Feeling stupid about my first public charge…

[TimothyN]

I have managed to own this car for six months and never have charged it at a public charger.

I'm now going to go to Centerparcs, I will need a little boost and have booked a 7kW space.

It seems that the charging points are managed and owned by VendElectric and listed on their app, but CenterParcs' own website says to use the Monta app.

Can I just use whichever I prefer?

Sorry to be so dim, but the whole thing strikes me as very confusing!

 

[Archev]

I have managed to own this car for six months and never have charged it at a public charger.

I'm now going to go to Centerparcs, I will need a little boost and have booked a 7kW space.

It seems that the charging points are managed and owned by VendElectric and listed on their app, but CenterParcs' own website says to use the Monta app.

Can I just use whichever I prefer?

Sorry to be so dim, but the whole thing strikes me as very confusing!

I imagine you’ll find you’re not alone, there are many of us languishing in this club

 

[SteveMSJ]

I have managed to own this car for six months and never have charged it at a public charger.

I'm now going to go to Centerparcs, I will need a little boost and have booked a 7kW space.

It seems that the charging points are managed and owned by VendElectric and listed on their app, but CenterParcs' own website says to use the Monta app.

Can I just use whichever I prefer?

Sorry to be so dim, but the whole thing strikes me as very confusing!

I went to Whinfell Forest Center Parcs last summer. Charging using the Monta app worked with no problems. You effectively get a reserved parking space. There was no cell phone coverage in the EV parking area so best to setup the app with a payment method in advance if you are going there. Remember you need a type 2 cable as they are untethered like most public AC chargers.

 

[MG Clive]

When we went in November, I downloaded the Monta app, as it happened, I didn't need to charge while we were there, but all the necessary info was on the Monta app.

Also, after your first night there, you'll probably get a message asking you to remove your car from the charging area, just ignore it, you can stay there for the duration of your stay.

 

[T1 Terry]

That feeling stupid happens every time I need to use a charging station ..... I end on the help line and someone walks me through my mental block so I can get it to work ...... probably why most of my MG4 charging is from our motorhome, I rarely stuff that up .... I didn't claim I've never stuffed it up, but not as often as at a public charging station

T1 Terry

 

[Bam Bam]

I have managed to own this car for six months and never have charged it at a public charger.

I'm now going to go to Centerparcs, I will need a little boost and have booked a 7kW space.

It seems that the charging points are managed and owned by VendElectric and listed on their app, but CenterParcs' own website says to use the Monta app.

Can I just use whichever I prefer?

No idea I'm afraid.

Is it possible that VendElectric have handed the billing over to Monta to make their lives easier?

We used Monta at a holiday cottage and it wasn't too difficult in the end.

Sorry to be so dim, but the whole thing strikes me as very confusing!

Most things are difficult the first time.

And at the moment there are lots of different types and approaches to charging and so there is much to learn.

I think it will get easier as we get more experienced and in the meantime certainly nothing beat yourself up about.

 

[decrep]

Maybe, just maybe, a bit of sense will prevail and some sort of charging standard will happen.

 

[Hugo A Go Go]

Lots of those 7kW chargers are a bit of a faff and use a proprietary app. Sometimes you have to preload money onto the app and then use up the balance.

And also you will have to provide your own cable.

I tend to avoid them and just find a rapid charger nearby, which are a lot less hassle to use.

 

[TimothyN]

Sadly my itinerary just precludes that.

 

[Data]

When I first bought my new ZS EV (my first EV) I deliberately went out of my way to charge at a few public charge stations to take the 'fear' out of it. These were all ultrafast chargers. They were simple as long as you follow the payment & connection instructions. Surely the AC chargers can't be too different, aside from using your own type two cable?

 

[EvTek23]

Monta are partnered with Electroverse. The Electroverse card is always being talked about on the community as a worthy addition to have.

 

[Hugo A Go Go]

Surely the AC chargers can't be too different, aside from using your own type two cable?

I can’t speak for all of them, but in general I have found AC chargers to be a real faff.

Generally there is no contactless or RFID reader so you can’t just swipe your credit card or Electroverse, etc

Take evcharge.online (as used in parts of Northumberland).

They don’t even have an app - you have to go to their website, register an account, add a card, add some money to your online wallet.

You then use the website to start a charge. If you didn’t add enough money then the charge session stops when your balance hits zero. If you added too much money, you have to either use it up another time or request a refund.

Podpoint works similarly, except it’s done through an app instead of a website. And they allow you to go onto a negative balance instead of just ending the charge for you.

I’ve got an £8.36 balance with them which Ive had forever and cba trying to get a refund on.

DC rapid chargers on the other hand - plug in and swipe your credit card or Electroverse card, and a few seconds later your car is charging.

 

[T1 Terry]

We have a few of the networks using the slower AC chargers, each have their own card and method of initiating charging, if not followed to the letter, the charger and the car start to act like teenagers giving each other the silent treatment. On more than one occasion, I've had to change chargers to find one that hasn't got the huffs because it wasn't treated the way it thought it should be .....

DC fast chargers .... at least they don't have an attitude problem, they just have issues with whose network card they want to see ..... still getting my head around how to set up the AEVA all in one card .... but I have another 12 mths to do battle with it .... hopefully

T1 Terry