Anyone else being given the runaround by BG

[Lawnmowerman]

Hi George

Copy of my quote:

 

Description of Work Installation of Alfen Un-tethered EV charger with HIVE charging. Installation of Matt:e device with Load Management for EV charger

Costs   Charger + parts £0.00 Installation £0.00 TOTAL (inc. VAT) £0.00 VAT £0.00

For jobs where there was a discount for the OLEV grant applied to your order, please note the grant is not guaranteed at this point.

[Centaur]

Did you just follow the link from Toyota's website for this or has it gone via your dealer?  When I followed the link from the website, I was quoted over £1,000 for a wall charger, excluding the £350 grant, which I was unlikely to get as BG probably wouldn't get to fit it before the end of March.

[Centaur]

Incidentally, what are the advantages / disadvantages of having a tethered or untethered wall charger?

[philip42h]

6 minutes ago, Centaur said:

Incidentally, what are the advantages / disadvantages of having a tethered or untethered wall charger?

Tethered or untethered home charger?

[Centaur]

A useful link - thanks!

[George Dodds]

5 hours ago, Lawnmowerman said:

Hi George

Copy of my quote:

 

Description of Work Installation of Alfen Un-tethered EV charger with HIVE charging. Installation of Matt:e device with Load Management for EV charger

Costs   Charger + parts £0.00 Installation £0.00 TOTAL (inc. VAT) £0.00 VAT £0.00

For jobs where there was a discount for the OLEV grant applied to your order, please note the grant is not guaranteed at this point.

Hi, I had a call from BG this afternoon asking for some photos of my water/gas pipes earth bonding cables, which are in place. Once these are seen to exist then they are giving me a fitting date 🤞

everything seems to take a couple of days for their engineers to answer though!   Getting closer 😀

[Lawnmowerman]

5 hours ago, Centaur said:

Did you just follow the link from Toyota's website for this or has it gone via your dealer?  When I followed the link from the website, I was quoted over £1,000 for a wall charger, excluding the £350 grant, which I was unlikely to get as BG probably wouldn't get to fit it before the end of March.

Initially I had applied via BG and that mentioned the £350 grant leaving a balance of £549. However, after reading on the forum about the potential for free fitting, I asked my dealer about it.

They said it was for new purchases only and I queried this. After 10 minutes the salesman returned and said that whilst it didn't specifically include previously registered cars it didn't specifically exclude them either. He then sent me the link to the offer and I completed it.

The rest is history. 

[Centaur]

1 hour ago, Lawnmowerman said:

Initially I had applied via BG and that mentioned the £350 grant leaving a balance of £549. However, after reading on the forum about the potential for free fitting, I asked my dealer about it.

They said it was for new purchases only and I queried this. After 10 minutes the salesman returned and said that whilst it didn't specifically include previously registered cars it didn't specifically exclude them either. He then sent me the link to the offer and I completed it.

The rest is history. 

Oh, okay - I will be seeing the dealer tomorrow, so I will ask about it then.

[Centaur]

Having spoken to my dealer today, I was told that Toyota would e-mail me directly with the offer (seems a bit optimistic).

In the meanwhile, BG called and offered me a virtual survey for 11th March.  Being that that date is some way ahead, I kept the booking and hoped to resolve the free / cost issue separately.  However, the follow-up e-mail apologised and said that the slot is no longer available and it's been pushed back to the 16th March.

It would therefore seem unlikely in the extreme that the installation will go ahead before the end of March, so I'm hoping that the 'free' offer will continue...

[Lawnmowerman]

Had a message this morning (8am) reminding me of Friday's appointment and a contact if I need to re-schedule.

Can't complain about their comms.

[Lawnmowerman]

Scottish Gas just arrived - fingers crossed it's straightforward. 

[Lawnmowerman]

Installation finished at 3:30pm. Took longer than I anticipated (two engineers) but very professional installation. The lead engineer says he spends most time with installs in Aberdeen (few bob there - oil city). He said there is a big push to get everything over the line for 31st March. Received e-mail midway through the installation asking for evidence of ownership i.e Make & model and an uploaded 'photo of the V5 (or copy of the lease agreement) for the OZEV Grant Submission.

Car charging nicely - took a little while for me to download the app. and sync everything.

Thoroughly chuffed - hope everyone manages to get theirs done.

 

[George Dodds]

14 minutes ago, Lawnmowerman said:

Installation finished at 3:30pm. Took longer than I anticipated (two engineers) but very professional installation. The lead engineer says he spends most time with installs in Aberdeen (few bob there - oil city). He said there is a big push to get everything over the line for 31st March. Received e-mail midway through the installation asking for evidence of ownership i.e Make & model and an uploaded 'photo of the V5 (or copy of the lease agreement) for the OZEV Grant Submission.

Car charging nicely - took a little while for me to download the app. and sync everything.

Thoroughly chuffed - hope everyone manages to get theirs done.

 

Great news, well done. Mine due to be fitted 11th March. Was told I could pick any date in March as engineer was free. I’m in Devon. Enjoy ! 

[Steve169]

Still heard nothing...... 

[George Dodds]

1 hour ago, Steve169 said:

Still heard nothing...... 

I would email and phone them 0333 202 1054 or ev@britishgas.co.uk

Might be worth asking Toyota as well. 

[Centaur]

I have contacted Toyota by sending a message via their online system but have yet to hear anything back at all.  My dealer sent me a link to the BG site but that went almost straight to a payment page before it even got as far as organising a virtual survey.  As it stands, I have gone via the link on Toyota's website and have got as far as getting a virtual survey booked.  I am hoping that, by the time they get to quote for the installation, something will have been resolved with regard to the free wall charger offer but I'm not holding my breath...

[Steve169]

11 hours ago, George Dodds said:

I would email and phone them 0333 202 1054 or ev@britishgas.co.uk

Might be worth asking Toyota as well. 

Tried that a few times and told that I've been added to some list to check progress, never hear anything back 

[jamiem1987]

6 hours ago, Steve169 said:

Tried that a few times and told that I've been added to some list to check progress, never hear anything back 

Same here survey was done mid Jan with all the right results -  heard nothing since

[George Dodds]

1 hour ago, jamiem1987 said:

Same here survey was done mid Jan with all the right results -  heard nothing since

My install due early March. A few days ago when I made the booking over the phone was told my engineer was totally free for the whole of March  I’m in Devon, original physical survey done 28 Jan, maybe worth asking Toyota if they will pay after 31st March.  

[Centaur]

Well, some good news and some bad news!

First the good news - The British Gas EV team called me a week or so ago to arrange a date for a virtual survey, which we agreed, but when the e-mail came through the date had been put back as the slot had already been taken during the course of our conversation.  Having viewed the video link (above), I knew what they would be looking for during the survey, so I tried just photographing all the relevant bits of my house and e-mailing them back.  Success!  I have been called back to say that, other than needing an isolator switch on my meter, the installation could go ahead and the virtual survey was no longer required!

Now the bad news - I still need a link from my dealer to start an order for the free-of-charge offer.  They are quite happy to amalgamate that with my existing order, so as to avoid the need for another survey and to speed things up, but without it they will have to charge me the full cost.  Does anyone know if there is a general link to the free-of-charge offer or is each one specific to a particular vehicle order?

I'd like to get this underway, as there is apparently still a fair chance of getting it fitted before the end of the month to get the £350 grant.  If no free-of-charge offer is actually available, I may as well grab the grant whilst I can.

[George Dodds]

3 hours ago, Centaur said:

Well, some good news and some bad news!

First the good news - The British Gas EV team called me a week or so ago to arrange a date for a virtual survey, which we agreed, but when the e-mail came through the date had been put back as the slot had already been taken during the course of our conversation.  Having viewed the video link (above), I knew what they would be looking for during the survey, so I tried just photographing all the relevant bits of my house and e-mailing them back.  Success!  I have been called back to say that, other than needing an isolator switch on my meter, the installation could go ahead and the virtual survey was no longer required!

Now the bad news - I still need a link from my dealer to start an order for the free-of-charge offer.  They are quite happy to amalgamate that with my existing order, so as to avoid the need for another survey and to speed things up, but without it they will have to charge me the full cost.  Does anyone know if there is a general link to the free-of-charge offer or is each one specific to a particular vehicle order?

I'd like to get this underway, as there is apparently still a fair chance of getting it fitted before the end of the month to get the £350 grant.  If no free-of-charge offer is actually available, I may as well grab the grant whilst I can.

Contact your energy supplier to fit the isolator switch. Mine (Octopus) said could come in around 2 weeks time. I accepted the date, rang them asked and they gave me an earlier date. Came today and put in a new smart meter and added an isolator switch. Fitting a new gas smart meter soon as well. So it might be worth chasing to get the switch fitted asap. EV appointment made for 11th March. Hopefully you still have a whole month. Good luck. 

[Lawnmowerman]

3 hours ago, Centaur said:

Well, some good news and some bad news!

First the good news - The British Gas EV team called me a week or so ago to arrange a date for a virtual survey, which we agreed, but when the e-mail came through the date had been put back as the slot had already been taken during the course of our conversation.  Having viewed the video link (above), I knew what they would be looking for during the survey, so I tried just photographing all the relevant bits of my house and e-mailing them back.  Success!  I have been called back to say that, other than needing an isolator switch on my meter, the installation could go ahead and the virtual survey was no longer required!

Now the bad news - I still need a link from my dealer to start an order for the free-of-charge offer.  They are quite happy to amalgamate that with my existing order, so as to avoid the need for another survey and to speed things up, but without it they will have to charge me the full cost.  Does anyone know if there is a general link to the free-of-charge offer or is each one specific to a particular vehicle order?

I'd like to get this underway, as there is apparently still a fair chance of getting it fitted before the end of the month to get the £350 grant.  If no free-of-charge offer is actually available, I may as well grab the grant whilst I can.

Hi Mark, I posted this early in this thread and following my post Steve169 said that he got the link to work - worth a try-

Your EV charger installation Hi .........., Thanks for asking about our Electric Vehicle (EV) installation service. We're delighted to be working with Toyota to bring affordable, home charge points to a new generation of EV drivers, like you. So let's get ready to hit the road. Why choose British Gas? Our team of engineers offer expert service you can trust All the EV charge points we install come with a warranty, giving you peace of mind Let's start your free quote It'll only take a couple of minutes to answer a few questions about your home. We'll then give you a call to arrange a virtual survey or home visit so that we can finish your quote, and get your charge point installation booked in.

Thanks Your British Gas team

 

	Book your charger install

[Centaur]

Hi William,

Thank you for re-posting the British Gas letter - I missed the link previously, so I had not tried that.  However, it has taken me to the correct web page and I have successfully re-ordered the wall charger with the Toyota cost contribution.  I was told that, if I could submit the new order, they would amalgamate the two orders and so avoid starting the whole process from scratch.  Fingers crossed!

George, I am also with Octopus Energy and so, hopefully, they will be able to fit the isolator fairly quickly too.  They did say, though, that it could take up to 48 hours for them to call me back to arrange a date.  I also asked about fitting a smart meter at the same time, as I was told that it is the same engineers that do both jobs, so I am hoping to get that done too.

[George Dodds]

6 hours ago, Centaur said:

Hi William,

Thank you for re-posting the British Gas letter - I missed the link previously, so I had not tried that.  However, it has taken me to the correct web page and I have successfully re-ordered the wall charger with the Toyota cost contribution.  I was told that, if I could submit the new order, they would amalgamate the two orders and so avoid starting the whole process from scratch.  Fingers crossed!

George, I am also with Octopus Energy and so, hopefully, they will be able to fit the isolator fairly quickly too.  They did say, though, that it could take up to 48 hours for them to call me back to arrange a date.  I also asked about fitting a smart meter at the same time, as I was told that it is the same engineers that do both jobs, so I am hoping to get that done too.

Hi. That’s great news. Yes, Octopus told me 48 hours but they rang me back the same day. I then got an email saying we are coming to fit a meter, I panicked and said no it’s a switch. They said it’s the same team, so no worries really. Sounds all good. Well done. Engineer said it was easier to fit a new meter as well. 

[Hayzee]

I have now received the £0 quote which I've accepted. However on calling BG they tell me  that at the moment there are no free installation dates during this month in my area.

Now I have to wait for them to call me back in a few days, which may mean they will ask me to stump up the £350. I'll find out if Toyota are covering it or not.