Customer Stories: I’d recommend the Smart Home Charge to anyone. 

By Tom Seymour

Last updated: Apr 30th 2024

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After getting his home charge point installed, Ian switched to Octopus Go so that he could charge during its cheap off-peak rates.

What made you choose the vehicle that you bought?

We've got a Mercedes EQA, that's about two years old. My wife had a Mercedes GLA before and we were looking for an upgrade. We went to the local Mercedes dealership in Nottingham and we actually had no intention of switching to electric, but the sales executive persuaded us to have a test drive and we loved it. It was so smooth and quiet. I'm a self-confessed petrol head but I really do prefer driving electric now.

I've got to hold my hands up, I'm totally converted. We've done 30,000 miles in it over the last two years.

What made you decide to get a home EV charge point installed?

We knew some of the cost to charge on the public networks so it's a cost and convenience thing to get a home charger installed. Nine times out of 10 we charge up at home.

Have you switched to an EV-specific tariff and how are things working out in terms of running costs?

We moved house this year and switched to Octopus Go so we have a window overnight where it's 9p/kWh. I know it's not the lowest but I think in terms of the energy we're using it's pretty good really.

Did you find the world of EV charging at home confusing initially? If so, what were some of the difficulties you found when looking for a home charging point?

We honestly never had any doubts or worries.

Once we'd made the decision and chatted things through with the sales executive at Mercedes about how many miles we do, we had our minds made up to switch to EV.

The only thing I would say is that we still have a second car that's an internal combustion engine (ICE) and we're not ready to go all EV yet.

I would make the switch and get a Jaguar I-PACE personally, but my wife said charging on the public networks during a trip to Cornwall was difficult to the point where the confidence isn't there just yet.

How did you find Smart Home Charge?

It was actually recommended through the sales executive at the Mercedes dealership.

It wasn't a specific co-operation between the dealer and Smart Home Charge or anything, the lad at the dealership was just being helpful and he knew the business was a good option if we were looking for a charger installation.

What made Smart Home Charge stand out from other installers? i.e. why did you choose us?

After the recommendation from the Mercedes dealership we looked at the website and thought it looked professional and the business was knowledgeable.

How did you get on with the online site survey? Did you find it easy to follow?

It was just a question of sending photos across online.

At the time when we got the first one installed we got a Government grant towards some of the cost and Smart Home Charge dealt with all that process too.

I can't speak highly enough of the ease of the process. Any concerns were answered. I've actually been through the process twice as we moved house and we used Smart Home Charge for both installs.

Did you take your charger with you when you moved? What was that process like?

I just got in touch with Smart Home Charge to let them know I was moving and they advised me that I could get my charger disconnected and made safe at the garage at the old place.

Then once we moved we got the same home charger installed at our next property. None of it was any problem and it was actually the same engineer for each install.

Read more information in our in-depth guide on what to do with your home charger if you're moving house.

How would you rate your installer(s) and the work they did? Did they arrive on time? Did they suggest any alternative cable routing for your charger?

The engineer was spot on both times. He was really keen to do a good job and he didn't leave a mess.

It was a very professional job.

How else did Smart Home Charge help you?

I actually had a bit of a fault with the Wallbox Pulsar Plus (a model no longer offered by Smart Home Charge).

Wallbox and Smart Home Charge got that all sorted for me though at no cost to myself.

There was a replacement unit needed, but Wallbox sent that out and Smart Home Charge came and installed it.

I was very pleased because it was all taken care of and sorted out for me at no charge, so you can't really complain.

What would you say to someone who is looking to buy a home EV charging point and is considering Smart Home Charge?

I've used Smart Home Charge twice already and I'm telling my neighbours about them. I'd recommend the business to anyone.