Bcm

We rented 2 Bridgetts Lane, Martyr Worthy through BCM Lettings for just over four years from September 2013. During this time we had many problems with the property which were never rectified. Talking to others who rent properties owned by the Bunney family through BCM, none were happy with the service received, some shrugging it off as being no worse than other agents, one having to resort to legal action to get basic repairs carried out.

Additional photographs can be found on my own website by googling the address. Please bear in mind when we moved in, the property had been redecorated throughout and there was no mention from the agent of any of the problems we were to experience.

Within two weeks of moving in, damp was showing through on one of the walls in the hall. On contacting the agent and speaking to Zena, I was informed that this had been “sorted out” but that she would check and call me back. I never did receive that call, and as you can see from the photographs this clearly hadn't been sorted out (assume just tarted up with anti-damp paint) and became so bad on both walls that I had to start vacuuming each wall to remove the paint and plaster that would otherwise be distributed throughout the house.

You will also notice the large crack in the left hand wall which complemented the bodge-fitted front door, the frame of which was twisted meaning it wouldn't stay shut in cold weather – anything below zero and it had to be locked with a key each and every time, otherwise it would just open of its own accord and bang against the frame. How we used to laugh having been out for the day only to find the door wide open on our return. Someone came out twice to fix it by bending the striker plate...it didn't work.

The larder / utility / boot room off the hall was also riddled with damp and became unusable well within six months. Because of this, the window in this room had to be left open all year round which was great in the winter.

And it was during the first winter we found out the roof leaked. Water was coming in through the airing cupboard in the front bedroom, dripping off pipework around electrical sockets and a box marked “230V DANGER”, and also coming through the ceiling of the downstairs bathroom and above the front door, just below the electricity meter. Some months later we had two chaps call in to quote for repairing the roof, with one returning for a second time as “the first quote was too high”. Following this up with the agent got me nowhere and over the course of the year any notion of the roof being repaired was quietly dropped. In the meantime, every time it rained resulted in a damp / wet wall in the front bedroom.

Despite regular cleaning, both back bedrooms suffered from a thick band of mould / moisture on the sloping part of the ceiling during the winter months which would then drip down the wall, leaving unsightly marks. I had to stop using the room over the front door during this time as it was affecting my health.

Other niggles include having no power to the shed for nearly a year despite regular chasing, a wind-damaged fencing panel that took eight months to get replaced, being left without hot water on two separate occasions, each over a long weekend, despite messages being left (and ignored!) on the main answerphone and also voicemails (again, ignored!) on what was supposed to be an emergency number. Not forgetting the worn out windows, with just a couple functioning as intended. Towards the end of the tenancy, we were without a cooker for two weeks as the main switch had packed up, and despite reporting this straight away, the staff member concerned had gone away on holiday, presumably having done nothing about it. It was only when I received an email asking me to "please pay the water bill" that I asked if they would "please fix the cooker". It was then sorted out that same day - a ten minute job.

No fault of either landlord or agent, but we found the garden to be unusable for much of the year due to the exposed position.

I have been absolutely delighted with my dealings with the staff at BCM. Courteous, professional and knowledgable.

Excellent service with BCM, would highly recommend and would without doubt use again

My experience with BCM has been nothing other than positive throughout.
The entire team have been helpful and responsive throughout a miss-match of dates moving between two homes. Even more impressive has been the speed with which they have sent competent trades to deal with a number of plumbing and electrical problems encountered on arrival. I am talking hours not days. Well done BCM.

Unprofessional, rude, money-grabbing and poor communicators. I was a reliable tenant of a property for over 8 years. The management of that property moved to BCM who failed to communicate with me, refused to address issues and then kicked me out with minimal notice. They have no ethics, they are dis likable people and I would avoid working with them at all costs