Is it normal for charging point companies to take money even if the charge didn't work?

I've just taken delivery of my replacement company car, a Skoda Superb 1.4 IV. I had a long trip to make so pulled into a motorway service station. I downloaded the app for the Ecotricity charge point, only to find that my vehicle wouldn't accept the charge. I think this may have had something to do with the plug on the charge point (I noticed when I removed it from my vehicle that it was damaged). Today, I logged onto my bank account to find a payment of £12 pending, so I phoned Ecotricity and they stated that they take £12 out of the account, then refund the difference after three days. Is this the normal practice for all EV charging point companies?

Asked on 14 December 2020 by Steven Couling

Answered by Andrew Brady

Yes, that's pretty typical, unfortunately. We recently heard from an Ionity customer who complained that £134 was taken from their account for two failed charges. It was refunded a few days later. As an aside, it's rarely worth charging a plug-in hybrid like the Superb at a rapid charger. The fastest it can charge is at a rate of 3.6kW – so you'll only gain a few miles of range after an hour's charge. Not only will this work out more expensive than petrol, but you might also return to the car to find a queue of frustrated electric vehicle drivers...

Tags: evs charging points hybrids

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