Anyone else being given the runaround by BG

[Ravirules]

Just had brand new metering fitted (gas and electric), and now BG are asking for additional information / requirements not previously asked for!  They really are taking the proverbial now…

Why do they not want to fit these EV chargers via Toyota?

[Beyondzerocustomerservice]

BG refused to install a ‘free’ charger in my property after a survey, saying my theoretical load was too high. 
Toyota refused to compensate me. Pod Point installed a charger at my expense with no issues within a couple of weeks. As said before, BG appear to look for reasons to not install. Extremely annoying, and has definitely left me with negative impressions of both BG and Toyota.

[Hayzee]

1 hour ago, Beyondzerocustomerservice said:

BG refused to install a ‘free’ charger in my property after a survey, saying my theoretical load was too high. 

That's exactly what they said to me even though the virtual survey engineer gave the go ahead originally. BG seem to think that at some point you will switch on every single electrical device in your home which would be a greater demand than your master fuse.

Anyway, I argued that the additional Matte box they install is there for that very reason (to temporarily disable the wall charger if an overload is likely) and I had this confirmed by my DNO Western Power.

A discussion (argument) ensued between the original BG survey engineer and the first scheduled BG installation engineer and then the second attempt installation engineer.

To cut a long story short, BG eventually installed my charger 6 months after the original survey after I had my meter and master fuse upgraded to 85A by the DNO. But I had to keep on calling them to get the process moving. I almost gave up a couple of times. I've now been using it successfully for the last 5 months.

[Cyker]

2 hours ago, Beyondzerocustomerservice said:

BG refused to install a ‘free’ charger in my property after a survey, saying my theoretical load was too high. 
Toyota refused to compensate me. Pod Point installed a charger at my expense with no issues within a couple of weeks. As said before, BG appear to look for reasons to not install. Extremely annoying, and has definitely left me with negative impressions of both BG and Toyota.

That sucks... I thought I'd read further up the thread that Toyota agreed to off-set some of the cost when someone got another company to install their charge-point, although I can't remember if that had extenuating circumstances...

 

1 hour ago, Hayzee said:

That's exactly what they said to me even though the virtual survey engineer gave the go ahead originally. BG seem to think that at some point you will switch on every single electrical device in your home which would be a greater demand than your master fuse.

Anyway, I argued that the additional Matte box they install is there for that very reason (to temporarily disable the wall charger if an overload is likely) and I had this confirmed by my DNO Western Power.

A discussion (argument) ensued between the original BG survey engineer and the first scheduled BG installation engineer and then the second attempt installation engineer.

To cut a long story short, BG eventually installed my charger 6 months after the original survey after I had my meter and master fuse upgraded to 85A by the DNO. But I had to keep on calling them to get the process moving. I almost gave up a couple of times. I've now been using it successfully for the last 5 months.

It's a bit worrying that they don't all seem to be singing from the same hymn sheet...!

Glad you got it sorted, but I must admit this is not encouraging me to get an EV!!!

Esp. since my future plans will muddy the waters even more...! (I want to eventually get a solar system that does not feed back into the grid, so I can have more solar panels than the DNO would otherwise allow, but I want the solar panels and the grid to drive a Battery which powers the house, so the grid can still keep supplying power if the sun disappears - How the EV charger would fit into all that I don't even understand at this point!)

[Ravirules]

It’s been a LONG battle, but I now have an email from BG saying they will fit the ‘free charger’ for a few hundred £ (don’t ask). The ‘extra potential load’ was an issue..but was complete boxxxxks’ tbh.

After my 7th email of the day.!…had they not agreed to the installation, I would have raised a complaint, and would have been more than willing to go to small claims court….let’s see what happens from here. 
I did notice that BG now offer their own EV installation service for just under £1000😱….I’m guessing the Toyota deal pays them much less…..😉.

Not impressed with Toyota either….every issue I have with Toyota UK is deflected back to my dealer …but it’s nothing to do with my dealer…. Toyota UK have a lot to answer for, but appear spineless to me.

 

[Hayzee]

58 minutes ago, Ravirules said:

The ‘extra potential load’ was an issue..but was complete boxxxxks’ tbh.

Absolutely!

[Roger_N]

10 hours ago, Ravirules said:

It’s been a LONG battle, but I now have an email from BG saying they will fit the ‘free charger’ for a few hundred £ (don’t ask). The ‘extra potential load’ was an issue..but was complete boxxxxks’ tbh.

Do you know what your incoming cable is rated at?

There is usually a label in the box where the meter is, old properties can be 60amps to 80amps most new ones are now 100amps, if they did not say what the extra money was for it may need some work to get it up comply with the regulations.

just a thought.

[nlee]

17 hours ago, Cyker said:

That sucks... I thought I'd read further up the thread that Toyota agreed to off-set some of the cost when someone got another company to install their charge-point, although I can't remember if that had extenuating circumstances...

That might have been me if it was a while ago, and the circumstances were a bit different.

Mine was before they offered the "free" charger and also before the car was listed on the government grant list (which as we know is no longer relevant). They offered to give me the equivalent of the grant to the BG charger. I said that wasn't my charger of my choice and they agreed to contribute the same towards the one I wanted to install.

So I missed out on a "free" charger but got the charger I wanted with a contribution and paid the rest. Probably worked out for the best in the end with all the hassle people have had.

[Centaur]

I got my wall charger fitted in April, with a two year warranty.  I'm starting to wonder if I will take delivery of my car before the warranty expires and I have had a chance to test it...

[Mike2222]

On 12/15/2022 at 5:45 PM, Cyker said:

(I want to eventually get a solar system that does not feed back into the grid, so I can have more solar panels than the DNO would otherwise allow, but I want the solar panels and the grid to drive a battery which powers the house, so the grid can still keep supplying power if the sun disappears - How the EV charger would fit into all that I don't even understand at this point!)

That's relatively straightforward, in solar/home Battery terms, however the major issue presently (and for at least the last 18months) is accessing the components required for this from China (particularly batteries). I've had a order in for well over a year, and no sign of arrival yet. My leccy has said all you need for the dno to be hapoy to do is ensure that your inverter set up is software limited so as not to exceed a potential 3.68kw export to the grid (that's from memory, but if slightly off, the figure is very close to that), and that's whether you have any intention of exporting or not (ie more viable to hold onto the energy with a Battery like you mention, as export rates are a pittance. 

 

The complicated bit is deciding whether you want the setup to allow 'islanding', ie if there's a power cut, do you want the Battery to power your house? And if yes, how much of your house (you can have the entire house, just a second fuse board of "essential" circuits, or just a single/double socket). You will be limited by the potential discharge rate of your battery/inverter tech. Most brands run around 2.5-5kw, and it's essentially only tesla powerwall2 (caveat - last time I checked) that can belt out enough to potentially accommodate a EVSE, let alone EVSE plus average house load (I think P2 can do 10kw peak, but not sure how long can maintain this for without looking it up again). So unless you've got megabucks stuffed in your mattress, you're basically forced to have the charger "grid side" of your battery/inverter isolation switch, and as a result will be inoperable in a blackout. You could potentially still charge off a 3-pin, but as this will draw just shy of 3kw, could also run you very close to maximum. 

 

With or without isolating/islanding, however, you would be able to set up your big solar array to charge the car with excess energy when low house demand/battery full etc. Currently the Zappi brand of charger is best known for this, but a number of other brands are planning on offering this as well in future. 

 

But in a half-hearted attempt to stay vaguely on topic - I too find BG frustrating. 

[Ravirules]

On 12/16/2022 at 8:42 AM, Roger_N said:

Do you know what your incoming cable is rated at?

There is usually a label in the box where the meter is, old properties can be 60amps to 80amps most new ones are now 100amps, if they did not say what the extra money was for it may need some work to get it up comply with the regulations.

just a thought.

Hi, I have brand new metering and 100amps.

I will put in a full report once the charger is actually fitted. Like Centaur, I just hope I get the car…it’s looking like a very long wait!

[Ravirules]

Charger now installed and working very well (albeit on a Tesla). I paid extra to have the charger located discreetly, and also had a surge protection device fitted (not sure whether that was needed tbh)….the good news is, it’s 4X faster than using a 3-pin socket.

The engineer did mention that he’s doing a few Toyotas of late…one customer who ordered a PHEV in January has just taken delivery this week….🤞things are starting to move now!