We get it, EV charging can be confusing – so we've pulled together some quick answers to the most commonly asked questions about EV charging.
Need help right away? Just give our 24/7 helpline a ring at 0800 917 3208.
You always start a charge with your chosen payment method. Depending on the type of charger you're at, you can choose from the below:
Be.EV Members (Be.EV app & Be.EV RFID card)
Off-Peak (7pm–7am): 39p/kWh (yes, you read that right)
Daytime (7am–7pm): 69p/kWh
Pay As You Go (Contactless, Roaming Partner or Webpay)
Anytime: 79p/kWh
^ Prices may differ for rapid (CHAdeMO) connectors at Ultra-rapid Hubs. Check before you charge for the latest price.
Be.EV Members (Be.EV app & Be.EV RFID card)
Off-Peak (9pm–7am): 55p/kWh
Daytime (7am–9pm): 60p/kWh
Pay As You Go (Contactless, Roaming Partner or Webpay)
Anytime: 65p/kWh
^ Prices may differ for rapid (CHAdeMO) connectors at Ultra-rapid Hubs. Check before you charge for the latest price.
Be.EV Members (Be.EV app & Be.EV RFID card)
Off-Peak (9pm–7am): 45p/kWh
Daytime (7am–9pm): 50p/kWh
Pay As You Go (Contactless, Roaming Partner or Webpay)
Anytime: 55p/kWh
Unlocks 49p/kWh or less. Just £4.99 per month, cancel anytime.
Unlocks 39p/kWh or less. Just £9.99 per month, cancel anytime.
When charging, the connector will be locked in to your vehicle - but you can end your charge at any time with the payment method you started your charge with. Stop the session first, then unplug your vehicle.
Either press stop on the app, or on the charger then present your RFID/contactless card back up to the reader.
Ensure the charge session has finished, and that your car is unlocked, then you can go ahead and unplug. If the charge session has ended but the connector still feels locked to your vehicle, cycle between locking and unlocking on your car key.
If you have any issues stopping a charge session or unplugging, you can call our friendly 24/7 Customer Helpline on 0800 917 3208.
You don't need to wait for your vehicle to reach 100% to finish charging. In fact, since charging slows down considerably as a battery fills up, it often makes sense to charge up to around 80% or 90% and continue on with your jounrey. This is also better for the health of your battery, as repeated full-charging over a battery's life can lead to increased degradation.
There are several reasons why you may not be seeing speeds as high as you’d expect. Let’s get you charging faster!
Batteries need to be warm (around 20-30ºC) to reach their peak speeds, anything below that and the vehicle will likely charge slower.
Warm up your battery before charging, through preheating or previous driving and rapid charging, to avoid this limiting.
EVs will typically only hit their peak charging speeds at lower states of charge, before they begin to charge slower at higher battery percentages.
Each electric vehicle has its own ‘charge curve’, which is a graph that describes how much charging power is to be expected at each battery percentage. Review your vehicle’s own charge curve to understand what speeds to expect.
Some rapid and ultra-rapid chargers allow the ability to split charging power between two vehicles at once. This may mean that the peak charging speed you can expect is reduced when another vehicle is connected. Whilst this is rarely an issue, aim for charging locations like Be.EV Charging Hubs, Charging Greens and Charging Oases which don’t limit power based on the car charging beside you.
It often takes a few moments for maximum charging power to be reached. Give your vehicle a minute or two to request full power.
The factors above combine to impact your charging speeds. For the fastest session, arrive with lower states of charge at your battery’s ideal temperature, aiming for chargers which don’t limit charging speed based on adjacent vehicles.
Charging is simpler than ever with your new Be.EV app.
Simply add a payment card to your account when you follow the set-up steps in the app, then each time you charge, just select the charging location you’re at > pick the connector you wish to charge on > and hit ‘Start Charge’ to get the electrons flowing.
You’ll be billed straight after the session to your preferred payment card – nice and simple.
If you’ve paid with your Be.EV app or Be.EV RFID card, open your Be.EV app > Account > Charging History > pick the session you’d like a receipt for and we’ll email it across straight away.
If you’ve paid by a Roaming Partner app or RFID card, you’ll be able to access a receipt through their app or website directly (as it’s technically them who you’ve paid).
If you’ve paid by Contactless bank card/Apple Pay/Google Pay, get in touch with our support team and we’ll be able to generate a VAT receipt for you: support@be-ev.co.uk
You may notice that we take a small pre-authorisation amount at the start of each session to ensure a charge can be paid for in full (just like at the petrol pump, but less smelly).
Rest assured, this is not a payment, just simply a hold on your account which will disappear to reflect the real cost of the charge session after you’ve charged up. Depending on your bank, this can take a few days, but usually resolves straight away.
We don't currently apply any overstay fees for vehicles that remain after charging has completed, but you should move your vehicle after you've finished charging to free up the charger for somebody else.
However, local parking charges and restrictions may apply, so always check the signage.
