The oddest thing...
Discussion
This post is going to sound a bit judgemental and I apologise in advance if it does...
Anyway.. onward
So I recently had a long trip in the EV6 (London City Airport) and back to Brum. 280 - 300 miles round trip. Weather as it is, the range has taken a hit so I knew I had to charge up on the return leg.
Planned for the Ionity charge station at Beaconsfield Services. Checked my Kia charge card was still valid (Yay! till May 2023), good to go.
Arrive at charge station and am approached by a guy who asks "Do I have a card that works with these chargers?"
Yes I do...
"Great, can I use your card and give you the cash?"
Erm No, just put the App on your phone via the QR code and you can use you credit card
"My phones dead, so's my Sons"
I pull out some usb cables from my rucksack and offer them to him so he can charge his phone enough to sort out the App etc. Turns out he has 20 miles left.
Anyway, Mrs spotted a Gridserve charger and says "Why doesn't he try and use those?"
Good idea, go tell him.
Anyway he says thanks and goes to the other charger.
Maybe it's just me but how can you be on a motorway journey in an EV without a plan to charge up?
Not have a single USB cable for your phone in the car?
Anyway, I just thought it was really bizarre.
If my phone is at 30% I can't get to charging it quickly enough...
Anyway.. onward
So I recently had a long trip in the EV6 (London City Airport) and back to Brum. 280 - 300 miles round trip. Weather as it is, the range has taken a hit so I knew I had to charge up on the return leg.
Planned for the Ionity charge station at Beaconsfield Services. Checked my Kia charge card was still valid (Yay! till May 2023), good to go.
Arrive at charge station and am approached by a guy who asks "Do I have a card that works with these chargers?"
Yes I do...
"Great, can I use your card and give you the cash?"
Erm No, just put the App on your phone via the QR code and you can use you credit card
"My phones dead, so's my Sons"
I pull out some usb cables from my rucksack and offer them to him so he can charge his phone enough to sort out the App etc. Turns out he has 20 miles left.
Anyway, Mrs spotted a Gridserve charger and says "Why doesn't he try and use those?"
Good idea, go tell him.
Anyway he says thanks and goes to the other charger.
Maybe it's just me but how can you be on a motorway journey in an EV without a plan to charge up?
Not have a single USB cable for your phone in the car?
Anyway, I just thought it was really bizarre.
If my phone is at 30% I can't get to charging it quickly enough...
does sound weird that both their phones are dead and perhaps you dodged a scam. Never stopped there as i tend to use the BP pulse at High Wycombe then it's an excuse to buy a Five guys too
However with contactless charging we no longer have cables in our car.
However with contactless charging we no longer have cables in our car.
Edited by TheDrownedApe on Tuesday 21st February 14:48
TheDrownedApe said:
does sound weird that both their phones are dead and perhaps you dodged a scam. Never stopped there as i tend to use the BP pulse at High Wycombe then it's an excuse to buy a Five guys too
However with contactless charging we no longer have cables in our car.
Agreed, I tend to have all the cables handy but have a USB C in the car. No wireless Android.... sigh.However with contactless charging we no longer have cables in our car.
Using phones for navigation can cane the batteries.
One cock up leads to another!
It does sound like a scam, like people used to ask to borrow your phone on the train 25 years ago, then dial 0898 nigeria or something?
Chargers should not need anything more than a Visa or Mastercard, just like 'pay at the pump'.
One cock up leads to another!
It does sound like a scam, like people used to ask to borrow your phone on the train 25 years ago, then dial 0898 nigeria or something?
Chargers should not need anything more than a Visa or Mastercard, just like 'pay at the pump'.
I can't work out how it could be a scam if he was going to give you hard cash and then only you would use your phone to authorise the charge.
The fact he didn't have a charger lead and had managed to drain his phone and his car suggests he was you a bumbling, disorganised idiot tbh
Was he nice? Most dumb dumbs are normally quite nice
The fact he didn't have a charger lead and had managed to drain his phone and his car suggests he was you a bumbling, disorganised idiot tbh
Was he nice? Most dumb dumbs are normally quite nice
TheDeuce said:
I can't work out how it could be a scam if he was going to give you hard cash and then only you would use your phone to authorise the charge.
The fact he didn't have a charger lead and had managed to drain his phone and his car suggests he was you a bumbling, disorganised idiot tbh
Was he nice? Most dumb dumbs are normally quite nice
In the 1990s, French petrol stations (unmanned on a Sunday and CC only) did not accept UK cards. During a few motorbike trips in far-flung rural parts of the country I would have to wait around and ask fellow motorists to fill up my bike using their card and I would give them the cash.The fact he didn't have a charger lead and had managed to drain his phone and his car suggests he was you a bumbling, disorganised idiot tbh
Was he nice? Most dumb dumbs are normally quite nice
This was usually successful, but some would refuse, accusing me of trying to scam them, or perhaps they just didn't like motorcyclists. On a few occasions I was met with abject apologies from people who said they were so overdrawn already, that 80F of unleaded would block their account entirely!
He didn't offer you a £20 Rolex he just happened to have surplus to requirements too, did he OP?
I had a sharp suited geezer try to give me - not sell, GIVE - an Armani suit he'd been showing at a clothing show at John Lewis in High Wycombe and didn't want to take it all the way back to Italy! This was at the Homebase car park at the next junction along from Beaconsfield services. Oh, and that John Lewis don't, or didn't then, sell clothes.
I had a sharp suited geezer try to give me - not sell, GIVE - an Armani suit he'd been showing at a clothing show at John Lewis in High Wycombe and didn't want to take it all the way back to Italy! This was at the Homebase car park at the next junction along from Beaconsfield services. Oh, and that John Lewis don't, or didn't then, sell clothes.
Nope! Lolz. No clothing offered.
I think it was more odd that someone would have an EV, run it so low they need an emergency top up and have no way to charge their phone or their Sons phone, so unable to put an App on either phone to charge said EV.
I tend to plan the longer journeys and would feel uncomfortable with getting to a charger with less than 50 miles.
But that's me
I think it was more odd that someone would have an EV, run it so low they need an emergency top up and have no way to charge their phone or their Sons phone, so unable to put an App on either phone to charge said EV.
I tend to plan the longer journeys and would feel uncomfortable with getting to a charger with less than 50 miles.
But that's me
Probably just idiots in this case, but I can see how a scam like that might work. If you actually handed over your card, they could clone it instantly by holding it near a pocket (containing a card reader/logger) without you even noticing, then they could pay you cash on the spot to avoid any suspicion, then continue to use your card until you noticed perhaps a month later.
Perhaps people are less wary of handing over a charger network card than a bank card, making them easier targets? I guess the downside is that criminals can only use the stolen credentials to charge their cars. The stolen funds aren't fungible, and can't be spent on bitcoin or something. It's akin to petrol station forecourt theft, I guess.
I guess this isn't an issue if you just don't hand over a charger network card, treat it like a bank card.
If this scam doesn't exist, it should. I'll let you know how I get on.
Perhaps people are less wary of handing over a charger network card than a bank card, making them easier targets? I guess the downside is that criminals can only use the stolen credentials to charge their cars. The stolen funds aren't fungible, and can't be spent on bitcoin or something. It's akin to petrol station forecourt theft, I guess.
I guess this isn't an issue if you just don't hand over a charger network card, treat it like a bank card.
If this scam doesn't exist, it should. I'll let you know how I get on.
Edited by rewild on Thursday 23 February 16:22
rewild said:
Probably just idiots in this case, but I can see how a scam like that might work. If you actually handed over your card, they could clone it instantly by holding it near a pocket (containing a card reader/logger) without you even noticing, then they could pay you cash on the spot to avoid any suspicion, then continue to use your card until you noticed perhaps a month later.
Perhaps people are less wary of handing over a charger network card than a bank card, making them easier targets? I guess the downside is that criminals can only use the stolen credentials to charge their cars. The stolen funds aren't fungible, and can't be spent on bitcoin or something. It's akin to petrol station forecourt theft, I guess.
I guess this isn't an issue if you just don't hand over a charger network card, treat it like a bank card.
If this scam doesn't exist, it should. I'll let you know how I get on.
So, don't give them your card, you initiate the charge using your card yourself having taken their cash.Perhaps people are less wary of handing over a charger network card than a bank card, making them easier targets? I guess the downside is that criminals can only use the stolen credentials to charge their cars. The stolen funds aren't fungible, and can't be spent on bitcoin or something. It's akin to petrol station forecourt theft, I guess.
I guess this isn't an issue if you just don't hand over a charger network card, treat it like a bank card.
If this scam doesn't exist, it should. I'll let you know how I get on.
Edited by rewild on Thursday 23 February 16:22
Then.. to reverse the attempted scam, as soon as they have walked off you tap your card again to stop their charge, and bugger off in your own car to avoid an upset when they eventually return
(just gloss over the fact it probably wasn't a scam and they're now stuck with a flat car, flat phone and empty wallet...)
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