Yes, no, or yes-with-conditions are all defensible answers — what is not defensible is having no policy. A customer-supplied charger splits the job in two: your workmanship on one side, a product you did not sell on the other. Your policy decides who carries the unfamiliar-model time, the unverifiable-document risk, and the first fault call.
Key Takeaways
- Have a policy — fit, fit with written conditions, or decline — and apply it to every customer alike.
- Before the quote: verify the listing from documents, require the manual, record model and serial, match the rating to the circuit.
- The unit’s warranty belongs to its seller; yours covers your workmanship. One line on the quote separates them.
- Keep a known-models list; everything off it is priced as unfamiliar.
Three Policies, Three Risk Profiles
| Policy | What you take on | Paperwork that must exist |
|---|---|---|
| Fit it, as supplied | The fitting, including time to learn an unfamiliar model; your name on the install record | The checks and the warranty split below, recorded on the job file |
| Fit with written conditions | The fitting, inside boundaries accepted before the visit: unit faults belong to the seller; unit diagnosis is chargeable or referred | A condition line on the quote the customer signs: warranty split, manual required, unknown-model time acknowledged |
| Decline | Nothing on this unit; you keep the customer for hardware you supply | A short written reason and an alternative offer — the supply-and-install version of the same job |
None of the three is the professional answer by itself. Consistency is. A policy applied to every customer is a business rule; the same decision made case by case reads as favouritism, and is hard to defend the first time a fitted unit fails.
The Checks Before You Agree
These checks happen before the quote, not on the ladder:
- Certification evidence for the exact model. A safety listing verified from documents — in the US, an NRTL listing of the kind our UL and ETL listing guide explains — checked against the model in the box. The mark families are compared in our certifications guide.
- The manual. Without it, current settings, fault codes and mounting requirements are guesswork. “No manual, no fit” is a common condition for a reason.
- Identity and condition. Model and serial recorded; cable, connector and enclosure sound on inspection. A damaged unit is not a fitting job — it belongs in the refusal conversation.
- A rating the circuit can carry. Its settable current must match the confirmed supply. Charging is a continuous load, sized at 125% under the NEC — a fixed-output unit that exceeds the circuit is a no.
- Who owns the fault call. First call to you for the installation, to the seller for the unit — agreed before the job, not negotiated during the first failure.
Put the Warranty Split in Writing
The unit’s warranty sits with whoever sold it, on that seller’s or manufacturer’s written terms: EVDANCE units, for example, carry a 3-year standard warranty on that basis, while a charger bought from a marketplace listing carries whatever its seller’s terms say — the customer’s document to check, and it may be very little. Your warranty covers your workmanship: the circuit, the mounting, the settings you left. The two are different promises from different parties, and most aftercare disputes start where nobody wrote down which is which. The terms worth having, from the buyer’s side, are laid out in our warranty and after-sales checklist; the installer-side equivalent is one line on the quote.
Known Models Fit Faster
When the supplied unit is a model you know, the risk profile changes. An EV-ACT5006T wall charger or an EV-ACS4005T portable comes with public documents, stated settings and a known warranty route — many installers therefore keep a short known-models list that fast-tracks customer-supplied fits, and price everything off the list as unfamiliar until proven otherwise. Installers who would rather supply the hardware can arrange it through the distributor program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Am I obliged to fit a charger a customer bought?
No. Fitting is your commercial decision, taken under your licence and your insurance. Consumer guidance makes the same point from the other side: some electricians decline units they cannot vouch for, and customers are told that is reasonable.
The unit faults a month later. Whose problem is it?
The unit is its seller’s warranty problem; the installation is yours. The diagnosis visit in between — who attends, and whether it is charged — is decided by the conditions you set before the job.
Should I charge more for a model I have never fitted?
The extra time is real, so price it openly as its own line — an unfamiliar-model allowance — rather than hiding it in the fitting price.
Related Reading
- EV Charger Certifications Explained: CE, UKCA, UL, ETL, CB and What Buyers Should Ask For
- UL and ETL Listing for EV Chargers: How NRTL Certification Works
- EV Charger Warranty and After-Sales Terms: A Distributor’s Checklist
- What Is a Standard EV Charger Installation?
