Customer Stories: From Fuel Stops to Plug-In Freedom

Nicola Parsons made the switch to EV through a salary sacrifice scheme and chose the Easee One charger for its ease of use and discreet design.

What made you choose the BMW iX1?

My work introduced a salary sacrifice scheme and I had been umming and arring about an EV, but the price put me off.

When the scheme launched I priced it up and it put some of the cars I may have been priced out of before within reach. I sold my petrol car and went for the BMW iX1 as I liked the exterior and interior, particularly as it’s more car-like, compared to some EVs which are more sparse and space age, which I’m personally not a fan of.

What was the process like to get your EV through a salary sacrifice scheme?

It was pretty simple. I could choose from ordering an EV that had a lead time or nearly a year, or I could choose something from stock.

I ordered in November and my BMW turned up before Christmas 2023 so it was all quite quick really.

It fits with the company’s drive to make better choices for the environment, with my own personal goal to cut my carbon emissions and then also that motivation to ditch fossil fuels and petrol stations.

What made you decide to get a home EV charge point installed?

I literally hate going to petrol stations and filling up.

The idea of being able to leave that all behind and plug-in at home was just so appealing to me. There’s a massive cost and convenience element too.

I’m currently paying around £5 to charge the car on OVO Anytime. If I was going to switch to an EV I was always going to get a home charger installed. It comes part and parcel for me.

What made you choose the Easee One? Is design important?

It does what it says on the tin. I was looking for something that was going to be easy to use and it really is.

Everything’s joined up easily between the Easee app, the BMW and my OVO Anytime tariff.

Design was important as I didn’t want something that would be too prominent and standing out on the drive with lots of lights.

Did you find the world of EV charging at home confusing initially?

There’s a lot of bad press about EVs and so that did stick in the mind a bit.

Running an EV has been a really positive experience for me. I also had to look into whether to get a tethered or untethered unit and what that all meant.

But to be honest, it was pretty simple to do some research and figure out what would work out best for us.

We went with an untethered unit in the end. I was concerned about security and leaving cables out in the open.

The Easee One can be used as tethered or untethered by locking the cable using the Easee App.

How did Smart Home Charge help make things easy when it came to choosing a charger and getting one installed?

I felt confident that we had a standard installation and so I wasn’t worried that it would cost more than what had been quoted.

It was reassuring to know that 90% of installations are the quoted price.

You always worry sometimes with jobs that the cost of the job might get inflated, but it was clear that what I was quoted was what I would pay.

How did you find Smart Home Charge?

I’d researched the charger separately to look at reviews and refine my decision.

When it came to find an installer I just Googled for the Easee One installer and Smart Home Charge was at the top.

I got a quote and it was within what I budgeted for.

What made Smart Home Charge stand out from other installers?

I looked at options to buy a unit and then get my own electrician to install. Choosing Smart Home Charge gave me peace of mind.

They know the units, they are experienced with installing them and if there’s a problem I know I can go to them.

How was your experience when browsing our website? Did you view our other content?

It was really easy to supply all the pictures and information. I was looking for ease of use with the whole process and Smart Home Charge definitely delivered that.

How would you rate your installer and the work they did?

It was probably the best experience I’ve ever had when appointing someone to do work at the house.

The engineer’s whole attitude and demeanour stood out. He was polite, respectful and friendly. I had a date and a time and the engineer phoned me 20 minutes before.

He was really professional, knew what he was doing and was neat and tidy as well.

What would you say to someone who is looking to buy a home EV charging point and is considering Smart Home Charge?

If someone I knew was looking to get an EV and a home charger, I would be 100% recommending Smart Home Charge to them.