Ecotricity Electric Highway

[Kevin Sharpe]

Another failed attempt to charge at the Ecotricity point at Michael Woods, Southbound m5.

I had problems with the 13A at this location on the 19th June but didn't try Type 2.

It would be great if you could video the problem and upload to http://www.youtube.com/user/evchargewatch (I can give you the account details) and then tweet using the hashtag #ukcharge so that all drivers are aware

[fraccy]

I have a video, but my youtube/twittering is non-existent. How do I upload it to that page?

[Edit: Here it is]

[Kevin Sharpe]

I have a video, but my youtube/twittering is non-existent. How do I upload it to that page?

have sent you PM with account details... once uploaded I'm happy to tweet link for you.

Unfortunately, Ecotricity seem to have given up communicating with EV drivers

[ecotricity]

Another failed attempt to charge at the Ecotricity point at Michael Woods, Southbound m5.

Every time I tried to enable charging the light would flash yellow twice and then nothing. The Roadster never seems to see a signal. Now I'm starting to wonder if its me, though same equipment has worked many times before...

Hi Fraccy,

Sorry to hear you've had a problem charging, we're very keen to get these issues sorted. I've mentioned it to Kevin previously, but I don't think it has been shared on here;

We have a dedicated support email address for our Electric Highway: fortheroad@ecotricity.co.uk monitored by a dedicated team of people who respond to telephone and email enquiries.

Unfortunately it's not currently possible for them to check our @ecotricity twitter feed or monitor EV forums or Youtube for fault reports or suggestions. They also need to know RFID card number in order to follow up the issue/suggestion and to try to spot patterns, match up with log files etc...

If you haven't already - could I ask if you could please drop them a line with your full name, RFID number and/or Reg details & they'll be able to help you out. It is possible that you're doing something that is causing the fault (a Leaf driver recently reported that once they tried plugging the car in first that the charging started to work!).

Thanks
Paul

[ecotricity]

Only you Kevin

I've mentioned to you that dropping our team an email on fortheroad@ecotricity.co.uk is the best way for people to get faults resolved, but still you seem to prefer tweeting and youtube... strange that...

[Kevin Sharpe]

Only you Kevin

I've mentioned to you that dropping our team an email on fortheroad@ecotricity.co.uk is the best way for people to get faults resolved, but still you seem to prefer tweeting and youtube... strange that...

Nothing strange at all... the EV community wish to notify one another about the status of EV Charging Stations using twitter and youtube. I did not start these efforts, I simply support them. Personally, I wish you'd just deliver a reliable network so that we can charge our cars and not spend time talking about why we can't

For the record, when historically I reported faults to you by email I only ever received one response and that was actually for a different recipient regarding a different Charging Station!

Final point... it's no good just dipping into EV forums and then disappearing for weeks. Can you please post some responses to the faults posted on LeafTalk because the last Ecotricity post was on the 21st May.

[ecotricity]

Kevin - your input is the main reason for my 'dipping in and out' - I've been told to ignore you. I've also been ill lots in the past couple of months - another good reason not to rely on social media and forums as a way to 'help us deliver a reliable network'.

This is the first and last time I address you on this forum, and just to reiterate the reasons for everyone else's benefit:

As I posted on Leaftalk - you've previously stated that you:

1. Don't need or want to use our network (you believe yours is far superior)
2. Are not interested in helping us 'debug compatibility problems' with your car or cables.
3. Have a personal issue with Ecotricity founder Dale Vince

In which case, please refrain from trying to provoke a reaction from me, and for the sake of our customers (whom you claim to represent the interests of), please refrain from participating in any threads or discussions that you would like us to respond to.

You aren't helping - you are making things worse. I also have better things to do with my time & energy than to be trolled by you on multiple platforms.

Cheers
Paul

[Kevin Sharpe]

1. Don't need or want to use our network (you believe yours is far superior)

You have conveniently taken this out of context.... what I was saying is that I don't *need* to use your network because I have the range to continue when your Charging Stations are not working. That does not mean that I would not like to use it from time to time.

Clearly Zero:Net is superior in terms of reliability if we have 120 locations today and 200 working Charging Stations (100% working).

2. Are not interested in helping us 'debug compatibility problems' with your car or cables

Again, conveniently out of context.... I was talking about your supplier who I was unwilling to help further because I had already spent a great deal of time disproving the claim that it was Tesla drivers using unapproved cables in Europe that damaged your Charging Stations.

3. Have a personal issue with Ecotricity founder Dale Vince

I have said to Dale a number of times that I think he is wrong to dismiss the work of David Peilow, Andrew Bissell, Tesla, and others when they founded the first national charging station network.

In which case, please refrain from trying to provoke a reaction from me, and for the sake of our customers (whom you claim to represent the interests of), please refrain from participating in any threads or discussions that you would like us to respond to.

When your customers (my friends) get dumped on the side of the road because of the failure of your Charging Station then I take an interest in their welfare. I actually campaign at all levels for improved public charging. If you participate in public forums then the moderators will ensure that you get treated fairly. I suggest that it's in Ecotricity's best interests to respond to the concerns that customers raise whether through twitter, forums, or email.

You aren't helping - you are making things worse. I also have better things to do with my time & energy than to be trolled by you on multiple platforms.

What I suggest is that you deliver a reliable network.... I also have better things to do with my time.

[dpeilow]

I'm not sure anyone comes out of this cross-forum spat looking good, guys. Sure, the original point (namely there are some ecotricity sites not working) needed to be raised, but there isn't a need for name calling and you both represent professional organisations.

We have to remember that these are not closed fora, that the public do read them and that infighting between prominant EV proponents may have a (totally unfounded) negative influence on their purchasing decisions...

[Kevin Sharpe]

Vauxhall Ampera Southbound M6 Charnock services 28 June 2012 (Note similarity to error reported by fraccy above when using his Tesla and Tesla Type 2 cable)