Ponds Are Me Ltd

The build was good but became more and more expensive, and in fact my pond is featured on the website. However the maintenance plans are a joke and as other people on here have said you get no service and then when you complain you get nasty emails. I wanted a refund for the maintenance programme I had paid but didnt get it. When Brian does show its normally when you are out and he exaggerates the work he has done. I maintain my own pond pump and filter system its not rocket science. Just a bit wet and messy. The first time I cleared the filter system, had been maintained apparently, it was so chock full it clearly had not been cleared during the contract time I clear it twice a year and its never as bad as the first time. I would not recommend this man or his company
Jul 8th, 2022

Paid in advance for pond maintenance scheme and everytime brian was due he had an excuse, I also paid upfront for a one time clean at 100 never heard from him again this went on for over a year. After numerous emails I had no response until I sent him a letter demanding that he refund me, he them responded with a disgusting letter so I started court proceedings against him and gave him a time limit to refund me. After about a week he admitted he owed me the money and sent me another disgusting letter about how he was going to report me to a charity comission, he is really a vile man I would stay far away from him as you can I see there is a reason he has disabled reviews on his Facebook page.
Feb 20th, 2021

Nearly caused an accident at a roundabout through reckless driving. Continued to shout abuse at the other driver while holding up traffic. Judging from the previous reviews, this is not the first time. Aggressive, rude, and dangerous. Would not want someone like this on my property.
Feb 20th, 2021

Following a quotation a date was planned for the works to start. I also paid an electrical contractor to insert a electric supply at bottom of garden for pond pump etc ready for the planned works. Unfortunately a delay occurred due to a family death and a further date was agreed and set for 4 weeks later. Despite numerous emails and messages left by myself to confirm when the works would start, I received no response. A lady eventually e-mailed me to say she could not confirm when Brian would be able to carry out the works if at all !!!! Extremely disappointed in the complete lack of consideration shown towards a prospective customer let alone being let down and having spent over 500 on an electrical supply for no reason.
Jan 6th, 2021

I would sum up Brian Cann, the owner of Ponds Are Me Ltd, in one word - unreliable. We employed him to build our pond in 2016 and were pleased with the work, especially with David, who did all the brick work. It has certainly given us much pleasure. We also agreed to an annual maintenance agreement with him, to keep our pond in good condition. This cost 240 a year (payable in advance) for six visits. The following year, after a maintenance visit, I discovered that one of the foam filters, belonging to the filter system, had been left at the back of the pond. He told me it was surplus to requirements and could be thrown away. Over a period, the pond began to lose its clarity and I was to learn later from Oase, the manufacturers of the filter system, that the placing of ALL the foam filters is essential to the efficiency of the system and discarding one piece of foam was in no way surplus to requirements, and would affect the clarity of the water. Indeed, we recently found out that the foam should be replaced every couple of years, which was never suggested to us. We also noticed that the pump was gradually slowing up and it was eventually discovered that he had laid heavy rocks on top of the plastic outlet pipe, squashing it completely over a period of time. Not the brightest of ideas. He tried to put it right on a couple of occasions but he was unable to make a firm joint of the pipes and just left the rocks strewn on the bottom of the pond, which he made no effort to replace. The problem with the joint had to be rectified by myself and my son. The pond gradually got worse, with very cloudy water and he advised me that the pond would need a complete clear out, for which he would charge 200. As it turned out, luckily, he never turned up to clean the pond, which we now know that he had caused to get dirty! In 2019, his maintenance visits became more and more unreliable and I never had the full six visits. Although I suggested he should deduct something for the non-visits the previous year, he did not respond, and I paid another 240 in October for the 2020 schedule. However, he has never once appeared during 2020, and gave no reason or explanation, although his Facebook page showed him working for other people. So, we asked for our money back. He flatly refused to give a refund, quoting his terms and conditions which we had never seen or been made aware of. It transpired that he had some notes in an obscure position on Ponds Are Me Ltd website. We therefore took legal advice, which showed that he had failed to comply with both the Consumer Rights Act and the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations. We were advised to start the necessary steps, prior to going to the Small Claims Court. This we did, but no response was received to correspondence sent, until the eleventh hour before the papers went to the Court. We received the cheque for the full amount, plus a very abusive, immature, defamatory letter in which he wished me the worst of health knowing that, at 83, I have recently been diagnosed with angina. Summing up, he is completely unprofessional and un-business like and not a person I could ever recommend to anyone. On a happier note, I found a very professional pond maintenance business in Newton Abbot and their remedial action has resulted in my pond being back in tip-top condition.
Feb 22nd, 2021