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

[mg4mc]

My Octopus rates are: 39.48p peak, 7.50p off peak, and 49.77p standing charge

 

[Gomev]

My Octopus rates are: 39.48p peak, 7.50p off peak, and 49.77p standing charge

I miss my 7.5p rate, the current 9.5p feels so expensive.

 

[DBedford]

British Gas charge point booked for installation 20th June (could have been a week early but we are away).

Just under three months since I placed the order. Some things just can’t be rushed ?.

Will let you know once tested.

 

[Cocijo]

British Gas charge point booked for installation 20th June (could have been a week early but we are away).

Just under three months since I placed the order. Some things just can’t be rushed ?.

Will let you know once tested.

What make wall box do BG use?

 

[DBedford]

Alfen Eve Single S-line​

 

[Cocijo]

Looks nice and neat.

 

[DBedford]

Smart meter installation cancelled by British Gas, 20 minutes before the end of their 4 hour visit window.

As a British Gas customer we can't sign up to their EV tariff without THEIR smart meter being installed. We currently have an gen2 Octopus smart meter, and ev charge point being installed the week after we come back from leave.

Why is getting anything done in this country so difficult ?? Silent scream ?

 

[Cocijo]

I have found BG to be so disorganised and unreliable- even their engineers are really critical of the whole operation. If it wasn’t for the brand Identity that most people associate with Britain and being British they would be out of business in a flash.

 

[DBedford]

I have found BG to be so disorganised and unreliable- even their engineers are really critical of the whole operation. If it wasn’t for the brand Identity that most people associate with Britain and being British they would be out of business in a flash.

Totally agree.

 

[Ruislip Resident]

Smart meter installation cancelled by British Gas, 20 minutes before the end of their 4 hour visit window.

As a British Gas customer we can't sign up to their EV tariff without THEIR smart meter being installed. We currently have an gen2 Octopus smart meter, and ev charge point being installed the week after we come back from leave.

Why is getting anything done in this country to difficult ?? Silent scream ?

They cancelled mine twice ( two separate occasions) each within 24 hours of installation. Each time I was given a £30 credit to my next bill as compensation. Make sure you get this.

 

[DBedford]

New British Gas smart meter being installed this coming Monday , charging point installation Tuesday, collecting our new ZS LRT in red Wednesday. Thursday get use to the car, and Friday off to Cornwall for a weeks holiday in St Austell.

Now here’s to it all going to plan?

 

[Cocijo]

Great weather forecast too.

 

[DBedford]

Great weather forecast too.

Smart meters change
British Gas (BG) are in today to change our old Octopus gen 2 smart meters for BG units. This is being done as I was told on the phone by BG it was needed to use BG EV tariff. !!!

The technician today told me he is only replacing like for like, so didn’t know why it’s being done. (My head hurts!!!)

This is why the country is lagging behind the rest of the world. Poor ineffective management. ?

 

[Lguk]

A smets2 meter is a smets2 meter.. I could understand if it was smets1 and they insisted on a new one as they can't read from it, but this seems to be completely pointless.

 

[Ian Key]

I had a similar experience with E.ON. Asked them to install their EV charger and fit smart meters which they said would be no problem and they could do it all at the same time. A few days later National Grid turned up to change the main supply fuse so it looked like it was going to happen.

A week before the instillation date I got a phone call saying they were worried that the backing board might be asbestos and I would need to get it tested. Luckily I found a local company who could do it that day for £110 and supply the test certificate a few days later. Because of this the instillation date was put back a few more weeks.

I got a phone call from E.ON the day before instillation checking that I was expecting them and I double checked they were installing the smart gas and electric meters and the EV wall charger.
The electrician turned up took one look at the backing board and said she couldn't install the charger because of the asbestos backing board and she's not qualified to install smart meters anyway and went off to her van to make a phone call. I phoned E.ON and asked what the flip was going on, why had they sent someone who couldn't do the job etc.etc. She then came back in and said she's been told to stop installing their EV chargers due to a manufacturing problem and drove off with a smell of BS in the air

I cancelled the EV charger fron E.ON and got a local installer to fit a Zappi. Two months later the smart meters were fitted.

Moral of mine and DBedford's experience. Don't have your EV wall charger fitted by your electricity supplier.

 

[DBedford]

I had a similar experience with E.ON. Asked them to install their EV charger and fit smart meters which they said would be no problem and they could do it all at the same time. A few days later National Grid turned up to change the main supply fuse so it looked like it was going to happen.

A week before the instillation date I got a phone call saying they were worried that the backing board might be asbestos and I would need to get it tested. Luckily I found a local company who could do it that day for £110 and supply the test certificate a few days later. Because of this the instillation date was put back a few more weeks.

I got a phone call from E.ON the day before instillation checking that I was expecting them and I double checked they were installing the smart gas and electric meters and the EV wall charger.
The electrician turned up took one look at the backing board and said she couldn't install the charger because of the asbestos backing board and she's not qualified to install smart meters anyway and went off to her van to make a phone call. I phoned E.ON and asked what the flip was going on, why had they sent someone who couldn't do the job etc.etc. She then came back in and said she's been told to stop installing their EV chargers due to a manufacturing problem and drove off with a smell of BS in the air

I cancelled the EV charger fron E.ON and got a local installer to fit a Zappi. Two months later the smart meters were fitted.

Moral of mine and DBedford's experience. Don't have your EV wall charger fitted by your electricity supplier.

Update 20/6/23:

Electrician has turned up to install the EV charger. But he can not terminate it as there is no isolation point installed !!! After all the surveys British Gas have done and two sites visits by the network provider and meter installer (not that it would be their job to recognise the need for an isolation switch).

Just had it with British Gas ?. Company time again!!!!

The lady at British Gas to whom I made the complaint was extremely pleasant, but clearly BG don’t have effective quality procedures in place to manage domestic EV charger installs.

 

[DBedford]

A smets2 meter is a smets2 meter.. I could understand if it was smets1 and they insisted on a new one as they can't read from it, but this seems to be completely pointless.

Could not agree more Lguk, gen 2 smart meters ‘should’ be able to be read by all suppliers. I have made this point with British Gas more than once and confirmed again when making my complaint today (20/6/23).

 

[mg4mc]

As should "gen 1 secure" meters: I didn't have to have my g1 secure meters changed when I switched to Octopus, they just picked up the readings from them fine.

 

[johnb80]

As should "gen 1 secure" meters: I didn't have to have my g1 secure meters changed when I switched to Octopus, they just picked up the readings from them fine.

Same here, they have since updated me to SMETS 2 meters though.

Update 20/6/23:

Electrician has turned up to install the EV charger. But he can not terminate it as there is no isolation point installed !!! After all the surveys British Gas have done and two sites visits by the network provider and meter installer (not that it would be their job to recognise the need for an isolation switch).

Just had it with British Gas ?. Company time again!!!!

The lady at British Gas to whom I made the complaint was extremely pleasant, but clearly BG don’t have effective quality procedures in place to manage domestic EV charger installs.

British Gas are horrendous, they couldnt organise a party in a brewery. I find their tariffs are expensive too when compared to the likes of Octopus.

 

[DBedford]

Once things have settled down I may look to change.