written by on 02/06/2012
i have been with this company over 10 years they have taken money out of my account without my consent i told them i wanted to cancel they told me they would sent me a 500 pound cancellation fee and all i asked them is to redo a cheaper quote so i am stuck with paying 450 per year when i can go somewhere else and get it for 150 per year what to do not happy
written by on 30/05/2012
This company seems to be in business of extracting extra service fees rather than of offering insurance. Stay clear.
written by Claudia00 on 31/08/2011
I bought a new car almost at the end of my policy (fortunately for me) and they didn't want to change my police. Hard to talk to them, an idiot girl said 'it takes 24hr for a call back', I called them after couple of hours and I have been told it takes 48hr for a call back, it is just a joke. I had a renewal by post and the price of the new policy was more then doubles then the previous one. Avoid them!!!!
written by on 13/06/2011
I purchased insurance through ASDA insurance and everything was ok until I enquired about a quote for changing my car.I could never get through and when I eventually did get through I was always told that the department was too busy and that they would take my information and ring me back, this happened 5 times and I never received a call back - disgusted i cancelled and simply bought on line with 1stQuote who I had been insured with previously, were based in Romford and had given me an excellent service before. After a few weeks i realised that i hadn't received any documents from 1stQuote so i rang them to see where they had got to. I was continually cut off or being answered and put sytraight on hold or being told they were too busy and that they would call me back, this sounds familiar i thought. To my horror when i eventually told my story to a young lady at 1stQuote i found out that they had benn moved to Colchester by Capita,lost all their experienced staff and were being serviced by the same people (BDML) who service ASDA, the young girl even said "the managemnet here are a joke and don't care about 1stQuote" - I could not believe my luck - i was back with the same muppets i had cancelled with in the first place.DO NOT INSURE WITH ASDA OR 1STQUOTE as their customer service team in Colchester is a disgrace. I am contacting the head of ASDA as well to make them aware!
written by on 10/05/2011
1st quote are a complete joke!! do not take cover out with them! i decided to change cars and get a quote for fully comp and it was cheaper to go fully comp then third party on my new car, which was triple the amounbt what i paid on the current car i had! so i went to a whole new company (flux direct) who seem ok, but they needed my no claims proof this was now 3 months ago and 1st quote are still with holding this from me even though i have paid the cancellation fee!! as a company they show no professional qualities and have no idea what they are on about! they only want money! every time i try to ring them it takes me at least 40 minutes to get through! which by the time i do i am usually told that the people i need to speak to are unavailable out to lunch or gone home!! i do not see how they can call themselves an insurance company! they shouldnt be allowed to be any kind of company!
COMPLETE JOKE OF A COMPANY!!!!!! DO NOT USE THEM!!!!!!
I wouldnt even give them the one star rating!!!
written by on 26/04/2011
The company has just one aim - to make money. Customer service and satisfaction do not come into it at all. They want your money, and will tell you what you want to hear to make you part with it.
OK, their quotes may be cheaper than a lot of others and this is fine, until you have to make a claim. There were, when I left, 5 people working in the claims department. 5 people to service a client base of several thousand. Is it any wonder you wait for months to get repairs authorised and claims settled?
The quotes staff are little better, in the motor department there are around forty staff members all trying to reach target figures, and be the best selling salesman for the month. To achieve this aim, they will assure you your policy has breakdown cover, when in fact it does not, that your vehicle is garaged, alarmed and will do less than 5000 miles a year, regardless of the true facts, in order to beat your best quote.
If they do persuade you to part with your money, your credit card number will be written down, and passed around the office until it reaches someone qualified to take the payment.
You will be very lucky if your documents are sent to the right address, and if by some miracle they are, the likelihood is that your details will be wrong anyway.
And don't even think about complaining, you will be left on hold until they think you have given up and more than likely cut off.
In short. Steer clear of this company. Believe me, I know!"
written by on 13/04/2011
if 1st quote were the last insurance company left on earth i would not get insurance with them.it should be customer disservices. avoid this company at all costs they will take your cash and loose your hard earned no claims and if you ever dare to leave and go someware else you will probably never see your no claims proof. to be blunt 1st quote will f**k you over and over and over..warning to bikers too stay away from 1st quote its the smartest thing you will ever do.
written by on 13/04/2011
29 phone calls still waiting for my no claims cert'
this is a company not to use
written by whu1 on 10/04/2011
Hi all. Whatever you do DO NOT insure with this shambles of a company. I had the pleasure of working for this cowboy outfit. Documents are never processed. All they want to do is rip you off. They will automatically renew your policy on the same credit/debit card you used last year without asking your permission. The majority of staff are 16yr old school leavers who have no knowledge of what they're selling. Your credit/debit card number will be written down and passed around the office. They will add extra insurances you do not need, just to hit targets. Their cancellation charges are beyond belief. I worked there and believe me, there is NO WAY I would recommend anyone to insure at 1ST QUOTE. Not even my worst enemy. If you do, you WILL regret it!
written by on 06/04/2011
DO NOT USE WORSE INSURANCE COMPANY EVER.
Never recieved policy docuements. The people that work there have no intelligence and just tell you they are being sent two months later I have had to give up I have never recieved them. It really does make you wonder the service you would get if you did have to make a claim. DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE PRICE YOU WILL GET NOTHING BUT HARD WORK IF YOU GO WITH THIS COMPANY!
written by on 06/03/2011
I have had all the same problems, can't get through on the phones, constantly cut off, speaking to agents that dont ssem to have a clue what there doing or saying.... They have always been abit of a pain with hold times, but since they have relocated to Colchester and lost all there experienced staff things seem to be going to pot. They have been taken over my BDML (Capita) all i can say is avoid like the plague
written by Nick2965 on 14/02/2011
Last year I shopped around for the cheapest car insurance quote. I had 3 years no claims bonus and hadn't made any claims within the last 5 years. I found that the cheapest was 1st quote. I had never used the company before, but I thought that I would give them a try.
I pay my car insurance monthly by direct debit and everything was going fine until I got a letter through for my annual renewal. The company quoted me a renewal figure of an extra £150 a year so I decided to shop around again to look for a better quote. I found another company who quoted me around the same price as my insurance last year, so I arranged the insurance with that company to pick up on the date and time my 1st quote policy runs out. I then telephoned 1st quote, told them I was changing insurance and that I was not renewing with them and I then telephoned the bank and cancelled my direct debit.
I thought that was the end of the matter. Insurance sorted for another year I thought. Then a week into my new policy, I get a letter from my new insurance informing me that they need proof of my no claims discount which I should have received from my previous insurer (1st quote).
After several conversations with 1st quotes so-called customer service. They inform me I have lost my 4 years no claims bonus for cancelling my policy. Yet I did not cancel my policy, I simply told them that I was not renewing with them.
It seems that because I have not renewed my policy with them they are refusing to give me my no claims bonus that I am entitled to. I had 3 years no claims previously and I have not made a claim in the last year. Therefore I have 4 years no claims, they are refusing to give me any. My new insurers are informing me that if they do not receive my no claims document within 10 days, my new insurance policy will be cancelled automatically.
1st quote are trying to hold me to ransom, refusing to issue my no-claims bonus because I refused to renew with them. I am reliably informed that this is not legal, so I am pursuing the matter with the insurance ombudsman and trading standards.
I ADVISE ANYONE WHO IS CONSIDERING THEIR CAR INSURANCE RENEWAL DO NOT USE 1ST QUOTE INSURANCE!!!!
written by on 05/02/2011
I used MRB for over 10 years. For a long time they were cheap and it wasnt worth changing insurer. That changed this year when their renewal quote went way above other insurers.
Another significant problem is their service. I've called, queued up and then had someone pick up the call and instantly cut me off. Other times I've called, had the call answered and then before being able to say anything been put on hold indefinitely. I've even phoned to cancel my home insurance policy and received a letter saying they'd cancelled my car insurance instead.
Their service is truly awful. No other company comes close to their low standards.
written by Mickmac0 on 05/02/2011
I would also like to give them minus stars! Below is a letter written to 1st Quote that explains the appalling lack of service. It was posted and e-mailed to them on the 24th January - Still no acknowledgement, refund or indeed policy docs despite them claiming to have sent out duplicates 2 weeks ago! I'd rather have the plague than deal with such an incompetent company again (surprisingly they are part of the Capita Group). Avoid at all costs!
Dear 1st Quote,
Please note I wish to cancel the above insurance and want a full refund.
Having taken out a motor insurance & breakdown policy with you over the telephone on the 14th January I have still not received any policy documents. This is despite your taking the premium of £247.53 from my card and the policy being effective from the 22nd January. .
Have tried to telephone you on the 20th Jan and spent 20 mins holding in a queue I gave up and emailed you. Having had no response I emailed you again on the 22nd (see email trail below). Still no response. Tried again to telephone you to be left on hold (this time for another 45 minutes! -still no answer).
Interestingly enough tried again for new sales and got straight through! Your sales team assured me I was covered and that the policy documents had been posted and to contact you if I had not received by 24th Jan.
Guess what? No documents!
Having read reviews on 1st quote insurance (one of which was from an ex employee) I have found not one post recommending you, and it appears all have suffered a similar (and worse) experience to me. In particular, it seems you post documents late and then demand additional premiums stating there has been a mistake. You sound like an ideal company to feature on 'Watchdog' or'Rogue Traders'
This appalling service gives me no faith that you would be able to handle my business and so I formally advise you within the required 14 days that I wish to cancel my car & breakdown policy with you and require a full refund to my card. I have sought cover elsewhere.
I too intend to post reviews of your company on the internet and so hope you can deal with this refund in an efficient professional manner so that I can at least give a fair evaluation of your follow up to this complaint.
I have cc'd in the Financial Ombudsman so that this matter can be logged with them.
I hope that I now receive the service I should have from the start. My contact details are as below.
Regards
Mr Michael McGinty
written by on 04/02/2011
AVOID! Was insured for a year with no claims, when they sent the renewal letter through I responded I didn't want to renew as I had a cheaper quote. They kept texting me that my payment hadn't gone through. I phoned, emailed, faxed, phoned and phoned again. 3 months later they are trying to charge me 80% of the renewal value plus fines, charges and blacklisting. I cannot get rid of them. AVOID AVOID AVOID.
written by on 23/01/2011
upped my insurance from £1100 after an accident (where they were awful, had to find my own garage and they said they were linked to my insurers, no courtesy car, etc etc) to £3000, never got the documents, tried to charge me £660 (!!!!) cancellation, refused to refund me even though their Sales dept said I had grounds for refund as I never got the documents, ...took me almost three weeks of daily calling to get through to Customer Services, which they blamed on relocating to Colchester...am so angry with them, have moved elsewhere and am reporting them to the Ombudsman! Wish I could have given a zero!
written by on 07/01/2011
well well, i got this compnany through go compare and as it was cheap i went with it. I phoned up to add breakdown and got through within minutes, 2 years later i wanted to cancell as i never had the car anymore, it took them 1/2 hour to answer the phone,he said the lines kept going down, i said you should have put a message on to say that and for people to call back later,he then said well the line comes back then goes again, yeh yeh,he said they will call me back as he was unable to put me through customer service,but that was who i called 0208 598 1111, its funny how i got a friend to call them to make out she wanted a quote and was through there and then,my policy is due to be renewed in a few days but ive not got it yet and their terms and cons say you will get it long before due date,i bet i get it 14 days late so they will TRY AND CHARGE ME A FEE,and they wont phone me back,to be fair i have not had to make a claim thank god,it seems they only want to know if your giving them money,i think all the bad reports about this compeny should be reported to watch dog and see how they get on with them.
written by george tennick on 06/01/2011
i will never use this insurer again, they renewed my car insurence because they say i never replied to there letter with new quote which i never got,i called them to ask why they never sent me a letter to reknew my insurance,the reply was we sent you one? to them why have you redone my insurence when my old insurence is still valid till midday the day you told me my new quote in which i more or less said naff off i dont want it,to late the reply cancell and we give you a 1/3 of what you have paid ,i tryed to stop the payment, reply sorry cannot. so here you go what a con dont send reminders then we can charge what we want. last word for them robbers
written by on 28/12/2010
DONT GO THERE TOTAL WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY
written by MrsPB on 23/12/2010
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take heed of this advice! DO NOT TOUCH THIS COMPANY WITH A BARGE POLE!!!! They have some SERIOUSLY incompetant people working for them! I initialy went with 1st Quote Car Insurance as it was the cheapest, with the current climate, who wouldnt? (you pay peanuts, you get monkeys, right?) I read all the reviews on various sites & please believe me when I tell you that they aren't all negative for nothing. During my brief dealings with this company (the setting up process) I could relate to I'd say about 70% of what people were complaining about in their reviews. Needless to say, much to my better judgement I cancelled the policy immediately (as is my right). That was 11 days ago. I just phoned up to ask where my refund of £70.08 that I paid for the deposit & they couldn't even find any of my details. After being passed from pillar to post for 25mins (at my expense of course), they finally found my details only to say the policy had been cancelled but had not been refunded (SHOCK!!!). Needless to say I now have to wait another 7 - 10 working days (more like 3 weeks due to Christmas & New Year) for my refund (thats if they can get it right this time). Seriously though, I read the reviews before taking out this policy & thought, there is always someone that will complain about something or other so give them a chance. Trust me when I tell you, take these reviews very seriously, because you WILL experience them.
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