A NOT SO short update on our British Gas Hive EV charger installation.

[johnb80]

John, maybe you should take the axe you have to grind somewhere else!
You dislike British Gas intensely because they discontinued support for your Hive security cameras. Time to move on don’t you think?

Nope, not really, I think they are perfectly valid points and add balance to the discussion. Maybe it's time for you to face the reality of choosing Hive and BG that it really wasn't a good decision - long install to get working correctly, they're 'working on a solution' for the wireless network and so on. They didn't discontinue support as you put it for the cameras, they stopped them working and for the record, I didn't have Hive cameras only know people affected.
Just out of interest, why do you think BG have offered the 'free' charging?
Could it be that they really want to help people and give money away?
Could it be that they want to encourage the uptake of EV's and home charging?
or
Could it be their sales of Hive and their reputation is in tatters and has fallen off a cliff?
Its not just BG either it's ANY manufacturer who's products will only function / have timers set etc via their servers. Usually it's EVSE's with no display or buttons that are like this. Recently Anderson who made smart looking EVSE's got themselves into difficulties and it looked like all of their were units were about to cease functioning when luckily, at the last minute somebody came to the rescue with a few ££££. In my book, this should not be allowed, youre held at the mercy of the manufacturer and the internet to keep your unit running, thats what went wrong with HIVE CCTV units, they just decided to shut the server down and cease the camera operations. Absolutely unforgiveable, dreadful business practice. One person I know is claiming cash back against the retailer that sold to him. What happens in a couple of years time when thety decide to shut the EVSE server down, all of the customers are stuffed or they go onto a rental scheme where you have to pay to use their service. This is a real no-brainer, avoid at all costs.

 

[DBedford]

Thank you John, you’re not wrong, just like to try and be positive?

Anyway just to let anyone know who may be interested (I know that excluded you John ??) British Gas have fixed their FreeCharge offering for their Hive chargers install prior to November ‘23.

I know it doesn’t amount to a great deal of savings (£400-£500 for the year, based on 8.95p/kWh off-peak) but for us it’s a saving worth having.

So this is the end, until as John rightly says they kill the 3G (10 years from now) or they pull their servers.

But for now it’s working, and if I had the knowledge then I have now (thanks to John and others) , I’m sure I would have switched to another supplier. But I don’t, and have at least enjoyed the fellowships on the Hive forum as we customers exchanged our frustrations.

 

[johnb80]

Thank you John, you’re not wrong, just like to try and be positive?

Emperor's new clothes type?, I prefer to say it as it is, speak as I find and no male cow manure

Anyway just to let anyone know who may be interested (I know that excluded you John ??)

and several others, not true in my case, I have an open mind and do keep an eye on relevant markets,

British Gas have fixed their FreeCharge offering for their Hive chargers install prior to November ‘23.

And I wonder why?????

I know it doesn’t amount to a great deal of savings (£400-£500 for the year, based on 8.95p/kWh off-peak) but for us it’s a saving worth having.

You really should look beyond the glitzy flashing lights of 'free charging' headline.
The agreement is Hive / BG will credit your account for up to 2290 kWh over 12 month against energy used for vehicle charging. You mention 8.95p kWh which I assume is your off peak tariff so the 'saving' by putting up with BG/Hive is £205. The rest of your energy use is charged at the 8.95p during off peak and 29.46p the rest of the time with a 52.92p daily standing charge. There are much better EV tariffs around especially the ones from the top ranking Octopus Energy one eg Intelligent @ 7.5p Off Peak, 29.56 peak and 59.96p standing charge.

So this is the end, until as John rightly says they kill the 3G (10 years from now) or they pull their servers.

10 years is the latest date, the government are saying 2G and 3G MUST be shutdown by 2033. Some operators have announced theyre closing services before the deadline, EE for example have said 'before 2030'. It seems madness to go the route of GPRS in a product knowing full well it has no future. There is of course also the possibility of Hive closing their servers as you say and they do have a track record of this kind of practice. Either option renders the Hive unit inoperable.

But for now it’s working, and if I had the knowledge then I have now (thanks to John and others) , I’m sure I would have switched to another supplier. But I don’t, and have at least enjoyed the fellowships on the Hive forum as we customers exchanged our frustrations.

Let it be a warning to others who may be drawn towards BG and Hive..........

 

[DBedford]

Emperor's new clothes type?, I prefer to say it as it is, speak as I find and no male cow manure

Yes I get that John, thanks for your knowledge.

and several others, not true in my case, I have an open mind and do keep an eye on relevant markets,

And I wonder why?????


You really should look beyond the glitzy flashing lights of 'free charging' headline.
The agreement is Hive / BG will credit your account for up to 2290 kWh over 12 month against energy used for vehicle charging. You mention 8.95p kWh which I assume is your off peak tariff so the 'saving' by putting up with BG/Hive is £205. The rest of your energy use is charged at the 8.95p during off peak and 29.46p the rest of the time with a 52.92p daily standing charge. There are much better EV tariffs around especially the ones from the top ranking Octopus Energy one eg Intelligent @ 7.5p Off Peak, 29.56 peak and 59.96p standing charge.

Yes John fully aware, but as I said I don’t have the knowledge you had when I purchased the charger, but great your banging the drum for Octopus.

10 years is the latest date, the government are saying 2G and 3G MUST be shutdown by 2033. Some operators have announced theyre closing services before the deadline, EE for example have said 'before 2030'. It seems madness to go the route of GPRS in a product knowing full well it has no future. There is of course also the possibility of Hive closing their servers as you say and they do have a track record of this kind of practice. Either option renders the Hive unit inoperable.


Let it be a warning to others who may be drawn towards BG and Hive..........

In closing how many of us are going to be using their current EV charger in 10 years time, very few of us I guess.

Thanks again John have a great weekend.

 

[johnb80]

Yes I get that John, thanks for your knowledge.

If you dont like my opinions, let me know, I have more to choose from

Yes John fully aware, but as I said I don’t have the knowledge you had when I purchased the charger, but great your banging the drum for Octopus.

It is true, I think Octopus Energy is one of the very best suppliers but I'm truly not banging the drum for them, I'm trying to warn others about BG / Hive and their business ethics. It provides balance, you think theyre wonderful and promote them I know theyre not that good and spread the word.

In closing how many of us are going to be using their current EV charger in 10 years time, very few of us I guess.

What makes you say that? why would you be likely to change (I suppose having a Hive may be a reason)?

Thanks again John have a great weekend.

Always a pleasure, you too have a great weekend.

Thank you John, you’re not wrong, just like to try and be positive?

Maybe time to wake up and smell the coffee......

 

[Grriff]

I switched a flat I am selling as an Executor from BG to Octopus. BG have completely screwed up the transfer readings and despite clear letters of complaint insist it is the fault of Octopus. I have never come across such an incompetent Customer Services Dept.
Octopus have been very good.
Avoid BG.

 

[Robf]

Where's the salt

British Gas boss Chris O'Shea: 'I can't justify my pay of £4.5m'

Chris O'Shea, chief executive of Centrica, says he does not set his own pay but it is impossible to justify.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Gadget Geek]

Where's the salt

British Gas boss Chris O'Shea: 'I can't justify my pay of £4.5m'

Chris O'Shea, chief executive of Centrica, says he does not set his own pay but it is impossible to justify.

www.bbc.co.uk

It must be hard, struggling by on £375,000 a month.

 

[johnb80]

It must be hard, struggling by on £375,000 a month.

And I bet he gets free energy.....

 

[Robf]

And I bet he gets free energy.....

Must be performance related.... oh wait.....

 

[Laurence1982]

Unfortunately, John's fears were well-founded. We've had constant charging issues (hive just say it's connectivity at our end -nothing to do with their servers, which I don't believe as we have good reception). The charger has to be power-cycled regularly to regain connection. We plug in every other night just in case, as sometimes it'll look connected but doesn't charge. I don't know if it's connectivity or more that the charger is faulty (it wouldn't dumb-charge until this week -and just because it's done it once doesn't mean I think it's resolved).

Oh and the freecharge credit doesn't seem to be building up (every charge we've done has been freecharge scheduled, and so far the app says I've got 47p credit). So I'm in regular, long, waits on the phone or now, at least, by email as they called me.

 

[DBedford]

Unfortunately, John's fears were well-founded. We've had constant charging issues (hive just say it's connectivity at our end -nothing to do with their servers, which I don't believe as we have good reception). The charger has to be power-cycled regularly to regain connection. We plug in every other night just in case, as sometimes it'll look connected but doesn't charge. I don't know if it's connectivity or more that the charger is faulty (it wouldn't dumb-charge until this week -and just because it's done it once doesn't mean I think it's resolved).

Oh and the freecharge credit doesn't seem to be building up (every charge we've done has been freecharge scheduled, and so far the app says I've got 47p credit). So I'm in regular, long, waits on the phone or now, at least, by email as they called me.

In the Hive app under summary we are only showing1/100 of the true credit amount due. Received December credits in full in our BGas account now just waiting on January's.

 

[Laurence1982]

In the Hive app under summary we are only showing1/100 of the true credit amount due. Received December credits in full in our BGas account now just waiting on Januarys.

Ok that's good/better to know. Still, the charger/system is completely unreliable for us. (didn't charge last night, despite restarting, being on yellow "waiting" etc etc). Right now then car and charger don't even know they're plugged into each other as far as I can tell. Going to power cycle again to see if that sorts it. But I shouldn't have to.

 

[Gadget Geek]

Ok that's good/better to know. Still, the charger/system is completely unreliable for us. (didn't charge last night, despite restarting, being on yellow "waiting" etc etc). Right now then car and charger don't even know they're plugged into each other as far as I can tell. Going to power cycle again to see if that sorts it. But I shouldn't have to.

It doesn't sound as though it's fit for purpose to me. Get a complaint letter template for Consumer Rights Act 2015 and write to them. Give them an oppertunity to fix it within a reasonable timeline or replace it. If none of that works, get a refund and go elsewhere for your charger.

 

[Laurence1982]

It doesn't sound as though it's fit for purpose to me. Get a complaint letter template for Consumer Rights Act 2015 and write to them. Give them an oppertunity to fix it within a reasonable timeline or replace it. If none of that works, get a refund and go elsewhere for your charger.

Haven't actually spoken to EO yet. It's all been Hive (who don't really know anything about it in my opinion). So I've just emailed EO to see what they say. Thanks.

Quick update (did put up a new post separately) - still problematic charging. Still sending updates (full details from plugging in to waking up with no charging having happened, screenshots of the app, etc) to Hive. EO have (obviously) said it's up to Hive and Hive are taking ages to "investigate". I was going to switch to Octopus but just discovered the MG is not part of their Intelligent tariff so that's out the window. However, the BG Electric Driver V5 appears to be a good deal so I've switched to that, with the intention of (hopefully) getting the EO refunded as faulty and then buy an Ohme (highly recommended) - which our independent installer has said they'll come and do for free. Oh and in terms of FreeCharge, at this point, I don't care - if it happens to work and be discounted then great, either way the EV Driver V5 tariff is still better than our current one anyway).

 

[johnb80]

Quick update (did put up a new post separately) - still problematic charging. Still sending updates (full details from plugging in to waking up with no charging having happened, screenshots of the app, etc) to Hive. EO have (obviously) said it's up to Hive and Hive are taking ages to "investigate". I was going to switch to Octopus but just discovered the MG is not part of their Intelligent tariff so that's out the window. However, the BG Electric Driver V5 appears to be a good deal so I've switched to that, with the intention of (hopefully) getting the EO refunded as faulty and then buy an Ohme (highly recommended) - which our independent installer has said they'll come and do for free. Oh and in terms of FreeCharge, at this point, I don't care - if it happens to work and be discounted then great, either way the EV Driver V5 tariff is still better than our current one anyway).

You can switch to Octopus GO, that doesnt have any compatability criteria and is circa 9.5p for 4 hrs overnight. If you want Octopus Intelligent GO then you need either a compatible wallbox or a compatible car. This gives you 7.5p for 6 hours plus additional times under Octopus control.

 

[DBedford]

Quick update (did put up a new post separately) - still problematic charging. Still sending updates (full details from plugging in to waking up with no charging having happened, screenshots of the app, etc) to Hive. EO have (obviously) said it's up to Hive and Hive are taking ages to "investigate". I was going to switch to Octopus but just discovered the MG is not part of their Intelligent tariff so that's out the window. However, the BG Electric Driver V5 appears to be a good deal so I've switched to that, with the intention of (hopefully) getting the EO refunded as faulty and then buy an Ohme (highly recommended) - which our independent installer has said they'll come and do for free. Oh and in terms of FreeCharge, at this point, I don't care - if it happens to work and be discounted then great, either way the EV Driver V5 tariff is still better than our current one anyway).

Are you sure about V5 as the gas standing charge has gone up, just when we will be using it less?

Best kept secret from British Gas!

Already have a Hive EV charger? You could get a 4p/kWh saving on all your EV charging with Hive SmartCharge if you get your electricity from us. Combine this with our Electric Driver tariff, and you could be paying just 4.95p/kWh if you plug in overnight between 12am – 5am.

Electric vehicle energy tariffs - EV charging tariffs - British Gas

Reduce the cost of charging your EV at home with our electric vehicle energy tariffs and take advantage of off-peak pricing and smart charging.

www.britishgas.co.uk

 

[johnb80]

Best kept secret from British Gas!

Already have a Hive EV charger? You could get a 4p/kWh saving on all your EV charging with Hive SmartCharge if you get your electricity from us. Combine this with our Electric Driver tariff, and you could be paying just 4.95p/kWh if you plug in overnight between 12am – 5am.

Electric vehicle energy tariffs - EV charging tariffs - British Gas

Reduce the cost of charging your EV at home with our electric vehicle energy tariffs and take advantage of off-peak pricing and smart charging.

www.britishgas.co.uk

On first sight that looks to be a great price overnight, it's just when you study it in detail it's not so good
The 4.95p only applies when your car is plugged in and charging whereas my favourite supplier their 7.5p kWh applies every night for 6 hours rather than 5. As usual, it's British Gas up to their sly and devious marketing techniques instead of being open and up front.

 

[DBedford]

As a British Gas customer I plug my car in at 6pm and it works for me!

After all we are only talking pennies here, so not a great deal, but as Tesco says....

 

[Shrink Proof]

After all we are only talking pennies here, so not a great deal, but as Tesco says....

...very little helps.