Need Incredible Hulk strength to unplug Smart from Ecotricity chargers?

Is it just me or is it almost impossible to unplug Smart cars from Ecotricity AC chargers? On 6 April I went to the one at Moto Wetherby Services, and today I visited the one at Ikea Leeds. It's fantastic to have access to these chargers and I can't complain at the price (!) but in two out of two experiences I've found that the force required to unplug the connector from the car is nothing short of mind-boggling.

By that, I mean I'm exceeding the force that I'd expect something to break, probably by a factor of two. In desperation at Wetherby I phoned the helpline and a very polite chap answered the phone almost immediately and told me that essentially I had to just keep pulling. Eventually it "let go" and joy was upon me. He said that he'd come across this before and they were slowly changing the plugs to ones which worked better.

But then exactly the same thing today happened at Ikea Leeds, with a very newly-installed charger. I tried starting and stopping the charger two or three times, to no avail. As far as the car was concerned, the socket was unlocked. After around 10 minutes of seriously major pulling and rocking, the plug eventually came out.

I never have a problem with CYC / evolt chargers (although I'm using the Smart-supplied cable), nor the Smart-supplied 13A Intertek-Lear Level 1 Portable Charger, nor my Bosch wallbox.

Any other users' experience or advice would be very welcome to hear! Attached is a photo of one of Ecotricity's two spanky new chargers at Leeds today. Ikea's website says they're "still coming" but I assure you they're fully working, if you can unplug after charging! I was very happy to meet a friendly Leaf driver there too, who offered moral support.