Calling 6RBB365 in Encinitas. Your Blink bill is $53!

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gbshaun

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 9, 2010
Messages
250
Location
Encinitas, CA
Was riding my bike past the two chargers at Encinitas station and noticed the same silver LEAF plugged in as last night. I checked the Blink meter, and yup it had been there for 2 days 5 hours and the bill was $53 and climbing.

I called Blink and they confirmed I should unplug it. Do you agree that was the right thing to do?
Of course i could have left them there to teach them a lesson about hogging the charger for 3 days straight!
(FWIW The other charger had a CAR2GO attached, even though we are15 miles beyond what i thought was their area limit.)

2012-10-02_04-02-27_43.jpg
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2012-10-02_04-01-30_70.jpg
 
The only problem with unplugging it is that now some poor sap at Blink Customer service is going to get an earful about an incorrect charge on this person's bill. Had you left the charger in there, at least they would have known why they were charged so much.
 
gbshaun said:
...(FWIW The other charger had a CAR2GO attached, even though we are15 miles beyond what i thought was their area limit.)...
You can take a Car2go out of their area, but the rental won't end unless you park it within the "zone". Wouldn't it be a kick in the pants if the same guy is also racking up a bill for parking the Car2go outside the proper area? :lol:

P.S. I would have left a note telling him how high the bill was when I unplugged them...and chastising him for hogging the equipment.
 
gbshaun said:
I checked the Blink meter, and yup it had been there for 2 days 5 hours and the bill was $53 and climbing.
Ouch. Very good reason to enforce time limits when parking in charging spots, though. Something like 4 hours max from 7am-8pm would really be sufficient and keep people from hogging spots longer than it'd take to get a good charge during the day while still allowing people to charge up over night.
 
Whoever it is, I hope they are just stupid and didn't go somewhere and end up dead or in a hospital somewhere.
 
5 days 7 hours and the car was still there.
The bill would have been $127 by now.

I actually managed to work out who owns the car, and have sent them an e-mail (It's amazing what a little sleuth work with some well-placed Google search terms can come up with!)

No doubt they were unaware of Blink's billing system.
Maybe they don't even know the car is there.
 
gbshaun said:
5 days 7 hours and the car was still there.
The bill would have been $127 by now.

I actually managed to work out who owns the car, and have sent them an e-mail (It's amazing what a little sleuth work with some well-placed Google search terms can come up with!)

No doubt they were unaware of Blink's billing system.
Maybe they don't even know the car is there.

Eh? No kidding. That is some impressive work Sherlock!

I recall reading somewhere that even with a VIN number, plates and a guess at the city/state , it would still be impossible to track down a person let alone get to an email addr just by using internet public resources!! The DMV used to have a website where you could plug in a VIN number and number plates which can give you data, and say a smog location but I think that's now gone.

Pretty amazing and I'd be scared of you too at the same time!! Lol! Yikes. :)
 
Hint: Don't leave a prescription with your name PRINTED on it face-up on the back seat :)
A name isn't everything, but it's a really good start.

BTW, still there (occupying the charger spot) this morning. day #6.

We complain about ICE'ing, but how about EV-Hogs?
That an EV owner would do this is disappointing.
They live within a few miles, so almost certainly did not need the charge to get home.

On a Saturday it's very unlikely that was the ONLY free spot in the lot as it's mostly commuters, but to catch the train this was certainly the CLOSEST spot.
Ironically the owner was reported earlier this year as saying "...she would not mind parking in a back lot and walking. She says it will be less likely that a massive gas-chugging SUV will take her spot."
 
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/01/20/electric-car-parking-perk-or-privilege/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

#221 is a really early LEAF...
 
IMO - While it a bit of a bummer that she is hogging the spot - she is paying for it. If she's willing to do that - more power to her. Charging sessions like this will help subsidize the cost of charging for others.
 
palmermd said:
Isn't that car now at risk of being towed because it is not plugged in? Which costs more a towing impound or the Blink bill?
In general, to be a legitimate park, does it have to be plugged in, or actually charging? It had finished charging 6 days ago.
The EV-only is not enforced at this location. It's on the honor system.
I guess at some point they tow any car from this lot, but they won't prioritize this spot.
 
drees said:
IMO - While it a bit of a bummer that she is hogging the spot - she is paying for it. If she's willing to do that - more power to her. Charging sessions like this will help subsidize the cost of charging for others.
Given that there were other spots, and they live somewhere around here, I'm pretty sure the owner didn't realize they'd be paying for every hour for 6+ days.
I hope this isn't Blink's business plan!
 
gbshaun said:
drees said:
IMO - While it a bit of a bummer that she is hogging the spot - she is paying for it. If she's willing to do that - more power to her. Charging sessions like this will help subsidize the cost of charging for others.
Given that there were other spots, and they live somewhere around here, I'm pretty sure the owner didn't realize they'd be paying for every hour for 6+ days.
I hope this isn't Blink's business plan!
Some Googling reveals that she is likely in San Francisco this week for a trade show and should be back any day now if not already. Took the train to SF? Quite possible given her resume.
 
TEG said:
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/01/20/electric-car-parking-perk-or-privilege/

#221 is a really early LEAF...

Yep, that is rather embarrassing. Perhaps there are mitigating circumstances and it is not as prima facie bad? Things are not always as they appear to be.
 
drees said:
Some Googling reveals that she is likely in San Francisco this week for a trade show and should be back any day now if not already. Took the train to SF? Quite possible given her resume.

If you were a little better at this, you'd already have hacked into the security cams at the trade show to be sure. :lol: or maybe your already have :ugeek:
 
JimSouCal said:
Yep, that is rather embarrassing. Perhaps there are mitigating circumstances and it is not as prima facie bad? Things are not always as they appear to be.
She obviously parked there and went on a trip. Lots of people have done the same at the airport. It's still early times and people are not sure about charging etiquette. She will obviously learn that this was not a good plan, and doesn't deserve public ridicule.

I wish folks had kept her name private. Sure, drop her a friendly note and post about it, people here need to be aware of the issues, but identifying her publicly wasn't necessary.
 
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