[Ascot17]

I am sure this sort of question had been asked and answered before, but after a search I can't find an appropriate thread!

I have an EV on order, and will be doing most of my charging at home for my usual 80-mile round-trip commute to work. On the occasions when I go further afield, I am aware that there are multiple charging networks with multiple ways of paying and registering.

I would prefer to use contactless payments via my phone.

Which networks out there won't allow me to use a contactless payment without first registering, and which are worth signing up to before I go on a longer journey?

(The car is not a Tesla, and I am in the Midlands. My longer journeys would be generally be south towards Oxfordshire or Sussex).

Thanks.

 

[teepee]

Have a look at Zap Map and see which charging networks there are on your usual longer trip routes - that would be a good starting point. As you will be doing most of your cahrging at home I guess the key issue for you will be convenience rather than cost of charging? Instavolt has a good reputation, but there are cheaper networks.

Enjoy.

 

[Hitstirrer]

I would recommend that you use Instavolt as your prime selection. They are usually fitted at least with two per location and sometimes more. They are contactless and highly reliable. Much depends on your leisure travels and distances whether there will be Instavolts available but they have pretty good coverage. There are others that offer contactless but don't have the same reliability. Still worth listing as plan B options of course but it would be a rare event to need one if an Instavolt was plan A.

 

[DSLRed]

Instavolt and as a backup, Osprey. Of course, it depends if they are convenient on your route. But if you veer towards these 2, particularly Instavolt, you'll avoid most of the frustrations.

 

[E7EV]

There is an 8 stall InstaVolt charging hub at Banbury, which should cover your Oxfordshire visits.

 

[Ascot17]

Thanks for the replies.
I have downloaded the Instavolt app. Are there any benefits to registering or can I just turn up at a charger and use a contactless payment?

 

[DSLRed]

Thanks for the replies.
I have downloaded the Instavolt app. Are there any benefits to registering or can I just turn up at a charger and use a contactless payment?

You can just turn and pay contact less, so there aren't major benefits to downloading the app. However, the only issue with contactless cards is that occasionally, the bank refuse authorisation because you have to occasionally confirm it's you with the card by using your pin. If that next transaction happens to be when you are stood by a charger you could be in trouble if that is the only card on you. For that reason, the app is a useful backup method of payment, but that's possibly the only reason I can think of.

 

[Simon..Hewison]

However, the only issue with contactless cards is that occasionally, the bank refuse authorisation because you have to occasionally confirm it's you with the card by using your pin. If that next transaction happens to be when you are stood by a charger you could be in trouble if that is the only card on you. For that reason, the app is a useful backup method of payment, but that's possibly the only reason I can think of.

The card issuer should have as part of the transastion request information like 'this device allows the following methods of authentication...' which for the Instavolt devices should be contactless payment only, no pin pad available. If the bank decide to decline the transaction because they randomly decide to request a pin, knowing full well that the device doesn't have a pin pad, then the bank are being stupid.
If you're in a normal bricks and mortar retail, then the payment terminal which does do chip-and-pin as well as contactless - and in this case the bank might reasonably occasionally send a response like 'contactless payment decline, request chip and pin'. If the bank decide that there's a lot of unauthenticated contactless payments and they really want to make sure that it's a genuine cardholder who knows the pin, then they might sensibly defer that check until the cardholder is at a terminal that supports it. Only if you only use the card for contactless-only payments would it normally be an issue, because it would be an unusual behaviour to only ever use a payment card on the exact same sort of terminal that doesn't have a PIN pad.

 

[Bill N]

@Ascot17 - I use the Instavolt mobile application, its really simple to use and I would recommend that you use it too. Enter this referral code jqh79 on signup and we will both receive a £5 account credit after your first charge. Click here InstaVolt - Rapid Charging Network UK to install the app and signup today.

 

[Dion Rust]

Thanks for the replies.
I have downloaded the Instavolt app. Are there any benefits to registering or can I just turn up at a charger and use a contactless payment?

I’ve found a number of times the contactless pad on the machine isn’t working so the app and registered account is always handy if you need to initiate a charge.

 

[mad_rich]

Realistically, I think it's worth signing up for as many services as you can reasonably be bothered to do.

Sat on the sofa, with a glass of wine in hand and something on the telly is a perfect time and place to do it. Much better than a gold, wet night fighting bad signal and a phone that has decided to log you out of the App Store. Make sure you keep the passwords somewhere safe - the apps do log you out through lack of use.

 

[EdH]

Don't buy an EV unless you have a 2nd ICE car in your household. The charging infrastructure is still too fractured. Membership schemes will eventually die out and you will only need a credit or debit card to pay and there will be enough reliable charging facilities directly off motorways and main trunk roads. Until then, long journeys, are fraught with difficulties to the extent that its easier to take an ICE. The good point is that if you have an EV and an ICEV then it is probable that 90% of your miles will be in the EV so you can get a nice diesel cruiser for those long trips and keep it clean and polished on your drive most of the time.😁

 

[stecon29]

Don't buy an EV unless you have a 2nd ICE car in your household. The charging infrastructure is still too fractured. Membership schemes will eventually die out and you will only need a credit or debit card to pay and there will be enough reliable charging facilities directly off motorways and main trunk roads. Until then, long journeys, are fraught with difficulties to the extent that its easier to take an ICE. The good point is that if you have an EV and an ICEV then it is probable that 90% of your miles will be in the EV so you can get a nice diesel cruiser for those long trips and keep it clean and polished on your drive most of the time.😁

Not much use to us company car drivers who do 20k + a year (Normally) don't think the boss will let me have two vehicles and I don't want the BIK of an ICE vehicle either

 

[Bill N]

Just for balance, I strongly disagree with the suggestion that having an EV without also having an ICE car is a bad idea, and that long journeys are fraught with difficulties.

I did numeorous long trips (over 160 miles) in a 38kWh i3, and with just 3 pin charging at home, without a single significant problem, including two or three particularly long trips from London to Scotland and back, London to Wales and back, and London to the Rhine Valley and back.

The network has come on leaps and bounds since I first got an EV in early 2019. Long trips are mostly a piece of cake now. Just use ABRP and avoid the well known less dependable chargers. It really isn’t rocket science.

 

[Bill N]

Inside the industry: It's time to cut charging networks some slack | Autocar

Sure, the shortcomings are many, but between market forces, amalgamation and opportunity, our much-maligned networks are gunning along pretty well

www.autocar.co.uk

 

[Ascot17]

Realistically, I think it's worth signing up for as many services as you can reasonably be bothered to do.

Sat on the sofa, with a glass of wine in hand and something on the telly is a perfect time and place to do it. Much better than a gold, wet night fighting bad signal and a phone that has decided to log you out of the App Store. Make sure you keep the passwords somewhere safe - the apps do log you out through lack of use.

I understand this philosophy, but can't understand why some charging providers require a sign-up.
I can go into my local supermarket and buy a loaf of bread using a contactless payment on my phone, without being a member of their loyalty scheme. I know of no retail store apart from Costco which requires membership. Why should charging providers be any different ?

Don't buy an EV unless you have a 2nd ICE car in your household. The charging infrastructure is still too fractured. Membership schemes will eventually die out and you will only need a credit or debit card to pay and there will be enough reliable charging facilities directly off motorways and main trunk roads. Until then, long journeys, are fraught with difficulties to the extent that its easier to take an ICE. The good point is that if you have an EV and an ICEV then it is probable that 90% of your miles will be in the EV so you can get a nice diesel cruiser for those long trips and keep it clean and polished on your drive most of the time.😁

I will be leasing an EV via a salary sacrifice scheme at work. For the tax savings alone it is a no-brainer.
We will still have ICEV in the household and there will still be some journeys where it might be a lot simpler to use that.

 

[Orrery]

Yep, just got rid of my ICE. Nearly got caught out on Sunday ...

The wife had her jab booked for the afternoon and we had to get back from my Mum's in the Peak district - 110 miles to Bedford. The Leaf 40 should have done it (and has many times before), and it was going well down the M1 despite the near freezing temperature, until I turned onto the A14 and hit the headwind and my range collapsed, and as I approached Rushden the A6 was closed - aaaargh! I diverted to Rushden Lakes and ended up on the slowest post I've ever used - marked 7kW, but it can't have been delivering anywhere near that. In the end we were running out of time to get the jab, so we had to move off - and just made it. Squeeky bum time!

 

[gothitjulie]

Driving to Sussex would probably mean using the Ionity chargers at Cobham Services which are expensive, the Wray Lane charger off M25 J8 (lovely view) which is CYC, or, charge on the A24 which means Shell Recharge (Horsham & not very reliable single charger) or BP Pulse (Ashington), or the A23 which means lots of chargers in Crawley (Shell/Tesco/BP) or use the chargers at Pease Potage, or the A22 BP Pulse (Godstone & Felbridge).
For Oxfordshire & further south then M40 J11 Instavolt's bank of 8 chargers are currently going to be a favourite.

So, tot that lot up & you'll be wanting a debit card or credit card unless you want to use the BP & Shell chargers a lot elsewhere, and the PodPoint & Ecotricity apps as back ups. Don't count on the CYC charger even though the Wray Lane one is fairly reliable compared to other CYC chargers in the south.

 

[Electrickery]

Don't buy an EV unless you have a 2nd ICE car in your household. The charging infrastructure is still too fractured. Membership schemes will eventually die out and you will only need a credit or debit card to pay and there will be enough reliable charging facilities directly off motorways and main trunk roads. Until then, long journeys, are fraught with difficulties to the extent that its easier to take an ICE. The good point is that if you have an EV and an ICEV then it is probable that 90% of your miles will be in the EV so you can get a nice diesel cruiser for those long trips and keep it clean and polished on your drive most of the time.😁

That isn't great advice to be honest. Insuring, taxing and maintaining a second vehicle isn't really a sensible option for those that don't need 2 cars. It does depend on the sort of distances you travel but we rarely would do a trip over 200 miles so an EV is fine, would require only one stop max and we'd aim to stop at around 35-40% so would always have fall back options should a charger not be available.
We barely use the one especially at the moment. It does baffle me though the number of my neighbours who have 2 cars, when most of them either work from home or get the train. In fact every single neighbour who has 2 adults living there have 2 cars! Some of those neighbours have actually gone out and got a second car since lockdown. Bizarre.

 

[EdH]

The advice was for people with two cars. If you only have one then I most definitely would not get an EV. Pretty much thats what I said.
If anyone with one vehicle in a household is looking at replacing it with an EV, my advice is not to unless you never intend to charge away fro home.