Ford EV charging no longer working with Charge Anytime - what's happened?

@Blastoise186 thank you. Honestly the woman was so rude about it all & couldn’t care less. Reminded me of the ‘computer says no’ comedy sketch

Normally my call gets directed to a really helpful woman who sorts it out, she’s always apologetic. She seemed to think that other people have resolved the issue. I did tell her I don’t believe that is the case. Regardless she helped & sorted it out.

That’s good to hear at least.

Ford is well aware of the fact I will alert them to failures like that if they come to my attention here on the Forum. My ultimate goal and aim is to help them avoid such situations to soothe the pain somewhat - and it does seem to be working.

Just off the phone to Ford to reset my password again and the call rep took great delight in telling me that Ford have NO plans in partnering with OVO and that I have reached my password reset limit. - will not be reset again.

Now looking at switching which I didn't want to do, this has become more hassle than it is worth. Feel sorry for OVO and the customers they will lose as this is a fantastic product

Hey @rossshepherd ,

01277 254745 is the number to call - these guys will get you fixed as they’re explicitly the FordPass Team. They’ve confirmed to me just now that you had bad info and they want to fix this for you. The team also wants me to pass on an apology to you for the bad service. This will be looked into with a view to fixing it properly. They think the most likely root cause here, is because you went to a different department/team that isn’t working with the latest - or accurate - information, which may be why you got told the wrong answer.

They’ve confirmed to me that there is NO password reset limit and that OVO is definitely on the list of partners they’re in talks with. I know more about the progress now, but their team has asked me to keep it under wraps for a bit longer - watch this space.

If you give them a call and mention my name, they’ll know what’s been said here so far and should get you back in within minutes.

thanks for this, I had ben using that number as per previous advice but just realised i called the number on the disconnection email today which is different.

Thanks again, will hold off for a little longer

Hi folks, just posting this in case anyone else is seeing the same issue… I sent the note below to the ovo help folks today and am waiting on a response. It may be completely unrelated to the Ford issue, so just posting for information...

Over the last week my Ovo charge app appears to have developed a few issues with the sequence of events happening every time I try to charge

1. Plug in my vehicle
2. Vehicle will start to charge and will show as charging on the Ford app
3. After 20 – 30 mins the charge will update and show on the OVO app
4. After a short period of time, < 60 minutes the car will stop charging and the information below will show (The example below charged the car for 52 minutes before stopping)
5. This now happens every time and unless fixed I am going to have to charge up away from the OVO app.

I have:

1. Deleted and reinstalled both apps
2. Logged out and in on both apps
3. Deleted, updated and changed my Ford logon details
4. Checked I have no preset times located anywhere in the app or in the vehicle settings
5. I have re factory rebooted the vehicle and reconnected my Ford account as a new owner
6. Tried charging at different times of the day and weekends
7. Tried charging with vehicle locked / unlocked
8. Tried a different charging cable

None of the above has worked. I am also aware of the Ford app issue and have been resetting my password when Ford delete me from the app. This process always seems to work since the beginning of the year so I don’t think this is the problem.

Well thats me leaving OVO.  Originally used the direct to car app which worked fine then kicked off. So i buy an Indra Pro which has been nothing but hassle.  First 8 weeks worked fine then the Indra fails, 2nd indra installed fails the next day and this has now been going on for well over 2 weeks.  Indra stating over voltage into my house, DNO saying no very unlikley, plus my neighbours chargers both not indras have never failed and they havent had issues, really points to an indra issue to me!!!!!

Getting the Indra ripped out as per my consumer rights, getting an Ohme as my neighbours have with no issues and off to Octopus as at least if you have these issue you still get the overnight 5 hours or so at the cheaper rate.

Hey @Wenklaw,

I’m sorry to hear about the problems you’ve had with your Indra charger and the experience. I’d suggest reaching out to our Charge Anytime team to make them aware of the issues you’ve been facing as they may be able to help support you. You can reach them at 0330 175 9678 (Option 2 for existing customers) or chargeanytime@ovo.com. 

Let us know if we can be of any help! 

Ford has now been removed from the list of option when selecting your car manufacturer from the charge anytime list, is this a permanent removal? 

Hi @Can ,

Nope - this is temporary while OVO and Ford continue to work on a long-term solution to make it more reliable. The Ford integration will return once that’s done.

Has the FordPass and OVO ChargeAnytime situation been finally resolved now ?  There has been a lot of hard work going on in the background lately !.

Still being worked on - updates will be posted here when they’re available.

I’m really sorry @Tommo56,

This is still our latest advice:

You might have noticed issues using the Charge Anytime app to smart charge your EV recently. That’s because, in March, Ford blocked third party access to their system following a review of their security protocols. Unfortunately, this means we don’t have access to your charging data, so can’t provide Charge Anytime credit until Ford approves the use of third party access to their system. We know this is disappointing and are really sorry for the inconvenience. We’re working with Ford to resolve this, but unfortunately don’t have a solution yet. We really value you as a customer and want to thank you for bearing with us, while we work with Ford to fix this. As a goodwill gesture, we’ve added £25 energy credit to all our affected customers’ accounts. You need to be on supply to get this payment. You'll see this on your next bill. We’ll be in touch as soon as we have an update from Ford. 

Got email form OVO does it mean that Charge any time has stopped already or cheaper rate will still be valid until 31st July when Ovo will disconnect Ford from the app?

Just playing it safe here, but I’d say you should assume that it’s disconnected as of today for that purpose.

Anyone got any recommendations on where to move to go to cheaper rates for EV charging? Looking at Octopus Go as still working at home and think this is good deal. 

I’ve already started the move to Octopus as overnight lower tariff still works with Ford. so Adios OVO...

So just had email from Ovo to say this would not be sorted in the foreseeable future and ford has been removed from their app. 
can some one explain please what the issue is and why it is taking so long to sort. 
also which suppliers are supported by ford. 
last time I get a ford. 

As far as we know, Ford nuked access to pretty much ALL suppliers - not just OVO.

I will also say this much - I’ve made it clear to my contact(s) at Ford that this will cause some serious headaches...

It sounds frustrating to have your charging options restricted like that. While I don't have specific updates on OVO's plans, here's some advice and information that might help:

1. Check Ford's Official Channels: Ford's customer support or official forums might have the latest updates on compatibility issues with OVO Charge Anytime. They could provide insights or timelines for any potential resolution.

2. Reach Out to OVO: Contact OVO Energy's customer service directly. They might be able to clarify whether they are working on resolving the compatibility issues with Ford cars or if there are any workarounds available.

3. Explore Alternative Charging Options: While waiting for a resolution, you might want to look into other charging solutions compatible with your Ford Mach-E. Many EV owners use multiple apps or providers to ensure they always have a reliable charging option.

4. Join Online Communities: EV forums or social media groups dedicated to Ford Mach-E owners can be a valuable resource. Other users might have faced similar issues and could share their experiences and solutions.

Is anyone else in the community experiencing this issue or found a successful workaround? Any insights on plans for OVO Charge Anytime to support Ford cars would be greatly appreciated!

Credit is still being captured on the app today… on  another note, why are Ovo cutting existing Ford customers from the app? They are just throwing fuel on the fire. Im happy to live with a phone call to Ford once a week to reconnect me.. Ovos approach helps no one.. as long as existing customers know what is needed we should be allowed to be connected to the app

OVO had no choice but to totally shut it down. This is something Ford has forced them to do. 

Ok, now that I’ve got a full size QWERTY in front of me rather than just poking and prodding at a 6.7 Inch touchscreen, I can respond with something a bit more fleshed out.

I wish to remind all users that this comment was left by a Forum Volunteer and is NOT the views of OVO or Ford.

The ultimate root cause of the whole issue here is that Ford had a pretty nasty security flaw in the FordPass platform, which they fixed with a few measures. One of which was to boot out  and permanently ban pretty much EVERYTHING they considered to be “Third-Party” and “Non-Essential” for the FordPass platform itself to function. Thus, as a result, nuking ALL Energy Suppliers from being able to touch basically anything at all - OVO’s Charge Anytime is only one of the affected tools, there are many others as well. This happened a few months ago and the fact that Charge Anytime has been working at all since is more about luck than anything else. We’ve said for some time on the Forum that the future was uncertain while OVO tried to figure something out.

Alas, Ford has pulled the plug on those discussions and decided to maintain their total annihilation ban on ALL Third-Party Access to FordPass, for which there is nothing OVO can do about it. That’s why Ford is being removed from Charge Anytime and why even existing users are being disconnected. No permission = no access. Simple as that.

Comments in the quote which are in bold italic are my responses

Ford have not forced Ovo to shut this down, this decision was taken by OVO.. OVO should keep the option open for existing customers already signed up