Dilip Kuner
A BRITISH holidaymaker was left fuming after being slapped with a jaw-dropping €1,195 bill to charge his electric car in Spain – and Shell has refused to explain why.
John Stephen, from Tunbridge Wells but now living in France, was on a festive getaway to Madrid when he stopped at a Shell Recharge station to top up his MG4 electric car.
He thought nothing of the €71.77 charge on Christmas morning for a modest 18.88kWh – steep, but fair enough. But the real Christmas hangover came two weeks later, when a second bill landed: €1,124 for a phantom charge he says never happened.
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To make matters worse, Shell claimed he was charging at 12.34pm on December 25 – while he and his wife were actually in an Uber on the way to Christmas lunch.
“There’s a €925 ‘connection fee’ on the second charge,” John told The Connexion. “It makes no sense. And no one will explain it.”
Despite multiple emails, a registered letter to Shell’s European HQ, and desperate calls to their ‘emergency’ helpline, John says he’s been met with silence.
“I finally spoke to someone in Ireland who admitted the bill looked dodgy – but they said they couldn’t escalate it and told me to write again. I did. Still nothing. Not even an apology.”
Frustrated, John has now taken legal action using France’s small claims court and is seeking help from the European Consumer Centre.
“I’m doing this not just to get my money back, but because I worry this isn’t a one-off. If this can happen to someone with a paper trail and legal help, what hope is there for the average tourist on holiday in Spain?”
Shell told The Connexion that customers should “reach out” if they have an issue – but John says he’s done that, over and over again, with no result.
He’s since cancelled his Shell account and vowed never to use the company’s chargers again.
Shell Recharge boasts more than 850,000 public charging points across Europe and the UK – but this episode raises serious questions about how the system is being monitored.
“EV infrastructure is growing fast,” said John. “But if accountability doesn’t keep up, more people are going to get stung.”
He added: “I’m sharing my story because I doubt I’m the only one. If someone else reads this and realises they’ve been wrongly charged too – maybe they’ll finally speak up.”
Click here to read more Environment News from The Olive Press.
