First central insurance avoid.

[Diagro]

Hey

So... First central...

They are incorporating a £50 new business fee into their policies.

This fee must be paid if you cancel, even if its the same day.

This makes the actual policy so cheap no one can match it.

I feel this is simply a way to get out of the 14 day no fee cancellation period.

Really shady.

Even the lady on the phone said its not right... And she works for them.


Absolutely ridiculous....

 

[Invertigo]

I mean, pretty much every insurance company will charge you an admin fee if you cancel within 14 days, its all generally very clearly laid out in their terms too?

 

[Diagro]

I mean, pretty much every insurance company will charge you an admin fee if you cancel within 14 days, its all generally very clearly laid out in their terms too?

I've never ever had it.

Admiral, direct line and esure don't at least.

They refused to even waive it... Especially considering it was their faulty websites fault I had to cancel.

 

[Invertigo]

I've never ever had it.

Admiral, direct line and esure don't at least.

They refused to even waive it... Especially considering it was their faulty websites fault I had to cancel.

I'm with Admiral and its absolutely in their terms that they charge a fee for cancellation within the 14 days, as below:

Cancellation within 14 days
To cancel your cover, please get in touch. If you cancel within 14 days of buying your cover EUI Limited charge to cover the costs of setting up your policy and cancelling it.

Esure:

If you or we cancel your policy during the 14 day cooling off period £26.00 03/04/2009

Now £50 certainly feels excessive as a fee, but if it's in their terms that you agreed to when buying then more fool you for not reading the terms, really. Let it be a lesson for the future, never assume you can cancel for free.

 

[[TW]Fox]

I've never ever had it

How are you needing to cancel so many policies within 14 days to have even built up the experience to say that?!

 

[BinnsY]

Does sort of feel like your just having a moan because you cant explot the ability to cancel rather than this being a genuine concern. Given that your claiming to have done this with 4 companies it sounds like your probably doing this to avoid having to pay for short term insurance policies in the hope you only have to pay the pro-ratad day rate instead of the much higher cost per day that normally comes with the short term options.

It's obvious that companies need to do something to cover their initial costs of setting up the policies / generating the paperwork etc and the overhead that comes along with that, and thats ultimately why short term policies are more expensive per day than a full year one, just as you would expect them to be.

If you are doing this, then really you only have yourself to blame and your part of the problem that means the rest of us get stung with these fees should we have to cancel for a genuine reason.........

 

[Diagro]

Does sort of feel like your just having a moan because you cant explot the ability to cancel rather than this being a genuine concern. Given that your claiming to have done this with 4 companies it sounds like your probably doing this to avoid having to pay for short term insurance policies in the hope you only have to pay the pro-ratad day rate instead of the much higher cost per day that normally comes with the short term options.

It's obvious that companies need to do something to cover their initial costs of setting up the policies / generating the paperwork etc and the overhead that comes along with that, and thats ultimately why short term policies are more expensive per day than a full year one, just as you would expect them to be.

If you are doing this, then really you only have yourself to blame and your part of the problem that means the rest of us get stung with these fees should we have to cancel for a genuine reason.........

Nope. I just jump the gun when it comes to renewals.

I don't like the renewal price. Go with someone else. The original comp then offer to beat it. So I cancel the new one. Its happened a few times over the years.

I mean... My insurance doesn't even renew till the 27th!

I actually wanted first central insurance. But their system simply returned an error when I tried to get my wife's car insured too. Without it and their discount it made them more expensive than admiral :/
Their sales team were closed and will be for a while so had cancel.

 

[ezekial]

I found them to be cheap upfront but very expensive if you need anything. They charged me like £125 to cancel.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Nope. I just jump the gun when it comes to renewals.

I don't like the renewal price. Go with someone else. The original comp then offer to beat it. So I cancel the new one. Its happened a few times over the years.

This makes no sense. If the policy hasn't started yet as it's just you renewing early then they've not taken the money and therefore how do you end up having to use the cooling off period if as you say you're just cancelling before policy inception?

 

[Diagro]

This makes no sense. If the policy hasn't started yet as it's just you renewing early then they've not taken the money and therefore how do you end up having to use the cooling off period if as you say you're just cancelling before policy inception?

Yes I know.

The policy had not even started. So why charge a stupid fee to cancel it

 

[kindai]

I don't like the renewal price. Go with someone else. The original comp then offer to beat it. So I cancel the new one. Its happened a few times over the years.

This is just weird?

Do like every normal person does, go get quotes elsewhere and then go back to your current insurer and tell them to beat / match it or your off.

 

[Jez]

Nope. I just jump the gun when it comes to renewals.

I don't like the renewal price. Go with someone else. The original comp then offer to beat it. So I cancel the new one. Its happened a few times over the years.

Why on earth would you do this? You can get a valid quotation for matching purposes without actually buying the policy

 

[Resident]

I thought that companies could only charge once the service has started and only for the time that the service ran.

If your policy hasn't begun with them at the time you called to cancel then there should be no charge, as I understand Consumer Contract Regulations.

 

[Diagro]

I thought that companies could only charge once the service has started and only for the time that the service ran.

If your policy hasn't begun with them at the time you called to cancel then there should be no charge, as I understand Consumer Contract Regulations.

Yes I see your point.

I think I need to read into this or ask someone who deals with this every day.

It's only £50... But it's bloody annoying

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I used these muppets before charged me £150 to correct the fact their regi system identified my car as being a z3 instead of a Z4.

Another £150 to change address.

Will only stick with the big name companies now.

 

[muon]

Decided to look at this.

https://help.1stcentralinsurance.com/payments-and-fees/what-are-your-fees

That is very clever/deceptive. No doubt they then advertise the cancellation fees of £0/£50 (which on it's own is in line with most of the market) without the arrangement fee.

If they treat customers like that, then best to avoid for the future.

 

[Tim Williams]

Ive used them for a while and have no complaints...

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Ive used them for a while and have no complaints...

How long have you worked for them?

 

[On Holiday]

The majority of car insurers impose administration / arrangement / new business fees that cannot be refunded in the event of cancellation, including within 14 days.

Why do you think you can waste a companies time with no financial repercussion?

Taking out a policy and then cancelling it for the sake of "competition" rather than obtaining quotes prior to renewal date is just an utter waste of time for everybody involved.

 

[Diagro]

The majority of car insurers impose administration / arrangement / new business fees that cannot be refunded in the event of cancellation, including within 14 days.

Why do you think you can waste a companies time with no financial repercussion?

Taking out a policy and then cancelling it for the sake of "competition" rather than obtaining quotes prior to renewal date is just an utter waste of time for everybody involved.

Using an automated system doesn't waste their time