other insurance companies
• We pass information onto third parties who provide us, and you, with insurance services. Information will only be sent to third parties who should have it and you will be informed which third parties are involved
• We will collect locational data about you through our website and mobile applications which can be used to profile you
• We will make wholly automated decisions with profiling to determine insurance risk, premium finance and fraud.

and:

When we assess the payment options most appropriate for you and to validate your identity, we conduct a search through a credit reference agency. A record of the check will be held by the credit reference agency who place a footprint of ‘insurance search’ on your credit file. This footprint will not alter your credit score. We'll continue to exchange information to check your credit status and suitability for other products we may offer, when you make changes to your existing policy and at renewal.
 
Information held about you by these agencies may be linked to records relating to other people living at the same address with whom you are financially linked. These records may also be taken into account during credit checks. Please see the CRAIN notices of Experian and Transunion for more information about their processing.
 
If you're paying by Direct Debit, we may give details of your accounts and how you manage them to credit reference agencies, including records of outstanding debt. This information may be supplied to other organisations to perform similar checks and to trace your whereabouts and recover debts that you owe. Records remain on file for 6 years after they're closed, whether settled by you or defaulted. For more information on how credit reference agencies handle your information click here.

DullGreyGuy

As explained on https://help.1stcentralinsurance.com/system/templates/selfservice/FC_Silver/help/customer/locale/en-GB/portal/959700000001004/content/PROD-7586/Can-I-pay-monthly-for-my-car-insurance if you cannot afford to pay the premiums in full up front you are also applying for a loan and they will do searches with Experian to ensure you can afford the loan. 

Insurers have historically been lax with these things thinking they can just void the policy for a non-payment situation however the FCA have been pushing the "responsible lending" topic for a while now (look at the loans section here about people getting refunds for receiving "irresponsible lending").

First Central are not an insurer though but an intermediary and intermediaries/brokers have always been more cautious with the lending criteria and loan application process in part as many use a third party finance company to lend the monies. 

Same as if you decide not to take up the offer of a loan or get declined for a loan you cannot subsequently ask for the record to be removed as its factually correct that you did apply for credit.