Sarcastic and abusive email response from Ian Willis the director when I asked if I could supply the unit myself
I've been seeking a quote for an EV charge point to be installed at my property. Specifically, I was dealing with Ian Willis. They were adding a large markup to the cost of the unit they were proposing so I asked if I could supply the unit myself and they handle the install. I received a deeply sarcastic reply from Ian talking about taking steak to a restaurant and expecting the meal for £5 instead of £15. Totally absurd to find a restaurant analogy since it is in no way applicable to a domestic property where people routinely buy electrical devices themselves and hire professionals to fit them. I replied explaining this and dealing with his points in turn only to receive a reply saying See (C) You (U) Next (N) Tuesday (T) (a well-known, highly offensive acronym.) Highly unprofessionaland offesnsive. Steer clear for all you're worth.
A typical installation should cost around 1k give or take, and even though I'm eligible for a £500 WCS Grant, the quoted install was still almost 1k.
All I asked was if I bought the charger whether he would honour the installation cost quoted. This was my calculation....
£541.67 (for the unit) + £547.50 for a half day of installation service and materials = £1089.17 ex VAT, £1307 inc VAT - £500 grant = £807 total cost to me, not £916 as quoted by Ian!! Clearly they were adding margin to the charger itself so I just wanted to save £109 in these difficult financial times. I'm switching to an EV primarily to save money!
Not an unreasonable request. And certainly not requiring abusive and unprofessional responses littered with sarcasm and profanity.
Reply from Chargepoint EV
Thank you for your review.
For transparency to anyone reading this, it’s important to clarify the context behind the pricing mentioned.
The comparison made here is between the wholesale price of a charger purchased online and the price of a fully installed EV charging system. These are not comparable. Our £949 price includes the Ohme charger, professional installation by qualified electricians, all required installation materials, electrical protection, testing, certification, and ensuring the installation complies fully with current UK electrical regulations.
What is also not explained in this review is that the proposed work included installing a new consumer unit and lifting and reinstating carpets and floorboards in order to carry out the installation safely and correctly. Expecting all of this work to be completed for £916 based on the wholesale price of a charger alone is unfortunately not a realistic comparison.
It is also important to note that no installation actually took place. This review relates to a quotation where the customer was attempting to negotiate a lower price by comparing wholesale hardware costs with a full professional installation.
As a company we have installed more than 15,000 EV chargers. The vast majority of our customers are extremely happy with the quality, safety and professionalism of our work. Naturally, reviews tend to attract the small number of situations where a quotation is declined or expectations on price differ.
We stand by our pricing as fair and competitive for a safe, compliant installation carried out by experienced professionals. Our focus is on delivering quality workmanship and fully compliant installations rather than cutting corners to achieve the lowest possible price.
For customers looking for a properly installed, safe and compliant EV charging system backed by experience and professionalism, we are confident our service represents excellent value.
Following your comments regarding the cost of installation, we have reviewed the figures mentioned. Unfortunately, we are unable to determine how those costs have been calculated. However, we can confirm that our pricing for all non-standard works is based on what we consider to be fair, transparent, and reasonable for the work required.
We always encourage customers to review the market and compare options to ensure they are receiving value for money. That said, we firmly believe that the service, workmanship, and materials we provide represent exceptional value.
We would welcome the opportunity to provide a detailed quotation and discuss the requirements with any customer wishing to embark on their EV journey. We have installed thousands of chargers and would encourage anyone to review our satisfied reviews or call us directly, we are on hand to help from
8-8pm , 7 days per week