- This topic has 105 replies, 22 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 7 months ago by
.
- Topic
- Replies
My quote from OHME was provided to them by: Smarter Utility Block 4 Unit 4 Fullwood Industrial Estate, Hamilton, ML3 9AZ Who are apparently OHME’s specialist for central Scotland, but 60 miles from me. I cannot understand why this installer was chosen, as there are dozens of EV installers in the Edinburgh/ East Lothian area.
It’s unbelievable isn’t it…. I’m only ten minutes down the road from you in the Pans and my installation company is in Preston! Beginning to wonder if think Prestonpans is a suburb of Preston! You couldn’t make this stuff up!
Make of this what you will
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/SC686191/filing-history
They have advised that we are unable to cover the £1343 costs and we cannot allow you to do your own ground works, If you are unable to manage this amount, please contact our Application team on 0300 456 4566 to discuss installing the charge point at an alternative driver’s address instead. Kind Regards Motability
Sorry but this caught my eye. Did you bring up the possibility of having the charger installed at someone else’s address? Or did Motability? Didn’t know that was an option.
Is there a specific reason as to why the costs would be so high at your address? High enough that the idea of having a charge point installed somewhere else is now being mooted? You don’t have a moat encircling your property do you?
I just can’t figure out the set up between Motability, OHME and OHME’s “registered installers”, apart from a consortium with a monopoly over disabled customers.
Disabled customers are offered a “free product” by one member, then quoted an inflated amount by another and the middle member makes up the rules in order to retain all the work, with spurious claims that anyone doing work outside their circle will void a warranty and only their partner can carry out any work required.
Where else does such a practice exist, where a customer is basically “sucked in” by an offer and once in (after ordering an EV) they are at the mercy of the next partner and have no option but to accept a quote from the third partner(s).
Are any of the above parties in breach of Competition Law
“Competition law is contained in Chapters I and II of the Competition Act 1998 and is policed by the Competition Markets Authority (CMA). UK competition law is designed to protect the ‘underdog’ consumer or business from anti-competitive agreements or abuse of dominant market positions.
Is being denied the right to have works carried out on your own property by a qualified/ certified contractor, an abuse of market position. E.g Use our installers/contractors or lose the free offer.
The extortionate quotes sent out might also raise a few eyebrows.
I will contact the Competition and Markets Agency (CMA) and find out what their take on this set up is
I will also contact my MP, SMP and the Minister for Disabled People, explain the situation and request their view on this matter.
It has got to the stage that the financial part is not a huge deal, it’s the rights of the disabled customer to be treated with respect and fairness.
Would a normal everyday customer put up with this, where they can obtain a charger from the manufacturer and be told they can only use the manufacturers installers and cannot obtain quotes for work on their property from anyone else? I think not!
No, it was Motability that came up with the option of have the charger fitted at another address?
I have no idea why, as the only named driver is my husband and aways has been.
My house is nothing special, semi-detached with front garden and driveway in front of garden.
Max 17m from electricity box to driveway/charge post.It’s the quote to run the cable and installation of charge post that is the problem. £1,343.00 from Ohme or £550.00 from local contractor.
But, Ohme does not allow any contractor/ installer, other than their own to complete this work.
Bottom line – Accept Ohme’s quote or lose the free charger offered by Motability.
Bit of a farce really!
Smarter Utility works throughout the United Kingdom and was formed in 2019.
We have over 30 years experience
https://smarterutility.co.uk/about-us
Well that’s interesting….a four year old company with 30+ years experience. Hmmmm
@JJB – Doesn’t make much sense. We need our cars to be with us for our health so why would Motability suggest having it parked somewhere else? I don’t have a driveway so can’t charge an EV but Motability said I couldn’t have a charger anywhere but at my residence. Bizarre.
I do think that Motability say one thing to one person and another thing to the next?
Is my husband expected to park the vehicle at another address to charge it, then walk back to that address and get the car every time I need to go out?
Especially when I have a perfectly good driveway outside my house.
Just another fob off excuse from Motability, who would be better off just sorting out the obvious problem – OHME.
It’s all a bit shadowy, isn’t it?
Sorry, but Motability really should be stepping in and sorting this disgusting mess out. It’s down to them at the end of the day and their customers should definitely not be having to deal with such shoddy business practices! ??
Smarter Utility works throughout the United Kingdom and was formed in 2019.
We have over 30 years experience https://smarterutility.co.uk/about-us Well that’s interesting….a four year old company with 30+ years experience. Hmmmm
Company formed and kept dormant on standby for 4 yrs costs £49 pa to do this
Theory only
Company already set up and registered in waiting is now active
Company acts as an agency that subs out Ohme works
High quotes due to adding their slice of the pie?
All this is pure speculation of course
Follow the money trail imo and the answers lie there
Interesting the amount of “companies” set up recently under the Smarter Utility umbrella??
Results from Companies House
SMARTER UTILITY LTD
SC648051 – Incorporated on 25 November 2019
159 King Street, Rutherglen, Glasgow, Scotland, G73 1BZ
SMARTER UTILITY GROUP LIMITED
SC686191 – Incorporated on 18 January 2021
Block 4 Unit 4 Fullwood Industrial Estate, Burnbank Road, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, ML3 9AZ
SMARTER UTILITY HOLDINGS LIMITED
SC742920 – Incorporated on 30 August 2022
Block 4, Unit 4 Fullwood Industrial Estate, Burnbank Road, Hamilton, Scotland, ML3 9AZ
SMARTER UTILITY RENEWABLES LTD
SC761594 – Incorporated on 9 March 2023
4 Block 4 Unit 4, Fullwood Industrial Estate, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, United Kingdom, ML3 9AZ
SMARTER UTILITY CIVILS LTD
SC711185 – Dissolved on 31 January 2023
Unit 2 High Street Industrial Estate High Street, Kirkintilloch, Glasgow, Scotland, G66 1PN
The last one is interesting, as it was dissolved on 31 Jan 2023, but they used this company and this address on the EVCP & HP Connections Form v3.3, which is dated 06/02/2024.
A year after the company was dissolved and still using that address etc.
Something not quite right here?
NICEIC Approved contractor scheme
Smarter Utility Holdings Ltd T/A Smarter Utility
Block 4 Unit 4 Fullwood Industrial Estate
Hamilton
ML3 9AZ
07415658838
info@smarterutility.co.uk
http://www.smarterutility.co.ukUnit 2 High Street Industrial Estate High Street, Kirkintilloch, Glasgow, Scotland, G66 1PN The last one is interesting, as it was dissolved on 31 Jan 2023, but they used this company and this address on the EVCP & HP Connections Form v3.3, which is dated 06/02/2024. A year after the company was dissolved and still using that address etc. Something not quite right here?
Unit 2 at High Street Industrial Estate, located in Kirkintilloch, Glasgow, G66 1PN, is associated with the Contact Energy Technical Academy
https://energytechnicalacademy.co.uk/contact-us
Oh dear, the plot thickens, fictitious address on the DNO application, what next?
Not an expert, but grateful if you could share what is wrong with the installations.
Oh dear, the plot thickens, fictitious address on the DNO application, what next? Not an expert, but grateful if you could share what is wrong with the installations.
Any standing water from rain/snow will eventualy seep in and fill the the junction box with water – would have been better to lift a few inches off the ground.
Timber fencing is not considered to be suitable for supporting cables or electrical items in general, such as a charger, for reasons –
wood preservatives may attack the cable sheath
timber fencing is unlikely to be sufficiently rigid
the life of timber fencing is likely to be less than that of the cable
damage sustained to the fence due to high winds (may present a risk of electric shock)Their CheckATrade profile:
https://www.checkatrade.com/trades/smarterutility
Seems to be covering the whole of Scotland from the west coast to Edinburgh and up to Aberdeen from the postcodes on the reviews.
A sample of their work proudly presented on FB! Can anyone spot what is wrong?
It’s also telling that they would put work that was substandard on their Facebook page believing it to be a good example of their work.
Ohme utilises a tiered system for their installers, with Smarter Utility being the lowest ranked. They work with a variety of contractors, so if you’re not comfortable with these cowboys, you can request a different installer from Ohme.
Initially, they may try to dissuade you from switching by citing long wait times, but when challenged, they may quickly accommodate your request, as we experienced firsthand. Once we questioned their reasoning for the long wait times (before even asking for my address) and persisted in our request for a different installer, they promptly arranged for an alternative.
Mmmm got a sneaky feeling this may just be the tip of the iceberg
As before not great ( for us ) when motorbility puts all our eggs in one basket
Ohme utilises a tiered system for their installers, with Smarter Utility being the lowest ranked. They work with a variety of contractors, so if you’re not comfortable with these cowboys, you can request a different installer from Ohme. Initially, they may try to dissuade you from switching by citing long wait times, but when challenged, they may quickly accommodate your request, as we experienced firsthand. Once we questioned their reasoning for the long wait times (before even asking for my address) and persisted in our request for a different installer, they promptly arranged for an alternative.
No Kam, they go a rank lower and subcontract out the work to other electricians.
This is quite good for checking Insolvencies. Smarter Utility has 4 or 5 registered entries on Companies House. They can keep operating by shutting one company down and starting on the other listing.
But this link is really handy, it shows companies that have done this, hell put in your street and it finds the ones who have declared themselves bankrupt;
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/insolvency
Finally managed to get an itemised breakdown from OHME for the quote:
”Hi,
Thank you for getting back in touch. I’m sorry about the delay in coming back to you. As you receive a contribution from Motability to cover some of the non-standard costs, we had to confirm with a different department about the itemised cost for each section.
Please see below a line-by-line breakdown of each of the costs for you:
– Post mounting and back plate – £462.00
– Post block (concrete) – £396.00
– Groundworks – £462.00
– 10m EV Ultra (cable) – £141.90
– 2 hours additional labour – £158.40
Total – £1,620.30
Total minus Motability contribution – £1,342.30If you have any further questions or need any additional support, please feel free to reach out by email or by phone and we can address this.”
Mounting Post £462.00? The most expensive one I can find online for the OHME Home Pro is £270.60. So, a 71% mark up here.
Post Block (concrete) £396.00. I have no idea what a post block is either. But after calling Micromixconcrete in Edinburgh, I can have 4 square meters of concrete delivered for £380.00. So no idea what £396.09 for concrete is for.
A charger post base or ground box costs £99.00 and 2/3 bags of Postcrete £30.00, job done for £130.00.
Groundworks £462.00, but does not specify what groundwork is required. In my opinion, none apart from the post base.
10m Ultra EV cable £141.90.
Tool Station – 10m Doncaster Ultra EV cable £56.00. A mark up of 153%!Labour £158.40 for 2 hours. So what does the groundwork charge cover?
Obviously being seriously ripped off !!
Also, where did the £300 Motability contribution appear from?
Take away the Motability contribution, and the original quote from Smarter Utility was over £1,600.09…..,Mindblowing
Also, where did the £300 Motability contribution appear from?
Apart from the massively over priced quote, Motability cover the costs for a standard install, (about £750-£800) and clearly state, if a non standard install is required you need to find the additional ontop of a standard install.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.