240V EV-ChargeAmerica EVSE - (likely scam buyer beware)

[Bassman]

Still waiting for my $300 refund! As far as I'm concerned this company is not a reputable firm!

 

[garygid]

Did I post the phone number for the Navada Attorney General's office?

Perhaps not, but Google
Nevada Attorney General

and their "Contact Us" lists the Las Vegas "Office of the Attorney General".

Email, phone, write & post are all options.

 

[Bassman]

I e-mailed Bob and told him if I don't get my refund by this Friday, I'll be filing a police report and a complaint with the District Attorneys Office.

 

[Ready2plugin]

I received an email today stating that my charger will ship on 1/24/11. I'm still being hopeful. I pick up my car on Monday, 1/17.

I got the email too....funny thing since I cancelled my order and already received my refund via PayPay dispute. I told them to keep it.

 

[EVDRIVER]

I e-mailed Bob and told him if I don't get my refund by this Friday, I'll be filing a police report and a complaint with the District Attorneys Office.

Did you pay by CC? If so dispute the charge. From day one I wanted to tell everyone not to buy from these guys, anyone still holding out hope is only going to get burned over time. Believe it or not, this is business as usual in this space and anyone with years of EV experience can smell companies like this a mile away. Just one look at their website and and a call to them should make one think twice.

 

[garygid]

It was a check he sent in to them.

 

[notlpip]

I also received an email and a phone call that charger would ship on 1/24. They do have someone answering the phone now, a very pleasant lady named Lee. The excuse was they got swamped because of the tax credit. Only time will tell now. I will post when/if I receive the charger.

 

[palmermd]

I also received an email and a phone call that charger would ship on 1/24. They do have someone answering the phone now, a very pleasant lady named Lee. The excuse was they got swamped because of the tax credit. Only time will tell now. I will post when/if I receive the charger.

I guess when your capacity to deliver is 1 per month and you get 5 orders, thats swamped. Seriously, has there been any delivered to a member here? There were about 5 who indicated that they ordered, but I can't recall any receiving one. There was a post where somebody posted a link to a blog where someone had one, but that is all I can recall. Had they actually started delivering a few units to some of the members back in November, they would have really been swamped.

 

[EVDRIVER]

I've watched people get burned on EV parts and the like over and over and over. Just watch it happen here again as people throw away common sense because the are in a hurry. If you get one of these slapped together EVSEs don't be surprised if they never support it or are even in business at the end of this year. What's the point when shortly one can buy from Leviton and other reputable and established companies.

 

[garygid]

One member was shipped an "incomplete" prototype.

Nothing functional has been reported.

 

[EVDRIVER]

WAKE UP EVERYONE! It was likely no mistake a test unit was sent. If these guys were selling units in any useful numbers it would be known here. You don't accidentally send a prototype unless you are completely incompetent. BS, stalling tactics, etc. etc. If they have other priorities or commitments then they certainly are not going to support end users but rather make attempts to get a big fish for revenue.

 

[Ready2plugin]

Don't forget about UL listing...I doubt that they have received it, or it would have been part of the communication. Would not pass my city inspection without it.

 

[EVDRIVER]

Don't forget about UL listing...I doubt that they have received it, or it would have been part of the communication. Would not pass my city inspection without it.

UL, LU whatever it takes, you don't need that just give us your payments so we can stall as long as possible until we can get a real customer.

 

[TimeHorse]

I've never owned an EV or even a hybrid in my life and even I could see the writing on the wall here, people. EVDRIVER and I don't always agree on things, but here we are aligned and he's experienced! In November, when I was planning my EVSE install, I read this whole thread, cover to cover first with wide eyes but I made sure to read to the end before making a decision and in the end decided to go with the bland yet functional and highly powerful Clipper Creek CS-100 in the end. Clipper Creek, unlike ChargeAmerica, is a company that's been in business for years, knows EVs, knows the Tesla Roadster, knows the Mini-E and was even at the DC Auto Show last year as can be seen on my Facebook page. Sure, I'd have loved to have the Leviton 320 unit that Ford now says they'll be selling in Best Buy! but I didn't know if the EVSE credit was going to be extended and even if I did, $2000 @ 50% is better than $1000 @ 30% when you're combining an incredibly expensive EVSE with a sub-panel in preparation for a Smart Meter when they become available in my area and support for J1772 at up to 80A.

The point being a) you should have read every post and been informed and b) if the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Anyway, I'm not saying "I told you so" because although I did, I didn't very much or very vocally so if you missed my comments before you can be forgiven. But not for ignoring EVDRIVER. He deserves every "I Told You So" he's posted and then some.

As for me, if I can help anyone in any way get their money back or give you advice on a better choice of EVSE (simple, the Leviton EvrGreen EVB45-3PD that's supposedly bundled with the with the Ford Focus EV... and the Best Buy Geek Squad -- cringe! -- since I expect it's a 7.6kW charger -- future-resistant -- from a company you can trust, plugged, not hard-wired, will probably go for less than $750, maybe less than $500 and will probably be out well before 31 December 2011 given the Ford deal, enough time to qualify for your $1000 @ 30%!). And one more thing: c) Join your local EAA chapter: you don't have to do this alone and learn from experience both here from folks like EVDRIVER and in person.

Oh, and also, when looking for an electrician, d) make good use of the BBB records, such as with my python script to create a spreadsheet of all your registered contractors.

I'm sorry y'all are having trouble with ChargeAmerica. I wish I could say something more helpful than all of this rhetoric. Good luck -- getting an EV should never be this hard!

 

[DarkStar]

This post has been removed.

 

[garygid]

Dark...,
Is this the "prototype" that EVCA "accidently" sent to you?

 

[EVDRIVER]

Even if this company gets more business they are clearly struggling and not set up to handle consumers. AS much as I don't like AV I would suggest people spend the extra $100 and get the AV unit before buying this. I don;t care about UL because I would make my own before buying a CA unit but if it is not UL listed and you have any concerns over fire or insurance or passing code then don't buy it get and EV unit if you just can't wait.

 

[DarkStar]

This post has been removed.

 

[TimeHorse]

Yep, the device that magically became a "prototype" after they sent it to me.

...and then force you to redact everything you discovered about it!

 

[DarkStar]

This post has been removed.