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Charging of new energy vehicles
Being charged a hefty "overtime placeholder fee"
Sparked heated discussions
Many car owners reflected
Some new energy vehicle charging stations
Lack of clear charge reminders and signage
Causing them to passively bear high costs
Why is there an "overtime placeholder fee"?
Is there a way to set the price?
What do car owners think about this?
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The overtime placeholder fee is frequently disputed
New energy vehicle owners: the prompt is vague
"I didn't know anything about the 'overtime placeholder fee', the basement was very spacious at the time, and the four charging piles were also idle, but after charging, I found that the overtime placeholder fee was automatically deducted." Not long ago, Mr. Jin (pseudonym), a car owner in Guangzhou, posted on social platforms to describe his experience.
According to Mr. Jin's public charging details, the charging fee is 8.83 yuan, the service fee is 4.1 yuan, and the "accidental" overtime placeholder fee is 70 yuan. In addition, Mr. Jin mentioned that there is no information about the overtime placeholder fee on the charging pile, and there is only a small print reminder in the APP.
On the price page of a charging pile, the picture shows a screenshot of the operator's charging applet.
"This kind of reminder is obviously not clear and effective," said Mr. Jin, who has already paid the parking fee to the hotel property and is puzzled by the overtime occupancy fee charged by the charging pile. So, he reported the relevant situation to the 12315 consumer complaint and report hotline.
The operator responded through 12315, saying that when the APP and WeChat applet started charging, it had indicated the placeholder fee charging rule, that is, "after non-charging occupies a parking space or charging gun for more than 30 minutes, it will be charged at 1 yuan/minute".
At the same time, the fee will also be displayed in real time on the interface after scanning the code for charging, and will be notified by SMS and voice call before the charge.
Regarding the issue of duplicate charges mentioned by Mr. Jin, the operator explained that the occupancy fee is charged to improve the utilization rate of charging spaces, and does not conflict with the parking fee charged by the property owner.
A search on an online complaint platform found that such complaints are not uncommon, and many new energy vehicle owners on major social platforms discuss related issues. Car owners are mainly dissatisfied with the overpricing of overtime occupancy fees and the failure of car companies or operators to fully fulfill their reminder duties.
How much does it cost?
Pricing varies from brand to brand
In the past few days, some media investigations have found that the regular charging items of most charging stations include charging fees and service fees, and some stations will charge parking fees. During peak electricity consumption periods, some regions adopt "time-of-use tariff" measures.
There are slight differences between operators in the collection of overtime placeholder fees. The media consulted a number of car companies and learned that some operators have set a clear upper limit on fees, and some have no upper limit. Among them, the charging network built by the car company itself often charges more.
▶ Tesla explained that the "overtime placeholder fee" is a fee charged to vehicles that still occupy Supercharger spaces after charging when the charging station is less than 50% free.
Tesla charging pile "overtime placeholder fee" billing method. Source: Tesla Information.
In terms of billing details, this fee is waived if the vehicle leaves within 5 minutes after the completion of charging. If the vehicle is occupied overtime after being fully charged, and the number of idle charging piles is less than 50%, it will be charged at the standard of 3.2 yuan/minute; If there is no idle charging pile, 6.4 yuan/minute will be charged.
▶ Xpeng Charging customer service revealed that more than 93% of its self-operated stations will provide charging car owners with at least 1 hour of free parking. If the vehicle occupies more than the specified time (15 minutes or 30 minutes) in the non-charging state, an overtime occupancy fee of 1 yuan/minute will be charged.
It is worth noting that Xpeng's customer service said that its charging standards are uniform and are not affected by the number of idle charging piles.
In addition, the customer service added: "After the car owner is fully charged, it will prompt through text messages and voice calls. However, in order to avoid affecting the rest of the car owner, voice calls will not be made after 10 p.m. ”
▶ Weilai's customer service said that the standard for overtime occupation of its self-operated stations is 0.5 yuan/minute, with an upper limit of 50 yuan. If the vehicle is not removed within 15 minutes after the end of charging, the charge will begin.
▶ Compared with car companies, the pricing of third-party charging apps is slightly lower. According to Xiaoju Charging's customer service, some of its charging stations will charge an "overtime occupation fee", which is charged by the charging station, and the owner will be informed by text message and phone call before charging.
The picture shows a screenshot of the Xiaoju charging applet
Is the overtime placeholder fee reasonable?
The contradiction of charging piles is highlighted
Statistics from the Ministry of Public Security show that by the end of June 2024, the number of new energy vehicles in the country reached 24.72 million.
With the popularization of new energy vehicles, the number and demand for public charging facilities are growing rapidly. According to the statistics of the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance, by the end of July 2024, the number of charging infrastructure in the country reached 10.604 million units.
However, behind the rapid growth, problems such as insufficient allocation of charging piles in public parking lots, space occupation of fuel vehicles and "zombie piles" are becoming more and more prominent. For this reason, some charging stations have started charging overtime occupancy fees.
For this fee, all operators emphasize that it is to maintain the charging order, not to make a profit.
Consumers have had mixed reactions. Some people believe that this can prevent individual vehicles from occupying charging spaces after charging, affecting the use of other vehicle owners.
There are also concerns that if the fee is set too high, it will be unreasonable. In addition, some consumers are puzzled by the separate billing of overtime occupancy fees and parking fees.
Expert: It is the operator's obligation to reinforce the alert
Xiao Lichao, a full-time lawyer at Guangdong Shenglong Law Firm, said in an interview that at present, there are no universal laws and regulations or industry standards for the "overtime occupancy fee" of charging piles at the national level. Therefore, the charge is mainly based on the service agreement signed by the car owner when using the charging pile.
Regarding the pricing standard of "overtime occupancy fee", Xiao Lichao said that although there is no unified regulation at present, many places have begun to promulgate relevant policies to guide and standardize.
In addition, Xiao Lichao also explained why some charging stations charge both "overtime occupation fees" and "parking fees".
He stressed that the subject and the nature of the charges are different: the parking fee is based on the vehicle parking service, while the overtime occupation fee is for the use of charging piles. Although they all involve the parking of vehicles, the names of the charges are actually different.
"However, these fee items and standards should be clearly publicized, or blacked and bold in the user agreement, so as to fulfill the notification obligation of the standard contract provider."
Have you ever paid this "overtime placeholder fee"?
What do you think of this cost
How to collect it?
Let's talk in the comments section
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Edit | Lao Ziyin
Proofreading | Cai Shiyan, Liao Jingwen, Zhou Xiaoyuan, Peng Rong
Proofreading | Lan Yongheng, Zhuang Yuan
Executive Producer | Yu Zhiguo
Source of information | Read Special News, Guangzhou Daily