First Call GB Ltd - Colchester

Frances R.

Untrustworthy
First Call will use any excuse to put the onus of paying their contractors onto their customers – which essentially defeats the object of taking out a policy with them.

I hit a pothole whilst driving on a Friday afternoon. I spoke with call handler at First Call immediately, and they advised that they would send a mechanic after asking if my car had a spare wheel – I advised that I had one as I was very confident of this (although not 100% certain – I did look in my boot and it looked to me that there was a wheel/relevant equipment there). They said this would take 60 - 90 minutes and I asked them to treat my situation as urgent as I'm heavily pregnant.
After one hour, the mechanic arrived from their contractor. He assessed my car, looked for a spare wheel, and advised that I didn't have one. I was very taken aback and asked if he was certain. He said he was and then offered to check the damage to the tyre and wheel. He advised that damage had been sustained the tyre, wheel, and wheel alignment so we would need to arrange recovery as roadside repair was not possible. He advised his employers and soon after First Call called me and advised that my policy was invalid in this instance due to the fact that I didn’t have a spare wheel. I advised the roadside mechanic that I would be paying his employers directly for the call-outs and subsequent recovery (a total cost of over £150).
I then had a phone call from my midwife, and while I was on the call, missed a call from the contractor, requesting payment. When I returned their call, I was surprised when they advised that they would not arrange the recovery vehicle until I paid their fee. This seemed unfair as I had already advised that I would pay the full balance directly. I was given another number to call to make the payment, which I did immediately. The contractor refused to give an ETA for the recovery vehicle, despite knowing that I had already been by the roadside for an hour and a half, heavily pregnant.
45 minutes later, the mechanic arrived with the recovery vehicle and recovered my vehicle to a local mechanic that I had identified.
A few days later I received a call from the mechanics where my car had been taken for repair. They advised that the car does, in fact, have a spare wheel, located under the boot! There were also instructions on how to change the spare wheel under the mat inside the boot.
So, as a result of this error by the contractor, I had spent several hours by the road, heavily pregnant when, in fact, the issue could have been resolved much faster, and many of these issues could have been avoided entirely, if everything had been done correctly in the first instance. I had also paid over £150 for something which I was made to believe was my error, but was in fact, not even an issue.
Of course, these issues occurred because of mistakes made by the contractors. I contacted First Call and they refused to issue a refund for the fee because “I should have known where my spare wheel was” – this despite being heavily pregnant and unable to physically search for the wheel myself, and being told by a FULLY QUALIFIED mechanic that the spare wheel simply was not there!

Alan A. J.

Difficult to communicate with them as unable to contact via phone and have to chat online, imagine being stuck at the side of the road with no internet! Unhelpful staff. Were not able to insure our brand new car and no refund on existing policy, so went elsewhere.

Ganesh K.

I had to call out First Call GB when my car broke down during the school run around 0850. After a very long wait they turned up about nearly 3.5 hours later. After all it was a flat battery issue and the car was jump started in 2 mins. The point I wanted to make here is the lack of a level of professionalism and service mindedness towards a customer who has not only got stuck in the middle of the road and also having to take a day off and lose a days wages due to this. When I called up them after the car was back on the road to check with why there was a delay and why no body contacted my wife(Who got stuck) on the whereabouts of the breakdown van I was told that they can only give an estimated time of up to 60 minutes and delays can be expected due to various factors which I can sort of understand given the rush hour and the weather conditions (weather was good though). But they said they won't call out the customer for informing any delays which was really unacceptable. How long would they expect the customer to be stuck in the middle of the road waiting. This is really unprofessional from a service company. The lady agent I spoke wasn't friendly either. So anyone looking to buy a breakdown cover from this company think. Thanks

Mick D.

I have been with First call for 3 years and fortunately I had never broken down. But then it happened my car stopped on the way home and that's when I regretted my choice in breakdown cover.
3 hours for the truck to turn up (i wasn't in the middle of nowhere).only 15 mins outside Ipswich and 30 minutes from Colchester.
But before I could even get them to assist I had to answer questions about the service history of my car what level of service and any repairs that had taken place And also agree to give credit card details before any assistance would be offered.
I could go on about customer service the phone calls and letters trying to get my money back but to be honest all you need to know IS NEVER USE THIS COMPANY.

Adrian S.

After reading these reviews I feel I would like to write one too, but a more positive one.
I have been using First Call for many years. I usually have two cars and a motorcycle covered at the same time. This company has rescued one of our stranded vehicles on a number of occasions. Admittedly, you sometimes have a longish wait for the breakdown truck (but these things are unpredictable). We have always had the broken-down vehicle taken to a local garage with no problem.
It is just the 'Roadside' cover I take out, so I can't comment on any other type of cover. But for the price, I would recommend them.

szymon S.

This company is a total joke!! Bought a car that came with insurance for a 6 month from purchase date. Been assured not to worry they will take care of any break downs ect. Unfortunately had some issues that had to be sorted. Car has been sitting in the garage for 3 weeks waiting to their man to come and see the car... Aftet 8 phone calls someone came down just to say that from whole Arnold Clarks list of issues they wont cover any!!! Joke! The total damage £7000 insurance up to £1000 and they wouldn't cover a penny... AVOID!!!

James

Blow out whilst driving on the dual carriageway away A5 in Staffordshire at 60-70mph. Scary stuff. Managed to get to a lay-by. Phone First Call Motor Breakdown and they helped identify my exact location, called a local breakdown company and quoted me an approximate call-out time of 60-90 mins. They arrived in 30 mins. I had a spare tire and they changed it for me in under 10 minutes. Brilliant service, brilliant call handler and professional from beginning to end. Couldn't ask for more at rush hour in horrendous weather.

Ian K.

Unbelievable I broke down and my car was transported to the garage to do the repairs. They authorised hotel accommodation until the date that I was going to be in Europe for. After that date I have no cover in Place. Even though my journey was delayed due to breaking down. They are unwilling to transport my car back to the UK even though that is an option on the policy. I will be making a complaint and taking g legal action.