$450 bill from NRG / eVgo

[walterbays]

My last emailed statement from eVgo seemed to correctly list my charging activity. They charged my credit card separately for the subscription and for the usage, but the amounts corresponded correctly to the statement. They have far to go, e.g. no online account access to activity yet, but they appear to be making some progress in cleaning up their billing system.

 

[linkim]

My last emailed statement from eVgo seemed to correctly list my charging activity. They charged my credit card separately for the subscription and for the usage, but the amounts corresponded correctly to the statement. They have far to go, e.g. no online account access to activity yet, but they appear to be making some progress in cleaning up their billing system.

Many months ago I had a conversation with eVgo regarding their monthly statement. They are able to send a statement with the total amount [subscription fee + usage]. But our credit card is billed twice - once for subscription and again for usage. I never received a clear explanation for this practice.

 

[DesertSprings]

Many months ago I had a conversation with eVgo regarding their monthly statement. They are able to send a statement with the total amount [subscription fee + usage]. But our credit card is billed twice - once for subscription and again for usage. I never received a clear explanation for this practice.

And what is especially odd, is that by doing two separate charges it is likely costing them money. Most payment processors charge a flat fee + a % of the transaction.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

They're sending paper statements? Cost issues there too.

They're a subsidiary of NRG the utility co? Must be an old practice that rolled over.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Currently a Seattle LEAFer is having issues with Chargepoint so its kinda looking like growing pains more than anything else. Its been a while since I had heard of people getting $13,000 gas bills or $44,000 electric bills

BUT

Have a co-worker who received a "shut off" notice for a bill incurred by her deceased father along with a bill for $600. What they failed to have missed was her shutoff request and final payment on the same 3 years ago. The house currently sits empty so its not like someone has been running the bill up on her behalf....

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Met the Market Lead for Boston, Jonathan Lee, at a new installation the other day. He told me NRG is working on an app so we can track our accounts and charge status. He seemed to think that they were having some issues in the app development and that release could take a while.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

a technology company that can't figure out a mobile billing app? this is a bit too scary for me. call me in a year, I will reevaluate then

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

a technology company that can't figure out a mobile billing app? this is a bit too scary for me. call me in a year, I will reevaluate then

 

[linkim]

Met the Market Lead for Boston, Jonathan Lee, at a new installation the other day. He told me NRG is working on an app so we can track our accounts and charge status. He seemed to think that they were having some issues in the app development and that release could take a while.

eVgo was saying the same thing over a year ago when I started using their QCs. Either their system is more complex that the others or "Houston we have a problem".

 

[mjblazin]

ChargePoint just released a new version of its tracking app. Apps are not that complex, but rely on back office systems that are competent.. I still suspect the billing and app uses have the same origin: the core back office systems do not work well and may be slapped together, making any changes or connections difficult.

 

[user 10599]

Update -
I think they have some serious reconciliations they need to do to get their accounts all back into good order.

In my case, my On The Go plan had ended in Jan. So when the billing stopped with December, I figured all was good and I was on the Flex Plan as my card still works.

However, they still had me in the system as On The Go as they automatically renewed me for another year. However, I'm guessing that an auto-renewal doesn't automatically renew the credit card charging because I haven't been charged since December. In my case, they were showing a zero balance due. I only recall using the card about 2 times thus far this year, so a retro cancel isn't asking a lot.

Fortunately, customer service was able to correct it over the phone and indicate that since it wasn't supposed to renew, they could switch me to the Flex plan without the cancellation penalty. And she was really nice the whole time. I'm really relieved I didn't have to deal with any run-around and argue over an amount due that shouldn't be there.

So I'm happy and look forward to continuing to work with them.

Since my commute to work changed to 65 miles one way and I don't have good charging options there, it is now my wife's car. And for her local trips, it now rarely needs charging when away from our solar-powered home. So I no longer have the need for the monthly plan. But for peace of mind and to help her with range anxiety, I want to keep an active card on each network. Currently, I have Evgo, Blink and ChargePoint, with Evgo have by far the most convenient coverage in my area.

Update 2 -
I see my card has a mysterious $14.95 charge on 7/27 from EVGO. Looks like they forgot I am on the Flex Plan with no monthly fee and have put me back onto the On The Go plan without my authorization. On Monday, I will give them a call to get this nonsense reversed. Hopefully they can resolve it correctly this time.

 

[user 10599]

Update 3 -
Customer service was nice enough, but doesn't seem empowered to fix an obvious error and improper charge. She said she thinks she sees what the issue is but would not inform me and instead made a statement along the lines that she can't correct it. She would open a 'ticket' and 'someone' would research the issue and get back to me in 3-5 business days. I will update again once 5 business days are up. Hopefully I don't have to call and have the credit card reject the charge.

 

[user 10599]

Update 4 -
As promised, Customer Service called. They wouldn't provide an explanation of what happened, but indicated they were reversing the charge on my card and confirmed they now have me back on the Flex Plan which has no monthly fees only fees for actual usage. Assuming the credit goes through to the card properly, all is back in good order.

Each time, Customer Service has been friendly and professional. Clearly their accounting system is giving them lots of trouble as the company is going through growing pains. I do hope they get their issues resolved soon as we really need a strong network of reliable stations.

 

[epirali]

Update 4 -
As promised, Customer Service called. They wouldn't provide an explanation of what happened, but indicated they were reversing the charge on my card and confirmed they now have me back on the Flex Plan which has no monthly fees only fees for actual usage. Assuming the credit goes through to the card properly, all is back in good order.

Each time, Customer Service has been friendly and professional. Clearly their accounting system is giving them lots of trouble as the company is going through growing pains. I do hope they get their issues resolved soon as we really need a strong network of reliable stations.

Thanks for update. Doesn't want me to sign up with them unless I absolutely had to!

 

[user 10599]

Update 5

Well, they have now had nearly a month and a half for the credit to post to the account. Grumble. At least there hasn't been any new charges from them.

I guess I will have to call them again. Guess it is also time to start the dispute process through Discover. Starting to regret giving Evgo my card number.

 

[user 10599]

Update 6
Called and spoke to a very helpful customer service rep. Apparently when you object to a charge on your credit card and they credit your account, they might mean they credit your account within NRG. She informed me that the charge was reversed back when I called and I now have a credit balance in my NRG account. She has now put forward the request to have my credit refunded back to my credit card as I haven't had need for remote charging since my commute changed and don't need to maintain a credit balance.

I will keep an eye to confirm the credit makes its way back to my card. Unless I post another update, my assumption is all went well after clarifying what crediting the charge means.

I'm thinking late 2016 or sometime 2017, I will replace my current ICE with either an FCV or a longer range EV or PIH that can work with my new commute. If I go the EV or PIH route, I will likely become an active customer of theirs again. I see good charging opportunities near work, including several of their stations in spots I routinely hit for lunch/dinner. So I really do want them to succeed.

 

[Tyger]

I got hit with the "phantom charge" charge. There is a L2 charger I typically plug into while shopping at whole foods, typically 30-45 minutes. Basically, I figure it is enough charge to cover the trip to the store and back.

This month however, they tried to bill for much longer session twice. Nowhere near the extremes earlier, and only a few $$, but it's the principal.

I objected to the charge and their initial reply was pointing to their "detailed records" of the charging session. I pointed out that their "detailed records" were consistently off by a couple hours (probably just wrong time on the charging station) and that it conflicted with my own "detailed records" of my trips. On the second reply they claim to have credited me for the charges.

I suspect the issue is that the charging station is not ending the charging session when it is disconnected; but it is very unclear how to manually make sure the session has ended, and since they have no insight into their charging sessions online, I can't really be sure. It's worth noting that this station always seems to be in a state of ready to charge, which I suspect is a result of the last persons session not ending.

Does anyone know how to manually end the session on their L2 stations? The station in question can be seen in the edge of this picture from plugshare - the only buttons are those you can see in the picture, and the only other visible interface is the EVSE status lights on the back.

 

[finman100]

Hey, it's one of those fabled plug-in F-150s! sorry, just had to. damn ICEing jerks.

 

[Tyger]

Hey, it's one of those fabled plug-in F-150s! sorry, just had to. damn ICEing jerks.

LOL yeah, I have a feeling that's why that particular picture was added to plugshare. However, it was the picture that best showed the charging station in question. The rest primarily focused on the pair of DCQC stations.

 

[mtndrew1]

I'm dealing with an NRG nightmare myself at the moment. In June one of their L2 stations (Morongo Casino) billed me for 64 continuous hours of use. Of course my car charges from zero to full in four hours and I was there three hours and arrived with half a charge, so this is impossible.

At any rate, I'm six months into the erroneous charge of nearly $100 for this mind-bending 64 hour charging session and still nobody at NRG knows what's going on. The billing help number doesn't have access to billing records (!), nobody who does have access will call me back, yet they've verbally confirmed to me that they overcharged me.

NRG desperately needs an app or a section of the website with detailed accounting of charging costs. It's a total mess.