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Original poster

Electric car charges at your home

20 replies

hattie43 · 30/10/2025 09:52

What’s the etiquette if friends / family visit and ask to charge their car up before leaving . I mean you wouldn’t pay their fuel bill at the garage but are you expected to pay the electric costs , which as we know are getting more expensive all the time .

OP posts:

frozendaisy · 30/10/2025 09:57

I would let them and expect similar when you visit them

HelterSkelter224 · 30/10/2025 10:01

I can’t believe they wouldn’t offer to pay!

FuzzyWolf · 30/10/2025 10:04

It wouldn’t bother me but I think if you are on a tight budget and it’s really unaffordable, those close to you will be aware of that and know it’s cheeky to expect it for free.

You can say no if you don’t want them to charge their car or if you don’t think they will pay you and you can’t afford it.

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Jollyjoy · 30/10/2025 10:05

I wouldnt think twice about letting them. If it was someone clearly taking the piss then would maybe have to think, or if money were incredibly tight for me, but otherwise I’d not think a charge of a few hrs will cost me more than a few quid.

Purplecatshopaholic · 30/10/2025 10:08

I wouldn’t think twice, it’s not the same as petrol prices, and I would do the same when visiting them.

SquigglePigs · 30/10/2025 10:11

I would have absolutely no problem with it as an occasional thing.

If it was a friend who came round every week or two and charged their car every time then I might start to feel a bit taken advantage of.

This comes from a place where a few £ here or there doesn't matter. If we were on a tighter budget then obviously that's a different discussion.

MulberryPeony · 30/10/2025 10:12

I’ve never had it happen to me OP and never asked at another persons house. Do you have an EV or is this hypothetical?

Hoppinggreen · 30/10/2025 10:13

I would be happy for them to use my charger and wouldn't expect anything in return.
We often visit family around 4 hours away and if we ask to charge there we always offer to pay but they refuse. We do leave a very nice bottle of wine when we leave though

MrsAvocet · 30/10/2025 10:14

Personally, as we have an EV charger at home we offer any EV driving visitors use of it whilst they here. Usually they offer to pay, we decline, there's a bit of back and forth and ultimately they buy us a box of chocolates or a bottle of wine etc as a thank you. As a one off I don't mind. A single charge on cheap rate electricity isn't a lot of money. If someone was staying all week and wanting to charge every day it would be different but we've never had that situation.
If we're offered use of a charger at someone's house I'd accept and offer to pay, but most people decline payment. We buy a gift, pay for something extra during the visit etc. We don't ask if not offered. If the hosts don't have a charger I would never ask to charge from a 3 pin socket and if they offered I'd decline - I'd rather use a public charger in those circumstances.

mattbee · 30/10/2025 10:17

It's a bit less than a £2/hr cost, if you have a dedicated charger, or like 60p if you don't. If that's a lot for you, get a piggy bank and ask them nicely to feed it?

FancyCatSlave · 30/10/2025 10:19

I charge at my dads and he won’t let me pay.
The friends who have charged at mine have always offered. I don’t expect them to, as it’s not much and infrequent.

I think it is rude to expect to charge, and especially not to pay. But I would always offer it.

Elbowpatch · 30/10/2025 10:20

I’m in two minds. It really is no different to asking somebody to pick up the tab for filling up your car with petrol, just cheaper.

ThirdStorm · 30/10/2025 10:23

I wouldn't let somebody charge at my house, I don't have a charger, I don't feel comfortable with using a 3 pin and I don't have an EV tariff. I have fast chargers close by but they are 80p/khw so if I did have a charger I would allow but I want ask for a contribution. I can't afford not to. I have been looking at getting an EV and the first thing I did was look at where my family and friends live (those that are further away than my range) to see where there are local charging facilities! I wouldn't dream on imposing myself given the price of energy.

Hoppinggreen · 30/10/2025 10:38

I would only ever do it if they had a charger, if not I would find the nearest public one or fully charge on the way there

lizzyBennet08 · 30/10/2025 11:53

I would let them no bother but think most of my friends would offer to pay and likewise if visiting them would ask could I bother there's etc
We could afford it though so maybe that's a consideration.

Esssa · 30/10/2025 12:04

We went to my sil and used a 3 pin to charge our car as we were staying the night with them. We also had an extra bit that went between the plug and the socket that measured how much electricity it used. We then paid for what we used. It would actually be more tricky if they had their own EV charger as unless it was a smart charger we would have to figure out how much we owed. Either way it'd be less than a public charger.

ParkAndThenRide · 30/10/2025 12:14

mattbee · 30/10/2025 10:17

It's a bit less than a £2/hr cost, if you have a dedicated charger, or like 60p if you don't. If that's a lot for you, get a piggy bank and ask them nicely to feed it?

Surely that depends on how fast your charger is and your tariff. Ours is 11KW. We have cheap overnight electricity, specifically for charging our three electric cars. I also set the dishwasher and washing machine to go on during the night because our day time tariff is higher than average as that’s the deal we have.

mattbee · 30/10/2025 12:33

ParkAndThenRide · 30/10/2025 12:14

Show quote history

Sure, but the OP was asking about a friend visiting during the day. I assumed they have a regular charger (or none) and pay about 25p.

Legally speaking - and I don't make these rules - if your friend brags about their 11kW charger (and the unusual 3-phase electricity supply they'd need to make that work) you get to use it for free.

childofthe607080s · 30/10/2025 12:47

Etiquette would be to offer to pay based on the kWh taken and your household rate

so if they take 10kwh at 25p then 2.50

out car tells us how many kWh are in the battery - so finish - start give the total kWh you need to pay for

October2025 · 30/10/2025 21:11

Tbh I don't have friends I wouldn't be willing to spend a couple of quid to charge their car granted it's a small amount of money to us but they are our friends I like looking after people.

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