[reddp0148]

I had my BP Chargepoint installed in January - it was 'free' (well almost) with the car.

Nothing but trouble.

I have a schedule that matches the Octopus Go tariff to charge off peak at low cost. This worked for a while until one day charging started as soon as i plugged in to the car. This defeated the object of the schedule. BP could not offer any help remotely so elected to send a Technician which took 10 days.

He was useless - refused to let me demonstrate the problem - insisted I delete my schedule then plug in to the car- hey presto the car is charging. Well, it would as that is the default action if there is no schedule entered.

He did no useful diagnostics and said it must be a communication. His ONLY course of action was to replace the unit.

The replacement unit takes up to 2 weeks to register on their system during which time it's impossible to enter any schedules so have no idea if the 'fault' is fixed in fact I have my doubts that the unit was faulty!

I complained to BP about the incompetence of the technician and the delay being able to schedule charges. They have responded:

I have had instruction form my manager that to solve the issue we will need to return to site to fit a manual timer.
I can have a different electrician attend.

This seems to be an admission that the unit is not fit for purpose.

Please also be aware of the feedback about the app 99% 1 star with negative feedback.

 

[Niceone]

I'm sorry you've had such aggro, but I'm glad you told us. I shall knock BP off my list of possibilities.

 

[hjribeiro]

I'm more and more inclined to go with ohme charger. Read great reviews online about the app, and TBF, that's 90% of what I care about. Being able to plan when to charge pays itself off.

Also I could not get a quote from BP until I click to place the order. Insane to think I would ever place an order not knowing how much of pay!!

 

[Marksummers]

I am also having problems with the charger. It got installed a month ago, took 3 weeks to get access to the app and now the schedule doesn’t work properly. I plug my my car in and then every 15 minutes it kicks in for 5 minutes. It’s with their second line team right now, not heard back since.

 

[jhumphreys84]

Seriously do not go with BP. Even if the dealer offer it free. After 4 months of nothing i had to contact them myself to start the process. Thankfully knowing what needed to be done when i shaved off a few weeks but at every stage of the process i had to chase them as they did not contact me to say yep that bit is done we need this now. Just silence from them. From start to finish it took about 2 months from contact to install but that was with weekly phone calls. Now 5 weeks post install i still cannot access the App as the details haven't come through to email and every time i phone them they are like oh we'll send again. No diagnostic or offering another solution, call just ends there. I can't wait until i get the details and then the whole thing doesn't work with the app or doesn't charge at different times...more fun calls. Every single step has been a nightmare. To anyone thinking of getting the BP one, absolutely avoid if at all possible.

 

[MetMan]

I hope that I finally got somewhere today. After an abortive visit last week to install the charger, I was told that I needed a type A RCD (an extra £95), and that I would have to go to the back of the queue and wait at least 10 days for their scheduling team to arrange the installation. I told them that was unacceptable and within a couple of hours I had a new date for installation - 1 June. Watch this space! I was within minutes of cancelling the car order and hope I don't regret it!

 

[reddp0148]

I hope that I finally got somewhere today. After an abortive visit last week to install the charger, I was told that I needed a type A RCD (an extra £95), and that I would have to go to the back of the queue and wait at least 10 days for their scheduling team to arrange the installation. I told them that was unacceptable and within a couple of hours I had a new date for installation - 1 June. Watch this space! I was within minutes of cancelling the car order and hope I don't regret it!

You shouldn't regret the car but you most likely will regret getting a BP Pulse Homecharge unit especially if you are hoping to charge at specific times (scheduled) I'd cancel it if I were you! The TypeA RCD and two way consumer unit was £50 when mine was installed in Jan

 

[AJH]

I’ve got the ‘free’ BP Chargemaster, nothing but trouble I’ve already had a replacement. The schedule just doesn’t work. I’m on the Octopus Go tariff so ended up buying the Ohme cable which works brilliantly. With hindsight I should have checked around when I bought the car. Can’t believe Mercedes went with the Chargemaster.

 

[reddp0148]

I’ve got the ‘free’ BP Chargemaster, nothing but trouble I’ve already had a replacement. The schedule just doesn’t work. I’m on the Octopus Go tariff so ended up buying the Ohme cable which works brilliantly. With hindsight I should have checked around when I bought the car. Can’t believe Mercedes went with the Chargemaster.

What did you need to buy from OHME and what was the cost? Is it working with the Chargemaster or has that been disconnected and/or removed? It narks me that BP got the Mercedes money AND the OLEV grant!

 

[reddp0148]

What did you need to buy from OHME and what was the cost? Is it working with the Chargemaster or has that been disconnected and/or removed? It narks me that BP got the Mercedes money AND the OLEV grant!

I’ve got the ‘free’ BP Chargemaster, nothing but trouble I’ve already had a replacement. The schedule just doesn’t work. I’m on the Octopus Go tariff so ended up buying the Ohme cable which works brilliantly. With hindsight I should have checked around when I bought the car. Can’t believe Mercedes went with the Chargemaster.

Could you EMAil me with more info , photos etc: [email protected]

 

[AJH]

What did you need to buy from OHME and what was the cost? Is it working with the Chargemaster or has that been disconnected and/or removed? It narks me that BP got the Mercedes money AND the OLEV grant!

As an OctopusEnergy customer I bought the smart cable from Ohme £199. Download the app setup the schedule and just plug it in the charger and car. The cable does the rest.

 

[reddp0148]

As an OctopusEnergy customer I bought the smart cable from Ohme £199. Download the app setup the schedule and just plug it in the charger and car. The cable does the rest.

My Chargemaster is tethered so I guess the OHME cable isn't an option?

 

[AJH]

My Chargemaster is tethered so I guess the OHME cable isn't an option?

BP Chargemaster talked me out of a tethered charger, thankfully 😅

 

[AJH]

My Chargemaster is tethered so I guess the OHME cable isn't an option?

I was thinking if your charger is under warranty then complain that you’ve lost connection with the charger from the app so can’t use. Get them to replace the unit with a socket charger. They might do that.

 

[reddp0148]

I was thinking if your charger is under warranty then complain that you’ve lost connection with the charger from the app so can’t use. Get them to replace the unit with a socket charger. They might do that.

I have already asked for that! No doubt I'll get a speedy response. Thanks for your help . BTW this is a replacement unit and I'm in 'wait and see' mode as it's not on their server yet so I can't schedule anything. The fact they have suggested they will now install a separate time switch shows how confident they are that the replacement will work. Seems to me 'Not fit for purpose'.

 

[AJH]

I have already asked for that! No doubt I'll get a speedy response. Thanks for your help . BTW this is a replacement unit and I'm in 'wait and see' mode as it's not on their server yet so I can't schedule anything. The fact they have suggested they will now install a separate time switch shows how confident they are that the replacement will work. Seems to me 'Not fit for purpose'.

Go luck with that. Apparently there’s 40,000 Chargemaster’s fitted, so plenty of people with issues. Can’t believe they’ve not dealt with the app which is the worst ever. The good thing with the Ohme cable is I can switch to the agile tariff if it’s cheaper, the cable will only charge when the tariff the cheapest.

 

[MetMan]

Having got my BP Pulse installation date (2 June) I asked them if the app has been fixed to allow scheduling of charge, and they replied that 'to the best of their knowledge' it had been fixed. Can anyone using the updated BP Pulse app confirm this. Just in case of problems, I am ensuring that I get an un-tethered installation so that I can use an OHME cable if things go wrong. Octopus will be installing a smart meter tomorrow so that we can move to the 'Go' tariff.

 

[reddp0148]

Having got my BP Pulse installation date (2 June) I asked them if the app has been fixed to allow scheduling of charge, and they replied that 'to the best of their knowledge' it had been fixed. Can anyone using the updated BP Pulse app confirm this. Just in case of problems, I am ensuring that I get an un-tethered installation so that I can use an OHME cable if things go wrong. Octopus will be installing a smart meter tomorrow so that we can move to the 'Go' tariff.

Who says the app is the problem, it could be their server or comms. Bottom line is that it's unreliable when it comes to scheduling, it reports random information like one it was on charge for 51 hrs but of course it wasn't, it reports random start times when the schedule is set to start at 0030hrs. Worst of all is when it decides to ignore the schedule completely and start charging as son as you plug in. Mine did that, I tried it everyday for a week while waiting for a Technician to attend. He couldn't explain the fault so replaced the chargepoint. Now I can't schedule because the new chargepoint is not registered on their server (can take weeks) meanwhile BP say that will install a manual timer but cannot provide any details like whether it's Smart timer. If this isn't an admission from BP that the their Chargepoint is not fit for purpose (other than being a dumb charger) I don't know what is!

 

[AJH]

Having got my BP Pulse installation date (2 June) I asked them if the app has been fixed to allow scheduling of charge, and they replied that 'to the best of their knowledge' it had been fixed. Can anyone using the updated BP Pulse app confirm this. Just in case of problems, I am ensuring that I get an un-tethered installation so that I can use an OHME cable if things go wrong. Octopus will be installing a smart meter tomorrow so that we can move to the 'Go' tariff.

The apps not been updated in 11 months. As far as I’m concerned the scheduling has never worked. Usually it just starts charging randomly and uses all your money. I’ve given up with them and using the Ohme cable which is brilliant.

 

[DickyJ]

I have had exactly the same problem with my 2 month old BP Pulse unit. It will not schedule, it fell of the wall two weeks after installation and their customer service is appalling.
I am an electrical control engineer and I have done some research. Did you know that if they fit a timer the unit should not qualify for the OLEV grant? It is a minimum requirement that the unit is "remotely controllable" So you should be asking for your grant back or the grant to be made available to you so that you can select another supplier that can fit equipment that works.
For my self I am thinking about fitting an Alexa controlled Zigbee relay inside the BP unit and removing the SIM card from to unit to disconnect it from BP. I can create Alexa routine to create a timed function and override it if needed with a voice command. Details for taking control can be found on this forum Chargemaster/Polar Home Charger Issues