How do you charge an electric car without a credit card? (reddthat.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago by POTOOOOOOOO@reddthat.com to c/nostupidquestions@lemmy.world

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How do less banked people charge an electric car?

Context: I don't own an electric car yet. I don't have a credit card due to identity theft.

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[-] manualoverride@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

I went back through your posts to find out where you were based… and I have discovered that there are in fact many stupid questions 😀…

This may be different in the US as your distances are a little larger… but we charge at home overnight and have never needed to charge anywhere else. Every morning we have 250miles available and 1200miles a month costs us ~$30 in electricity.

You may be able to get a prepaid debit card and use that on public charging stations for long journeys or emergencies.

[-] POTOOOOOOOO@reddthat.com -3 points 2 weeks ago

Not the slightest bit creepy at all. Good advice.

[-] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 weeks ago

Your post/comment history is public, there isn't anything creepy about it.

[-] POTOOOOOOOO@reddthat.com -2 points 2 weeks ago

Public or not, still creepy.

[-] Apepollo11@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

They were doing so to find out which country you lived in, since you neglected to provide that information yourself.

I'm British, I charge my car at home, and on the few occasions I use public chargers, I interface with and pay for them through apps.

Knowing that you are from the US, though, means that YMMV. Your home electric supplies have significantly lower voltage than here in Europe, so home charging might be a less viable option.

They weren't being creepy, they were trying to give you a helpful answer.

[-] GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 weeks ago

240v wiring is common in Canada and the US, just not all outlets, and until recently not usually in garages. I expect 240v outlets in garages to be more standard in the future.

But, creepy or no, posting on a public forum and not using throwaway accounts and then being surprised that people actually reference your posting history is hopelessly naive.

[-] gon@lemm.ee 1 points 2 weeks ago

This post is so thoroughly confusing to me.

Charge your car at home, of course! That's what makes them so good! You can charge them on regular outlets, but you can also get a thing installed that makes it faster. No credit card required.

[-] ramble81@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 weeks ago

That’s what I do and never had to use a public charger, however there are a lot of people who live in apartments with out garages or driveways and lack access to an electrical outlet.

Though at that point you should start petitioning the property management to install some common ones.

[-] bluGill@fedia.io 1 points 2 weeks ago

That works 95% of the time for anyone who owns a house. However the last 5% of trips are to farther than you can get back home and you need an option to charge on the road. Some people travel more than others, and travel in different ways, so that 5% might be 75% of the time for some people and 1% for others.

If you don't own a house you are stuck hoping the landlord provides a working place to charge.

[-] vga@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 weeks ago

By having a charging station at home, I guess.

[-] FoxyFerengi@startrek.website 1 points 2 weeks ago

Maybe you can use a reloadable visa card?

[-] foggy@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Not having a credit card doesn't make it any more difficult for someone to steal your identity, provided you keep your card secure/on you.

Like, the essence of having a line of credit does not prevent someone from opening a line of credit in your name. Freezing your credit does?

I dont have an answer to your question, but if that is really the only reason you don't have a CC, just get a CC. Get a CC and freeze your lines of credit. Then your identity is more secure than it is right now, and you'll have a credit card.

[-] ccunning@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

I assumed they meant someone stole their identity and destroyed their credit rating so they couldn’t get a CC even if they wanted one.

But your take is just as (if not even more) likely…

[-] POTOOOOOOOO@reddthat.com 1 points 2 weeks ago

All my credit accounts are frozen and I just gave up on using credit.

[-] InEnduringGrowStrong@sh.itjust.works 0 points 2 weeks ago

You can still probably get a prepaid credit card...
You just have to pay it upfront before doing the transaction.

[-] Pika@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

I want to clarify, by prepaid I expect that you mean a secured credit card right because prepaid cards you can find at stores are meant to rip you off and charge large fees for usage and charging.

Personally I recommend discover, they offer stupid simple secured cards and after a year or so usually they give your deposit back and upgrade it to a standard credit card

[-] Pika@sh.itjust.works 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Personally speaking, intentionally not using or collecting credit in this world is dumb. It's shooting yourself in the foot for basically everything longterm wise. This can be from rental agreements to buying a house to buying a car. Anything that needs to show trustworthiness. It's stupid, but it's how this world operates.

I would highly recommend reconsidering your mentality that you've given up on credit.

Also regarding the fraud. Hopefully you are currently mid battle on that because it's not fair for you to have bad credit due to identity fraud and generally when proven that someone stole your identity they reverse all charges(for you) and reverse the credit score that went with it., After all, you never actually spent the money. But that's a long and lengthy battle

[-] fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 2 weeks ago

You should still be able to get a secured card.

[-] FriendOfDeSoto@startrek.website 0 points 2 weeks ago

If you have a garage, at home. You might want you drop more details to get better answers. E.g. location.

[-] POTOOOOOOOO@reddthat.com 0 points 2 weeks ago

No garage. No driveway.

[-] czl@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 weeks ago

I will be that guy and not answer your original question. If you don’t have a way to charge at home, don’t get an electric car.

Besides the convenience factor, it’s far too expensive to use public chargers. It will not be worth it at all.

[-] POTOOOOOOOO@reddthat.com 0 points 2 weeks ago

Where I live gas powered vehicles will be forbidden from being sold. It's getting harder to get a gas car.

[-] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 1 points 2 weeks ago

You can't afford a credit card or some kind of parking space with electricity, but you can afford a brand new car?

this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2025

7 points (100.0% liked)

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