Jaguar Land Rover and Octopus Energy are under fire from I-Pace owners after removing JLR electric vehicles (EVs) from the charging app with just a few hours’ notice.
Over the past week, “furious” users have taken to the I-Pace forums to share emails they received from Octopus Energy stating that their electric vehicle would not be compatible with smart charging with Intelligent Octopus Go due to changes to JLR software.
Intelligent Octopus Go – “the UK’s most popular EV tariff” – is a smart charging tariff that automatically charges your car when energy is cheapest.
At 7.5p/kWh, it claims to offer up to 70 per cent less than the cap rates. It also offers six hours of cheap power overnight.
Over the past week, “furious” users have shared on the I-Pace forums emails they received from Octopus Energy announcing that their electric vehicle would not be compatible.
The overnight withdrawal of JLR electric vehicles has left I-Pace owners facing higher charging costs, reduced off-peak charging windows and, in some cases, the impossibility to recharge at all.
Jaguar I-Pace owner Judith Dooling told us she received an email last Wednesday evening from Octopus Energy informing her that from midnight that evening I would no longer be able to charge my car (I-Pace) using the Intelligent Octopus Go app. Four hours’ notice.
Like many users, Judith was told she would need to manually schedule her I-Pace to charge between 12:30am and 4:30am if she wanted to make the most of off-peak prices and greener energy.
In addition to shaving two hours off Intelligent Octopus Go’s peak charging times (for compatible EVs it’s 11:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.), JLR owners will be moved to Octopus Go rates in two months.
Octopus has informed its customers that this means it “cannot achieve the same savings” as for Intelligent Octopus Go users and that the price of energy will increase by 20%.
The overnight withdrawal of JLR electric vehicles has left I-Pace owners facing higher charging costs, reduced off-peak charging windows and, in some cases, unable to charge from All.
JLR customer service has informed owners that “a security flaw in the third-party app that Octopus and other energy providers use for smart charging during off-peak hours” is the reason for this increased security. security.
After hours of talking to JLR and Octopus “until I was blue”, Judith was not given a solution to manually charge her I-Pace.
She said: “I tried things suggested on the iPace forum (full of very angry customers) but again last night my car wouldn’t charge.
“I’m retired, so I was probably born too late to be the technical genius it would take to solve this problem.
“Instead, I find myself in a rural area, almost ten kilometers from the nearest public charging station, with a car I can’t use and no one to help me.”
In the end, a week later, Judith’s I-Pace finally charged thanks to the help of members of the I-Pace forum, after the video sent by JLR customer service on how to “wake up” the vehicle did not work.
Judith’s I-Pace was finally charged with help from I-Pace forum members after JLR’s advice didn’t work
The reason Octopus gave via email to I-Pace owners is that JLR has made some changes to its software that prevent third-party charging apps (including Octopus) from communicating with their cars.
An Octopus spokesperson told us: “When JLR confirmed that it would be upgrading its systems and the impact this would have on our customers, we quickly sent an email to everyone affected in the 12 hours following change.
“We have offered all JLR drivers their final EV charge ‘at our expense’ and will keep their rates at the IOG level for another two months before moving them to our other EV rate ‘Octopus Go’.
“It’s a shame that JLR drivers are no longer among the hundreds of thousands of Octopus customers saving big with our smartest EV tariff ‘Intelligent Octopus Go’, but we’re happy to be able to offer them the benefit of one of the main EV prices on the market. walk.’
JLR has recently encountered well-documented vehicle security and theft issues.
JLR Customer Care has informed owners that “a security flaw in the third-party app that Octopus and other energy providers use for smart charging during off-peak hours” is the reason for this security boost.
The context provided by This is Money by JLR is that it is a preventative measure to prevent unauthorized access to the vehicle and personal data through unofficial applications, as well as to protect warranty rights due to unofficial applications.
In a statement, JLR said: “To continue to keep our customers’ data as secure as possible, we have updated the way our electrified vehicles interact with the ever-growing list of third-party apps. As a result, some smart charging rates are affected. We work with energy companies to keep our mutual customers informed of their options.
I-Pace owners like Judith Dooling were also unimpressed with Octopus’ warning that “it was cutting-edge technology that may not always be reliable” .
Many I-Pace drivers said they would “leave JLR”, while others, like Judith, were unimpressed by Octopus’ warning that smart charging technology can be unpredictable :
“They pointed out that when I signed up for Intelligent Octopus Go two years ago, I would have been told it was cutting-edge technology that might not always be reliable.”
“I was offered a £30 customer service fee for the inconvenience.”
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