There have been a lot of alerts on the app recently about plunge prices 15+% discounts with some of the charging providers. Maybe you caught that by accident?

 

I got my bill for 2 charging sessions from last week today.

But there is something odd about it, for a change not one I'm unhappy with.

As you all probably know using my App or RFID card that is linked to my domestic Octopus account I should get circa 8% discount when Electroverse has an agreement with the CPO. My bill suggets I got closer to 23.2% Being mathematically challenged (or thick) I thought I would ask those more mathematically gifted to check my work. As my poor old maths teachers would say, with no great expectation, show your workings.

I think the real bill should have been £70.74 inc vat if 8% discount on energy only was applied.

So, here goes my effort. The energy costs at the non discounted rate is £64.08. Discount 8% = £5.13 = £58.95 + VAT @ 20% = £70.74.

Thinking laterally about this it can't be that Octopus has given me that huge discount, doesn't make sense, we would have heard about this. The only thing that makes sense is that the VAT is of course being charged at the domestic level 5%, not commercial at 20%.

If I'm right and the maths does in fact check out, it makes using an Electroverse card attached to your home account a no brainer for in the wild charging. I assume all the other RFID cards attached to wild charging charge VAT at 20%???

View attachment 215556

Working it another way it seems correct at circa 8% discount.

eg - 79p per kWh minus 8% = 72.68p ( Including VAT )
72.68 x 44.285 = £32.186 ( Including VAT )

50p minus 8% = 46p ( Including VAT)
46 x 58.2 = £26.77 ( Including VAT )

Add together and that equals £58.96

But their rounding up and down came to £59.04 - near enough to be approx 8% discount on both sessions. The difference being that VAT on 79p is a bit higher than VAT on 72.68p, the discounted cost.

I think that your error involves the VAT confusion as the 50p and 79p already include 20% VAT, and taking it off and then back on after the discount is applied has distorted your workings.

But I think you got approx 8% discount.

 

Working it another way it seems correct at circa 8% discount.

eg - 79p per kWh minus 8% = 72.68p ( Including VAT )
72.68 x 44.285 = £32.186 ( Including VAT )

50p minus 8% = 46p ( Including VAT)
46 x 58.2 = £26.77 ( Including VAT )

Add together and that equals £58.96

But their rounding up and down came to £59.04 - near enough to be approx 8% discount on both sessions. The difference being that VAT on 79p is a bit higher than VAT on 72.68p, the discounted cost.

I think that your error involves the VAT confusion as the 50p and 79p already include 20% VAT, and taking it off and then back on after the discount is applied has distorted your workings.

But I think you got approx 8% discount.

Do Electorverse still provide per session receipts via the app? I haven't had to use it since May, but in those they actually give you the specific discount amount and value for that specific session.

 

My app's back, and yes, it gives better details of a recent charging session, shown misleadingly in the Octopus energy bill but properly in the Electroverse app. My notes in brackets and italic. The advertised Electroverse rate was £2 connection fee plus 48p/kWh after applying my 5% discount.

In the app,
Energy £11.35 [that's 47.6p/kWh after the 5% discount]
Connection £2.00 [No discount on connection charge]
Discount -$0.56 [5% of cost of energy]
total £12.78 [that's 47.6p/kWh after the discount]

In the bill, this shows as
Cost per kWh: £0.50 [That's 60p/kWh including VAT]
kWh used: 22.6900
Connection, parking, or additional fees: £0.00 [more helpful to show £2.00 minus VAT here]
Total (excl. VAT): £10.65 [i.e. £12.78 including VAT]

Also - Electroverse customer support replied to say their "platform was temporarily down" and is now up.

 

That explains it. The discount is applied after vat.