£1k finance options for domestic customers?
Discussion
In March 22, costs for EV charger installations could be around £1000 due to the ending of the OZEV grants. For car buyers this could be quite a large financial outlay, especially for company car drivers and buyers of cheaper EVs. Only time will tell what will happen to the market but we want to be prepared and have looked at offering finance via a 3rd party for these installations.
The only supplier we have found is Kanda but they market their product at 0% and charge us 7-8% which is quite chunk given domestic margins are not huge.
Does anyone know of any other options we could try?
The only supplier we have found is Kanda but they market their product at 0% and charge us 7-8% which is quite chunk given domestic margins are not huge.
Does anyone know of any other options we could try?
I think Klarna is between 3 and 6% but it's short term.
V12 Finance is common for bikes (and the spend is often around that level), often 0% to customer and would be for 12+ months at that spend. Shop picks up the fees (I believe 8-10%) although remember it's replacing any card processing fees.
Have seen it offered now for getting the chargepoint cost added to your PCP when you buy the car (like any other extra) but I'm guessing they have deals with one of the national firms.
V12 Finance is common for bikes (and the spend is often around that level), often 0% to customer and would be for 12+ months at that spend. Shop picks up the fees (I believe 8-10%) although remember it's replacing any card processing fees.
Have seen it offered now for getting the chargepoint cost added to your PCP when you buy the car (like any other extra) but I'm guessing they have deals with one of the national firms.
Interesting thread, my installer said a good chunk of the 'install' price is the process to get the grant, forms and time taken. I'm a member of a Facebook group linked to the charger I have and on every post saying 'why is it so much' the installers there say it's not just the few hours / day fitting the thing but time for admin.
The suggestion there is costs won't change a huge amount from today post grant. Is this bulls
t?
The suggestion there is costs won't change a huge amount from today post grant. Is this bulls
t?boombang said:
Interesting thread, my installer said a good chunk of the 'install' price is the process to get the grant, forms and time taken. I'm a member of a Facebook group linked to the charger I have and on every post saying 'why is it so much' the installers there say it's not just the few hours / day fitting the thing but time for admin.
The suggestion there is costs won't change a huge amount from today post grant. Is this bullst?
Yep, it's not just the 14 pages of the OZEV form but the copy of the electrical cert, DNO notification, covering letter and spreadsheet monthly and then (while better now) OZEV have take over 2 months to even get to the forms to check them and if there is a single character wrong the application gets thrown out! The suggestion there is costs won't change a huge amount from today post grant. Is this bulls
t?You can sometimes wait 5 months for your money on a domestic installation! A lot of installers gave up and don't fit them. I joke that we are an OZEV form specialist who can fit chargers too!
The £350 grant will go in March and so it's hard to see how prices will drop! However, I suspect people will fit dumb chargers and ignore the govt 'requirements' and so prices may be about the same but don't expect cheap prices without low quality work.
sideways sid said:
Is there a huge group who can pay £650 currently, but wouldn't pay £1,000?
If you don't already, can you take credit cards?
It's difficult to say but owners of used EVs and company car owners may well find it a big sum to pay after March. If you don't already, can you take credit cards?
We can take credit cards yes and that is one option. This is more about having the tools ready in case we need them. Advertising at £X00 per month may be more of an incentive than a lump sum to many, even though a cc would do this too.
wheelerc said:
Can you not finance it yourself? Deposit to cover most of your costs, then 12 monthly payments or so? Your customers are homeowners with EVs so fairly low risk I assume, and you know where they live!
Could do and use gocardless to set up the direct debits. BUT it does mean that the OP will be taking on the risk of default.wheelerc said:
Can you not finance it yourself? Deposit to cover most of your costs, then 12 monthly payments or so? Your customers are homeowners with EVs so fairly low risk I assume, and you know where they live!
I very nearly suggested it as I remember 'Bank of Dave', a programme about a big van dealer who couldn't sell vans after 2008 as no-one would lend his customers money. So he did it himself. Risk is fairly low as they all depend on the product heavily and won't just buy another (which defeats the object).
There are regulatory issues here. As soon as you start lending to consumers or even intermediating finance for your customers (i.e. passing hem to a finance provider) you need to be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
At its simplest if you're selling items and refer clients to a finance provider so they can finance over a period of time then you need a Limited Permissions license and they take months to get.
If you want to offer the finance yourself (and charge interest) then that's a whole other can of worms. You're now a consumer lender and need to be fully regulated to do this. Pro tip: you don't want to do this.
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) guys like Klarna are fine as for their basic options are interest-free over about 30 days to the customer so you can have these without the need for a FCA license. If you take the options they have for extended term finance then you need to register for a limited permission license with the FCA.
In summary, there is no easy way to solve the issue you're trying to resolve as regulation gets in the way.
At its simplest if you're selling items and refer clients to a finance provider so they can finance over a period of time then you need a Limited Permissions license and they take months to get.
If you want to offer the finance yourself (and charge interest) then that's a whole other can of worms. You're now a consumer lender and need to be fully regulated to do this. Pro tip: you don't want to do this.
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) guys like Klarna are fine as for their basic options are interest-free over about 30 days to the customer so you can have these without the need for a FCA license. If you take the options they have for extended term finance then you need to register for a limited permission license with the FCA.
In summary, there is no easy way to solve the issue you're trying to resolve as regulation gets in the way.
seaninog said:
There are regulatory issues here. As soon as you start lending to consumers or even intermediating finance for your customers (i.e. passing hem to a finance provider) you need to be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
At its simplest if you're selling items and refer clients to a finance provider so they can finance over a period of time then you need a Limited Permissions license and they take months to get.
If you want to offer the finance yourself (and charge interest) then that's a whole other can of worms. You're now a consumer lender and need to be fully regulated to do this. Pro tip: you don't want to do this.
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) guys like Klarna are fine as for their basic options are interest-free over about 30 days to the customer so you can have these without the need for a FCA license. If you take the options they have for extended term finance then you need to register for a limited permission license with the FCA.
In summary, there is no easy way to solve the issue you're trying to resolve as regulation gets in the way.
Thank you, that exactly what I expected to hear. Unfortunately.At its simplest if you're selling items and refer clients to a finance provider so they can finance over a period of time then you need a Limited Permissions license and they take months to get.
If you want to offer the finance yourself (and charge interest) then that's a whole other can of worms. You're now a consumer lender and need to be fully regulated to do this. Pro tip: you don't want to do this.
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) guys like Klarna are fine as for their basic options are interest-free over about 30 days to the customer so you can have these without the need for a FCA license. If you take the options they have for extended term finance then you need to register for a limited permission license with the FCA.
In summary, there is no easy way to solve the issue you're trying to resolve as regulation gets in the way.
I believe if you are just doing pay in installments up to 12 months without interest you should be OK with regards to FCA regulation.
See https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/authorisation/when-re...
Worth having a chat with them though to make sure if you decide to go down that route.
See https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/authorisation/when-re...
Worth having a chat with them though to make sure if you decide to go down that route.
Yes - ISTR that agreements longer than 12 months and charging interest were the key things the FCA were interested in. Under 12 months came under the "golf club" exemption.
I have taken a new concept through FCA full authorisation which was painful and took about 9 months. I think that if you are doing bog standard consumer lending, you could do it far far quicker - particularly if you can get hold of someone else's standard documentation to amend. However, you are then on the hook for various reporting requirements (not difficult but occupies a bit of time) and FCA fees which may well render it uneconomic.
I have a tame FCA consultant that I could introduce you to if you want a chat.
I have taken a new concept through FCA full authorisation which was painful and took about 9 months. I think that if you are doing bog standard consumer lending, you could do it far far quicker - particularly if you can get hold of someone else's standard documentation to amend. However, you are then on the hook for various reporting requirements (not difficult but occupies a bit of time) and FCA fees which may well render it uneconomic.
I have a tame FCA consultant that I could introduce you to if you want a chat.
sideways sid said:
Is there a huge group who can pay £650 currently, but wouldn't pay £1,000?
If you don't already, can you take credit cards?
This is the question really - I don’t think there any that many people who’ll pay £650 but not £1k.If you don't already, can you take credit cards?
Also, does the cost really need to be £1k? Sounds like a lot for a straightforward install?
The Moose said:
This is the question really - I don’t think there any that many people who’ll pay £650 but not £1k.
Also, does the cost really need to be £1k? Sounds like a lot for a straightforward install?
I'm not sure, just anticipating things and thinking ahead. We have customers who often just ring around for low prices and this may be an option to offer them. Also, I'm not sure how prices will go, just trying to consider worst case scenarios.Also, does the cost really need to be £1k? Sounds like a lot for a straightforward install?
I didn't realise the chargers were quite so expensive. We are having to push hard into the EV sector next year (car finance broker) and at £1,000 that would be quite a big reason for a consumer to stick with an ICE car.
What's the cheapest vs most expensive home charger you guys are putting in? Are there many differences in features?
What's the cheapest vs most expensive home charger you guys are putting in? Are there many differences in features?
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