Talk:Pod Point

Edit request from declared paid editor

---

• What I think should be changed:

From this: Since forming in 2009, Pod Point have manufactured and sold over 40,000 charging points and developed one of the UK's largest public networks, connecting EV drivers with hundreds of charging stations nationwide at locations such as Sainsbury's and Southern Rail.

To this: Pod Point has manufactured and sold over 96,000 charging points. It has also developed one of the UK's largest public networks with nearly 4,000 chargers, connecting EV drivers with hundreds of charging stations nationwide at locations such as Tesco, Lidl, Center Parcs and Southern Rail.

• Why it should be changed:

The statistic of 40,000 is out of date and the number of chargepoints has increased. It is backed up on the company website. Plus, the locations listed are out of date/not relevant.

• References supporting the possible change (format using the "cite" button):

---

* What I think should be changed: From this: Pod Point operates the Open Charge network which aims to offer a charge point everywhere drivers park. The Open Charge network is accessible via the Pod Point smartphone app.[4]

To this: Pod Point operates the Pod Point Network which aims to offer a charge point everywhere EV drivers need them. The Pod Point Network is accessible via the Pod Point smartphone app and is available for both iOS and Android users

• Why it should be changed:

The term Open Charge network does not exist anymore. The Open Charge Network is now called the Pod Point Network. Electric vehicle drivers will not be able to find the app on the app store by searching Open Charge. This means drivers might not be able to access vehicle charging.

• References supporting the possible change (format using the "cite" button):

Electricvehicles123 (talk) 18:05, 22 January 2021 (UTC)

* What I think should be changed:

After this paragraph: Pod Point operates the Pod Point Network which aims to offer a charge point everywhere EV drivers need them. The Pod Point Network is accessible via the Pod Point smartphone app and is available for both iOS and Android users

Can this sentence be added:

Pod Point is also established in Norway and has delivered and installed over 10,000 charge points. It is the preferred supplier for both Nissan and Renault. It is also partnered with wholesaler, Elektroskandia.

• Why it should be changed:

It is a fact that the company operates in another country. It would be informative for others to know that it operates in more than just the UK.

• References supporting the possible change (format using the "cite" button):

References

Electricvehicles123 (talk) 18:05, 22 January 2021 (UTC)

18:05, 22 January 2021 (UTC)

Infobox edit request from Pod Point employee

• What I think should be changed:  

Replace "Key people" listed in infobox from this:

Andy Palmer, CEO

Gill Howard, CCO

David Surtees, CFO

Hilary Scott, CSCO

Graham Evans, COO

Ken McAlpine, CTO

To this:

Melanie Lane, CEO[1]

• Why it should be changed:  

The list is significantly out of date and does not include major changes in personnel, including the change in CEO.

---

References

David T at Pod Point (talk) 15:24, 11 October 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: No sourcing. Axad12 (talk) 05:06, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

@Axad12 thanks for responding. Before I update the request, I just want check with you - does Companies House qualify as a valid source for information? David T at Pod Point (talk) 14:09, 6 November 2024 (UTC)

I'm not sure. I've re-opened this COI edit request so that it will appear again in the relevant queue. Hopefully another volunteer will be along in due course to give an opinion. Axad12 (talk) 14:37, 6 November 2024 (UTC)

I will note, however, that I'm unconvinced that listing all of these individuals is of encyclopaedic value and since the list will need to be curated going forwards to reflect changes in personnel I do wonder if it would be better if it were simply curtailed to the CEO only.

Most FTSE 100 company articles seem to be fine with just the CEO and chairman being listed, and those are normally notable individuals who have their own Wikipedia articles. Listing 7 non-notable individuals is really just non-encyclopaedic trivia.

Presumably the material was originally added by some of the WP:SPAs who worked for the company and used to edit this article. I probably should have deleted most of the existing list when I culled a lot of bad material a while back. Axad12 (talk) 18:08, 6 November 2024 (UTC)

As far as companies house goes, I'd count is as reliable as it's information submitted to and validated by a UK government agency. Whilst it is (technically) primary, in this case that doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. Encoded  Talk 💬 23:47, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

@Encoded Fantastic, thanks for clarifying that. I've updated the edit request with the new source and, as per @Axad12's suggestion, reduced the list down to just the current CEO. David T at Pod Point (talk) 11:24, 13 November 2024 (UTC)

Lead section edit request from Pod Point employee

• What I think should be changed:  

Replace all of the lead section of the article with the following:

Pod Point is a UK provider of of electric vehicle charging stations. It provides electric car chargers for homes and businesses, including workplaces. Since forming in 2009, Pod Point has manufactured and sold over 240,000 chargers[1].

• Why it should be changed:  

Much of the lead section is either out of date and no longer correct, or can be considered more relevant to the "History" section of the article.

~~~~

References

David T at Pod Point (talk) 15:31, 11 October 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: Sourcing is not independent of the subject. Axad12 (talk) 05:05, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Hi @Axad12, thanks for replying. I've updated the source - is this new one acceptable? David T at Pod Point (talk) 14:25, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

That is surely the definition of a non-independent source? And it isn't a published source either. Axad12 (talk) 14:41, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

History section edit request by Pod Point employee

• What I think should be changed:  

Additions and exclusions to existing text, with red text indicating new content or edits to existing content, and strikethroughs indicating content to be deleted for visibility:

Pod Point was founded in 2009 by former CEO, Erik Fairbairn,[1] and former chairman, Peter Hiscocks. They both worked together previously to found and then sell the supercar club Ecurie25.[2]

In 2014 Pod Point raised £1.5 million in an equity crowdfunding round on the Seedrs platform at a pre-money valuation of £16 million.[3]

In 2015 the firm started its Open Charge network of public electric vehicle charging stations in the United Kingdom. This allowed drivers to charge their vehicles by using a smartphone application in place of an RFID card.[4]

Later in the year, Pod Point raised £1.9 million in an equity crowdfunding campaign on the Crowdcube platform at a pre-money valuation of £26 million. This was supplemented by £0.37 million raised through the issuing of mini-bonds on the same platform.[5]

In 2017, the business raised a further £9 million at a pre-money valuation of £35 million. Venture capital firm Draper Esprit led the financing round with an investment of £5 million. The remainder of the funding amount was made up of £0.5 million angel investment, £1.5 million raised in an equity crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube and £2 million venture debt raised from Barclays.[6]

In 2018, Pod Point announced that it would be one of the first firms to sell 150 kW rapid chargers in the UK, stating that these would be necessary to support plug-in vehicles with faster charging capabilities and longer range batteries that it anticipated coming to market in the medium term.[7]

A couple of months later, the company installed 67 electric vehicle chargepoints at Skanska’s UK Headquarters in Hertfordshire, thought to be the largest single installation of electric vehicle chargepoints in the United Kingdom at the time.[8]

Transport secretary Grant Shapps opened a Pod Point-installed hub with 27 charge points at Hatfield Station in 2020. The installation at Hatfield station marked a milestone in a wide-ranging station improvements programme being undertaken by Govia Thameslink Railway, which encompasses more than 230 stations and over 1,000 individual projects. The EV installation at Hatfield aimed to provide additional accessibility and convenience for customers using the Great Northern and Thameslink station. As part of the project, 12 charging points were also installed at Haywards Heath station.[9]

In February 2020, Pod Point was acquired by EDF Energy through a newly formed joint venture with Legal and General Capital.[10]

In 2021, Pod Point and LIDL GB reached the 100th rapid charger milestone. The partnership is set to install 250 rapid chargers across the UK by 2022.[11]

In November 2021, Pod Point was floated on the London Stock Exchange[12].

In June 2022, Pod Point and BMW Group UK signed a three year deal, which added Pod Point as a preferred EV home chargepoint supplier for BMW and MINI retail customers.[13]

In July 2023, Pod Point appointed Andy Palmer as interim CEO[14]. Under Palmer, Pod Point saw improved financial performance in the second half of 2023. It was announced that a new permanent CEO would take over from Palmer in May 2024.[15]

In May 2024, Andy Palmer rejoined the Board as Chair and was replaced by Melanie Lane as permanent CEO[16].

Reasons for changes in order of appearance:

• Erik Fairbairn is no longer the CEO of Pod Point, having stepped down from the role in July 2023
• Pod Point’s acquisition by EDF was originally in the lead section of the article, but makes more sense featuring in the History section
• The business’s float on the LSE marked a key moment for the company, as it was the first EV charging provider in the UK to be publicly listed
• Removal of irrelevant copy
• Melanie Lane succeeded Andy Palmer in May 2024 as permanent CEO, which is key information missing from the current article

~~~~

References

David T at Pod Point (talk) 15:55, 11 October 2024 (UTC)

I think we would need to see a side by side comparison to determine exactly what you are changing here. However, one aspect that you seem to have removed is the great majority of the sourcing in the present section. Most of the material in your edit is thus unsourced so the edit you are suggesting cannot be approved in its current form. Please re-submit with appropriate sourcing throughout. Many thanks, Axad12 (talk) 05:02, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Sourcing is non-independent of the subject (which, for clarity, means it was written by the subject). Axad12 (talk) 14:46, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

Hi @Axad12, thanks for clarifying. I've updated the request so it should more accurately indicate all the proposed changes. I've also re-included the original sourcing (hopefully correctly), as well as provided sources for the additional content which I hope are acceptable, but do let me know if they're not. David T at Pod Point (talk) 15:19, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

As you are probably aware, the article has been tagged as being of a promotional nature (as of May 2022). Having looked at the edit history for this article I note that a large amount of the current text was added by accounts who only ever edited this article, who are single purpose accounts (WP:SPAs), and can be reasonably assumed to have had an undeclared conflict of interest.

My feeling is that these contributions are why the article is promotional and I am of the opinion that all of that material should be removed.

Much of that material, incidentally, seems to be of a trivial and non-encyclopaedic nature (e.g. various company milestones, announcements, partnerships, etc). Axad12 (talk) 16:00, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

I have now removed the relevant material and also removed the 'advert' tag from the top of the article. With regard to the three changes indicated in red above, the first change already seems to be in the article and the other two changes are not referenced to independent and published sources (and the second part of the third change is not sourced at all). Unfortunately I am therefore going to have to decline this request. Axad12 (talk) 16:18, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

@Axad12 thanks for replying and all your work on updating the article for us. Could you just confirm the following:

1 - to get the wording changed from "...current CEO, Erik Fairbairn..." to "...former CEO, Erik Fairbairn..." do you need us to source him stepping down? I only ask as later in the section it mentions Andy Palmer taking over as interim CEO, which links to an article talking about Erik stepping down. So do we need to provide another source at the point we want to say "former", or is me highlighting that sufficient evidence for you to update the copy to say "former" instead of "current"?

2 - I have updated the source for the second red text point re: the LSE floatation. Is that now valid?

3 - I have updated the source and edited the text for the third red text point re: the CEO change. Is that now valid? David T at Pod Point (talk) 14:21, 6 November 2024 (UTC)

As per my response in an earlier COI edit request above, I have re-opened this request and hopefully another volunteer will be able to advance on opinion on the points you have raised. Regards, Axad12 (talk) 14:38, 6 November 2024 (UTC)

Business & Industry Awards edit request by Pod Point employee

• What I think should be changed:  

Addition of new content:

Pod Point’s home charger was awarded ‘Best Home EV Charger’ by What Car? in 2023, then was named ‘Best Value Home EV Charger’ the following year, in 2024[1].

• Why it should be changed:  

Addition of new awards to make the section accurate and up-to-date.

~~~~

References

David T at Pod Point (talk) 15:58, 11 October 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: Promotional in intent and sourcing is not independent of the subject (or the award giver). Axad12 (talk) 05:04, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Imagery edit request by Pod Point employee

• What I think should be changed:  

Replace both images with the following image links and captions:

Image 1:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:An_electric_car_being_charged_by_a_Pod_Point_Solo_3S.jpg

Caption: A Pod Point Solo 3S plugged into an electric car

Image 2:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pod_Point_Universal_Solo_3S.png

Caption: A Pod Point Solo 3S universal charger

• Why it should be changed:  

Both images are out of date. The new images more accurately reflect the business.

~~~~

References

David T at Pod Point (talk) 16:04, 11 October 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: If images are to be used they need to be downloaded to Commons and the appropriate disclosures made to ensure that they may be freely used. Axad12 (talk) 05:07, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Hi @Axad12, apologies for not following the correct process. Both images have been uploaded to Commons and are free to use, and the request edited with the Commons links. Is this sufficient? David T at Pod Point (talk) 15:50, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

Thanks for doing this re: the images. I'm afraid that I'm unaware of the protocols re: adding images to articles (except that the images need to be on Commons). I will reopen this request and hopefully another volunteer will be able to deal. Regards, Axad12 (talk) 16:22, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

 Done Encoded  Talk 💬 09:23, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

@EncodedHi, thanks very much for updating the images for us. One thing I noticed is the image captions are still the old captions from the previous images. I included new captions when I uploaded the images to the Commons - could these be used instead? David T at Pod Point (talk) 14:26, 6 November 2024 (UTC)

Of course! I apologise for not updating this as well. I've changed them now. Encoded  Talk 💬 23:42, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

Brilliant, thanks very much both of you for your help on this David T at Pod Point (talk) 11:25, 13 November 2024 (UTC)