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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. - via 