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this article is reproduced from [china voice of china central radio and television];

with the popularization of new energy vehicles, the demand for charging piles continues to increase. charging stations built by some car companies have begun to charge "overtime occupancy fees", usually one yuan per minute, to improve the efficiency of charging pile use.

many car owners have complained that some new energy vehicle charging stations lack clear charging reminders and signs, causing them to passively bear high fees, which has sparked controversy. what is the basis for charging "occupancy fees"? how can overtime reminders be more humane?

charging in the parking lot of the scenic spot was charged "overtime parking fee"

no reminder before charging

recently, ms. zhang from jinan, shandong, visited a theme park. after her car was charged at the charging station in the parking lot, the operator charged her an "overtime parking fee" of one yuan per minute. ms. zhang ended up paying 40.72 yuan for charging, 11.8 yuan for service, 46 yuan for parking, and 8 yuan for parking. in her opinion, a reasonable parking fee is acceptable, but charging in the scenic area is not reasonable.

"the purpose of car owners charging in scenic spots is to go there for fun. it is impossible for them to enter the scenic area and then come out to unplug the battery after an hour or an hour and a half. moreover, they cannot enter or exit the scenic area again after the ticket is checked." ms. zhang said.

ms. zhang told the reporter that the charging pile operator did not give any notice before charging the "occupancy fee", and the charging standard was not clearly displayed. "the charging information was displayed in a font smaller than the normal font, which was difficult to attract attention." she also mentioned that when she drove away, at least five charging piles were empty, and the rationality of charging was not high in this case. moreover, the charging piles were unattended, and she was dissatisfied with the forced charging.

at the same time, ms. zhang also questioned whether the operator's charging standards were in compliance with relevant regulations. the reporter contacted the operator of the charging pile in the name of the car owner, and the customer service said: "after charging, if the owner does not unplug the gun and leave within 30 minutes, an overtime occupancy fee of one yuan per minute will be charged. fast charging usually takes about 30 minutes to complete. it is recommended that car owners evaluate the necessity of charging when engaging in activities that take a long time (such as eating, watching movies or meetings). "the customer service also said that this charging policy is basically implemented nationwide.

the reporter searched on an online complaint platform and found more than 400 related complaints. many car owners reported that the charging pile operators had problems such as "charging high parking fees without informing them". mr. zhao, a car owner, told the reporter that recently, after he finished charging his electric car downstairs in his company, he was forced to pay 120 yuan for "parking fees" without any warning.

many charging station apps have vague reminders about "occupancy fees"

operator: consumers are required to add relevant reminders themselves

the reporter interviewed many car owners. some of them believed that high "occupancy fees" could discourage people from occupying parking spaces, but some believed that "occupancy fees" could be charged, but not randomly. car owners should be fully informed and the charging standards should be made public. the reporter noticed that most charging piles only had safety precautions and charging operation instructions, but no "occupancy fee" standards were made public.

the car owner, mr. he, said that he had been charged 30 yuan for one hour of overtime "occupancy fee" without being reminded. he believed that this "occupancy fee" was too expensive and unreasonable, whether from the perspective of parking or charging.

the reporter called the operator of the charging pile reported by mr. he, and the customer service staff said that the standard for charging the "space fee" is set by the station where the charging is located. as for whether there is a reminder for charging the "space fee", the customer service staff said that consumers need to add the reminder themselves.

mr. he told reporters that the "placement fee" is set by the station, and the platform itself does not charge this fee. "before scanning the code to start charging, relevant information will be displayed, and there is an option to turn on sms instructions below the charging order. the owner needs to turn it on manually to receive reminders. if you do not choose to turn it on, you will not receive any notifications." he added that in some places, a prompt will pop up when scanning the code to charge, informing the owner that a "placement fee" will be charged.

the reporter randomly downloaded several charging station apps that are widely used by users and noticed that the related charging reminders are not eye-catching enough. some charging reminders are only presented in a small gray font, and the charging standards vary from company to company. some show that the overtime "placement fee" is capped at 100 yuan, while others have no upper limit.

△the unobtrusive billing rules on a charging station app

industry insiders: enterprises should supervise and remind themselves

there are currently no relevant regulations on the charging standards for "overtime seat occupancy fees"

mr. liu, an insider in the new energy vehicle industry in shanghai, revealed to reporters that in addition to new energy vehicle brands that will set up proprietary charging stations, there are also many third-party charging station brands.

"some brands will purchase idle charging resources on the market. these charging piles will be connected to their charging pile network. the pricing of the charging piles is determined by the operators, and the pricing method is the electricity fee plus the service fee."

mr. liu said that there are no relevant regulations on the charging standards for "overtime parking fees". "at present, my country has not yet established corresponding technical standards, industry standards or laws and regulations to constrain and supervise charging piles. if there are no relevant rules, it is completely reasonable and legal for companies to supervise and remind in their own way, which is in line with the development laws of the market economy."

expert: it is the operator's obligation to strengthen reminders

consumers should be clearly reminded when charging "seat fees"

tang jiansheng, deputy secretary-general of the shanghai consumer protection committee, believes that although there is no unified charging standard for the "seat fee", industry supervision should emphasize that the charges should be more open and transparent, and it should be the operator's obligation to strengthen reminders.

tang jiansheng said that operators should make very clear reminders to consumers, and reasonable "space fee" standards should be accompanied by more friendly reminder methods. for example, merchants can obtain consumers' mobile phone numbers or use apps to make timely notifications to ensure consumers' right to know.

ma liang, professor and doctoral supervisor at the school of public administration of renmin university of china, pointed out that relevant departments and industry associations should play an active role in guiding enterprises to better set relevant charging standards and fulfill their obligations to publicize charges.

source: china central radio and television

reporter/guan xin