$450 bill from NRG / eVgo

I got a phone call on April 1 from NRG / eVGo that my charging service was suspending, pending my payment of $450.

No invoice, no accounting for the charges, no prior interaction with them regarding owing them money.

I told them to send me an accounting of every charge. More to follow... no, not an April fools joke.

It sounds a bit like the phone scam that's popular now where the caller pretends to be from the IRS and demands immediate payment of a tax debt or you will be arrested. Payment is via Western Union or Green Dot to an untraceable location.

But assuming your call was really from eVgo and they really asked for a credit card payment to eVgo, then I'm still not too surprised. Their customer service is top notch. Their charger maintenance is good, second perhaps only to EVoasis ;-) Their web site and billing system are about the worst I've ever seen for any company. So maybe you owe $450 because they neglected to bill you for a protracted time, all the while piling on undisclosed penalties for non-payment. Maybe you owe $4.50 because they dropped a decimal point. Maybe someone else owes $450 or $4.50 because they jumbled an account number.

I advise regular calls and emails to their customer service and LOTS of patience as you sort it out. I do think it's likely that once the mysterious amount is revealed then you will finally only need to pay whatever amount you really owe. And no, I don't think that penalties for non-payment of bills that were never sent are valid.

They sure picked the right guy to mess with… :lol:

A scam would be easy to confirm with a phone call or by using a station. Getting them to correct their accounting would take much more energy to resolve. Sucks.

eVgo is just starting to install here and they don't seem promising. Good station maintenance is great, but charging a monthly fee on top of a per minute fee isn't very attractive.

91040 said:

They sure picked the right guy to mess with… :lol:

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First, I told the guy that I'm "in this industry" and if this is an April Fool's joke, I'm not laughing nor have time for this.

They did send me an accounting, and it is VERY comprehensive. I had to call them to get it yesterday... they claimed the guy would sends that info was "backed up", so it sounds like I'm not the only one with NRG /eVgo billing issues. It will take some time to go through the billing line by line, then go through my credit card records to reconcile.

I have used their chargers a lot, while testing "JdeMO" for the Toyota RAV4 EV, so with all the late fees rolled in, it may be correct.

I signed up for the $14.95 monthly option in Sept 2014. Prior to Sept 2014, it was ALWAYS a hassle for me to make the NRG / eVgo service work, since every time I'd use use, I would have to call. Then, they would tell me that I owed some small amount of money from the previous month, so I would (again) give them my credit card info.

In Sept, for the first time, after pleading with them to fix this so that I didn't have to call every time, one of the reps suggested I go to their app / website and put my credit card info there. I assumed they had that all set up when I initially got their fob/card, or would fix it with the numerous phone calls when I gave them my credit card info.

I went on their website, logged in, and once again, gave them my credit card info. That was September 2014 (I was in San Jose, California at the time; my first long trip in the RAV4 EV with CHAdeMO charging... what a game changer). I thought everything was hunky dory. I'm going to guess it wasn't.

One small complication. My credit card was changed to the new "security" style, but the number remained the same. I seriously doubt this was an issue, but it's possible, since the three digit security number might have changed.

One very simple solution... MONTHLY BILLING, LIKE THE REST OF THE WORLD!!! Going through seven months of records is not fun. I had to drive to the Long Beach Formula E race without their service while I figure it out. Thankfully, the RAV4 EV can easily drive over 100 miles down the freeway, so I didn't need them.

This does happen. I got the same call and they offered to reduce the charges if I switched to the monthly plan. Needless to say over the course of a month the charges added up to more than what it would cost to operate most gas cars of comparable size. I agreed to switch, but I'll go back to pay as you go and pay the ETF of $30.

After reading posts in this thread, I began checking my NRG/eVgo account:

1. There's no online ability to status one's account, e.g. recent charges.
The online function only allows the updating of one's address and phone number.
2. One needs to call the 877 number and talk to a customer service person for any
billing info.
3. In checking my credit card statements, it was determined that no NRG/eVgo charges
were made for the last billing period even though a number of charging stations were utilized
during that billing period.

So it appears that the NRG/eVgo accounting/billing runs behind and may not get properly
updated as one might expect on a timely basis. One may need to call and verify the state
of one's charges if usage has been made of NRG/eVgo QCs but no credit card charges
have occurred. This will assure that no excessive amounts are being accrued without
one's awareness.

lorenfb said:

After reading posts in this thread, I began checking my NRG/eVgo account:

1. There's no online ability to status one's account, e.g. recent charges.
The online function only allows the updating of one's address and phone number.
2. One needs to call the 877 number and talk to a customer service person for any
billing info.

Click to expand...

Their web site is near worthless for all functions. Unlike other networks there is no way to check the status of a station. Actually you can update your credit card information but there is no way to verify that the update succeeded. Many other sites let you see that the number you entered was successfully stored, at least during the session where you entered it. Some other sites let you trigger a test transaction, charging something like $0.10 to your credit card to make sure it is successful. With eVgo you can't check, nor can you check on the phone, nor can you phone to enter your credit card information verbally and have them repeat it back to you. The only way to know if it's successful is whether or not they block your car charging and begin demanding $450

lorenfb said:

So it appears that the NRG/eVgo accounting/billing runs behind and may not get properly
updated as one might expect on a timely basis. One may need to call and verify the state
of one's charges if usage has been made of NRG/eVgo QCs but no credit card charges
have occurred. This will assure that no excessive amounts are being accrued without
one's awareness.

Click to expand...

I think the most important thing to do is watch your credit card web site - presumably your bank does have a web site built in the 21st century - to be sure that expected charges are indeed showing up. I've wondered about calling eVgo customer service after every transaction to get them to verify that they see the transaction. Maybe if they started having to spend more on customer service than on electricity they would finally be motivated to buy some modern computers and software.

I like two fee charging models. One is like a gas station where every time you use the service they charge that amount immediately and give you a receipt. I'd be happy with paper or email. Another is like Chargepoint where you buy a certain amount of prepaid credit and spend off that until it gets low and you replenish it.

However I still greatly prefer eVgo which can operate a charging station but is incompetent at billing, to Blink which is great at billing but cannot operate a charging station.

Tony's issue does not surprise me. I am finding that I no longer like or want eVgo and unless Nissan comes out with a longer range battery, this translates into possibly returning both Leafs at the end of lease and going back to Prii.

The reasons are as follows:

1. Their "monthly fee plus $0.10 per minute charge" scheme. That might work for a Tesla, but for an older Leaf, it translates to a cost comparison of driving a < 20mpg ICE vehicle. AND, they require a different key FOB and account for each EV. Certainly with as much debate has been going on with regards to billing models in the EV market, I cannot fathom why they chose $0.10/minute with no "all you can eat" option to satisfy commercial uses.
2. Their customer service is not what it was a year or two ago.
3. Their chargers have proven to be ~ 80% reliable.
4. The fact that- despite being in a relatively high tech business- they don't even have itemized billing.
5. Their stations aren't THAT strategically placed.

I suspect a lot of my bill will be:

1) Late fees

2) Price per charge without the $14.95 monthly charge. That is a significantly higher price per event.

Wow! It is hard to believe that a company can allow things to run that long and not contact you. I would certainly dispute any late charges if they didn't inform you about the debt.

Sure, the consumer has some responsibility to know what they are using - but if they don't provide a good website to track/review charges and/or provide receipts on each transaction I think the argument can be made that the responsibility for notification falls squarely on the vendor.

Good luck and I do hope it gets sorted out in a fair manner.

I have the 14.95 monthly subscription, and also had some issues with the payment. Even tho I signed up for the automatic payment, somehow my card was not charged. So when I went to use the fast charger, I couldn't. Called eVgo and they took my credit card no. and I was able to charge. One month, two charges showed up on my card, but later was fixed. I agree the website sucks and so does the monthly statement they email. I wish they would get their act together. But that may be asking too much. In the meantime, I try to stay positive, especially when their DCQC works, and I don't need to wait too long.

linkim said:

In the meantime, I try to stay positive, especially when their DCQC works, and I don't need to wait too long.

Click to expand...

Yes, that's a very positive aspect!

Hello Mr. Williams,

I recalculated your account based on the $14.95 plan pricing and dated it back to October. The new amount owed comes to $203.60.

I summed up the minutes used times 10 cents and you can find this in column V. In column W is the monthly fee of $14.95. Grand total can be found in cell X67 = $203.60.

I also sorted the dates for you so the sessions are in chronological order and easier to read. Please give me a call after you had a chance to review so we can get the balance taken care of and restore your access.

My contact number is XXX-XXX-XXXX (best choice) or XXX-XXX-XXXX.

Thank you,

Operations Manager

^^^
So, it looks like they didn't count you as having the $14.95 plan? Does that new amount look right?

Sounds like their web site is total crap.

caffeinekid said:

4. The fact that- despite being in a relatively high tech business- they don't even have itemized billing.

Click to expand...

Is this really the case? You can't see each individual session by date, time, time connected, energy delivered and cost? If so, that's ridiculous and I'm glad I didn't bother joining.

I had a similar problem: signed up but not really signed up for the $14.95 monthly plan. Turns out I had "two plans on one card" ...not sure how that's possible but that's what they said. So I was paying $14.95 but also being charged "full price" for my qc's. I discovered the error in early January when I was charged a cancellation fee for the monthly plan! :shock: They closed the monthly plan because "it wasn't being used" since they were charging the per-use fee for all of my sessions. Unbelievable. They did eventually credit me the difference though (refunding the cancellation and the per-use fees).

cwerdna said:

You can't see each individual session by date, time, time connected, energy delivered and cost? If so, that's ridiculous and I'm glad I didn't bother joining.

Click to expand...

Yup. And recently (March?) started only charging your CC once a month, so even if you're on the plan you don't exactly know how many minutes you've used. There's no online *anything* as far as billing is concerned. It's absolutely ridiculous.

JeremyW said:

cwerdna said:

You can't see each individual session by date, time, time connected, energy delivered and cost? If so, that's ridiculous and I'm glad I didn't bother joining.

Click to expand...

Yup. And recently (March?) started only charging your CC once a month, so even if you're on the plan you don't exactly know how many minutes you've used. There's no online *anything* as far as billing is concerned. It's absolutely ridiculous.

Click to expand...

Crazy! At least Chargepoint has a a usage history table that lists all the relevant details. (But then again, I haven't spent even a penny on charging w/them. My sessions have all been free. )

NRG eVgo better get their act together or they're going to have a lot of angry customers and waste a ton of their own $ on customer support/bill reconciliation costs.

Glad you got some resolution Mr. Williams.

This is kind of depressing. Green Mountain Power has partnered with NRG eVgo to install new QCs all over VT, (and some now in MA and CT), but with the high cost and these reports of shoddy service, billing, and zero account tracking, I'm less likely to use them.

I've used paid QCs from both ChargePoint and Greenlots/Ugo and they both offer pre-paid accounts, clear account tracking, and excellent customer service. Typical cost here for paid stations is $5-6/hr with no monthly fee. NRG eVgo may need their rates to be viable, but for how long if we refuse to give them our business? How long before competition will resolve this problem?

The two plans are:

$4.95 per session and $0.20 minute
$14.95 monthly, $0.10 minute ($3 per thirty minute session, when the machine times out.)

I'm not a penny-pincher and I support EV infrastructure, so the first plan was fine for occasional use, and the latter is great with the Toyota RAV4 EV with "JdeMO". I recharge a lot !!!

Comparing my car to an equivalent gasoline car (and a Prius, as is so often the case here), I find that if I only charged at NRG / eVgo quick chargers on the $14.95 plan, and drove 1000 miles per month for 100 months, my total energy cost would be:

Fees: 100 months * $14.95 = $1495 ($0.01495 per mile)

Electricty costs: 40kW average charge sped / 60 minutes = 0.666 kWh delivered per minute * 3 miles per kWh consumption rate = 2 miles delivered per minute @ $0.10 per minute is $0.05 per mile (yes, about the same to "Just-Drive-The-Prius(TM)). So, 1000 miles monthly * $0.05 = $50 monthly * 100 months = $5000

$6495 total transportation energy cost for 100,000 miles of driving ($0.0695 per mile) with the Toyota RAV4 EV equipped with JdeMO using only NRG / eVgo quick charging on the $14.95 monthly plan plus $0.10 per minute.

The 48 mpg Prius fuel cost per mile:

$0.0417 with $2 per gallon gasoline
$0.0625 with $3 per gallon gasoline
$0.0834 with $4 per gallon gasoline
$0.0960 with $5 per gallon gasoline

Of course, the RAV4 EV is a much larger, faster, more capable car, plus never go to a gas station, no oil changes, no smog checks, no camshaft belts, no spark plugs, no transmission or cooling system flushes, almost maintenance free.... rotate tires, check windshield washer fluid. Zero vehicle emissions, quiet, smooth, powerful, roomy.

------------ Rav4 EV ---- Rav4 V6

Sales Price- $35,000 ----$30,000 (EV not available new)
Fuel cost ---$ 6495 -----$18,000
Oil changes -------------- $ 300
Smog Check---------------$ 100
Maintenance $ 1300 -----$ 1900

Net costs -- $42,795 ---- $50,300