Apps and Charge Cards - which do you recommend?

[Gomev]

Are you saying InstaVolt, Geniepoint, osprey, Fastned and Ionity , no app or card needed?

I am. I still haven't deleted the apps though that I too thought I would originally need, kinda just in case, but never needed them yet.

 

[Gomev]

What about Shell Recharge, is that any good?

Contactless too and always worked fine.

 

[jackois]

Going down started at 100%, 153 miles arrived at 34%. Coming back started at 81% arrived with 37% filled up to 90%, arrived Leeds with 26%.
Banbury Cross retail park about 1.5 - 2 miles off the M40. Only refreshment places are pizza hut, used the loos there no bother and no order. Got coffee from Costa and loos there too.
As mentioned before these are speedy chargers the Ospreys and by the time I'd drunk my sit in coffee the car was up to 90% whoops. ACC at 65 and 70 for last 60 miles home. Journey down no-one else on them, coming back 1 or 2 others on as well.

Brilliant, thanks.

I'll give that a try on my next run to Leeds.

 

[MikeW]

Thanks, but I'm not a customer.

You don't need to be an Octopus customer to use their Electric Juice card (now called Electric Universe or Electroverse)

 

[Fluffykins]

Precisely the sort of problem petrol and diesel users DONT have and which is one of the biggest barriers to the uptake of electric vehicles

 

[JodyS21]

I’m always shocked at the amount of people going on about needing charging apps.
There’s not many rapid chargers around that you can’t just use contact less card payment on. It’s been law for about 2 years now that all new chargers installed had to take contactless.
Prices are a bit annoying that you pretty much have no choice but to pay whatever it is where you plan on charging en-route, but tbh the vast majority of folks hardly ever charge away from home so it doesn’t really matter.

 

[RobC]

Only if the Shell chargers have been hooked up to the grid (which can take up to 18 months after they've been installed, because Shell don't bother to book grid upgrades early enough! )

Shell Fulham Road London as the 1st all electric only charging station. 175 KW.

 

[jackois]

Just a small point with reference to contactless.

If you are planning a trip away, make sure that you've used your card as a chip and pin before you set off. I'm sure I was caught out trying to use a charger with contactless, which wouldn't respond and was then asked for a pin at my next use ofthe card. Most contactless chargers don't have the keypad, I've found.

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

Shell Fulham Road London as the 1st all electric only charging station. 175 KW.

It's not the first such site.
Shell Fulham Road opened this January.
Gridserve Braintree opened in December 2020, over a year earlier. 90kW & 350kW

 

[Gomev]

Precisely the sort of problem petrol and diesel users DONT have and which is one of the biggest barriers to the uptake of electric vehicles

If EV charging were as simple and convenient and evenly priced as filling with petrol or diesel, I would say just the debit and/or credit card of your choice.

But it isn't and seems to have been deliberately designed that way.

I wont even think about using the words "Price" and "Gouging" in the same sentence. Or anywhere on this post.

Yo are very persistent in your views regarding rapid charging since joining this forum with regard to your displeasure at having to use apps for rapid charging on longer journeys.

Persistence is a virtue and to be admired, however in this case you don't seem to have kept track of the situation and the information supplied by many on here that apps really are not 'needed' anymore. They may be useful to have as a comfort blanket, or to monitor the charge whilst away from the car, but all the major rapids do NOT require anything more than a contactless card, exactly as you want.

All contactless:
Gridserve
Osprey
Shell
Ionity
Instavolt
Geniepoint
Fastned

plus I'm sure others can add more.

With regards to pricing, petrol/diesel is hardly evenly priced, I have weekly alerts from a website petrolprices.com that advise of the various prices locally, and have you seen the price differential between supermarkets and motorway services or country locations.
Rapid operators may have slightly different pricing amongst themselves (not a cartel then ) but at least they are consistent with their prices regardless of location.

 

[Deleted member 9152]

I'm doing my first long UK motorway trip London to Manchester shortly in my 2021 MG ZS Exc. Which Apps should I load on my phone, or chargecards to keep in my wallet?
I appreciate that this newbie question has probably already been answered a hundred times, but I'm looking for your latest advice, please.
(Oh, I can feel the range anxiety already....)

I go for costs. Gridserve to me is very good. The 150kwh charging point is fantastic. The 50 or 60 kWh a little slower. You use your debit card. Why pay 66p to 69p per kw when you can have it for 48p to 58p per kw. InstaVolt and osprey have stabbed themselves in the back … and as for that German company who would have you pay a monthly fee to use their service. Can’t say what I feel here.

 

[Timdevnewbie]

Just a small point with reference to contactless.

If you are planning a trip away, make sure that you've used your card as a chip and pin before you set off. I'm sure I was caught out trying to use a charger with contactless, which wouldn't respond and was then asked for a pin at my next use ofthe card. Most contactless chargers don't have the keypad, I've found.

I'm sure that also a couple of times my attempts to use contactless payment on rapids (instavolt mainly) have been unsuccessful because Mastercard and Visa sometimes require a pin transaction every once in a while in between a number of contactless ones. (Is there a rule, 5 or something?)

Also while I do agree with the comments regarding the list of national operators of rapid chargers who do ACCEPT contactless payments, the uncertainty of knowing whether both a particular rapid charger AND its contactless payment reader are working mean that a phone of Apps and the odd RFID card seem essential even if just as a backup.

Long sentence but I hope that makes sense, just because it accepts contactless doesn't necessarily mean it works that way for any given visitor.

Tim

 

[BruceT]

I'm doing my first long UK motorway trip London to Manchester shortly in my 2021 MG ZS Exc. Which Apps should I load on my phone, or chargecards to keep in my wallet?
I appreciate that this newbie question has probably already been answered a hundred times, but I'm looking for your latest advice, please.
(Oh, I can feel the range anxiety already....)

There are more and more 'contactless' options out there but apply for a couple of apps, Podpoint and Shell. but the biggest bit of advice I can give you is....... make sure you have more than one contactless payment card, at least 2 maybe 3.

 

[AK OK]

I used the Osprey chargers at Banbury using Bonnet and worked perfectly, charging in no time at all. I think it depends on the age/type of Osprey charger.
Banbury has more chargers than you can shake a stick at which is why I chose it to stop at each way to Southampton and back.
6 150kW Ospreys, 12 Tesla, 8 Instavolts, a Geniepoint and a podpoint.
Those Ospreys were quick, I got 93kW and charged car before I could finish my coffee. but to answer the OP question, other than Bonnet, for the freebies,

Have you had (m)any bonnet freebies recently?
I thought they'd "petered out" in general a while back...

 

[jackois]

Have you had (m)any bonnet freebies recently?
I thought they'd "petered out" in general a while back...

I keep getting 'we've missed you' ones for my next charge free, but I think there's always a time limit and they always come while I'm at home with plenty of charge in the car! Never when I'm off to Leeds....

 

[Gomev]

I keep getting 'we've missed you' ones for my next charge free, but I think there's always a time limit and they always come while I'm at home with plenty of charge in the car! Never when I'm off to Leeds....

Yep, those usually with about a 4 day time limit to use. I even got a 50% off your next charge while I was using a 200kWh freebie Refill, it only took 18kWh off my remaining allowance after a 36kWh charge.
Not particularly helpful, but demonstrated how it worked, as I will have plenty left over when it runs out next week after I cancelled.

 

[AK OK]

Yep, those usually with about a 4 day time limit to use. I even got a 50% off your next charge while I was using a 200kWh freebie Refill, it only took 18kWh off my remaining allowance after a 36kWh charge.
Not particularly helpful, but demonstrated how it worked, as I will have plenty left over when it runs out next week after I cancelled.

200kWh freebie Refill.... Whassat then?

 

[Gomev]

200kWh freebie Refill.... Whassat then?

When app first came out there were codes for a free refill (any refill, so I of course got the big 'un) on signing up, I used the 'Fullycharged' one.
It was always my intention to use it when I went on a long trip but it was only last month that I managed to plot a route where I could totally use it for the whole trip.
I thought it would disappear when all the unused freebies suddenly acquired an end date a few months back, but it didn't . So my recent trip to Southampton and back, just over 500 miles and a top up before and after (and another in a few days before it expires, all for free. Happy days.

I will use a refill again when on a trip but just buy the £9 one, which gives 20kWh but all remaining charges at 45p/kWh for the rest of the month.

 

[oldun]

Thanks, but I'm not a customer.

You don't have to be an Octopus customer to get the juice card any can get one and the name has changed to Electric Universe and now works with a lot of different networks

 

[kin]

200kWh freebie Refill.... Whassat then?

If it’s any help, if you buy a VW ID BUZZ, you’ll get a free Shell Recharge card with £1000 credit!
But the car itself is £65k