BCT Outdoors Ltd
On 03/07/2017 I sent my 4m bell tent to BCT Outdoors to be repaired, washed and waterproofed.When they received it, I was called by one of their staff to confirm it had arrived, and to advise me that, because the fabric was old, waterproofing would not restore the tent to pristine condition, but would only prolong its life. I would probably need to replace it in "a year or two". This was exactly what I expected, and I said I was happy for the work to proceed.I got the tent back, and all seemed well. The fabric was much cleaner, and the existing damage had been very neatly patched and repaired.However, when I took the tent camping a week later, in only moderately heavy rain, the waterproofing failed utterly. Water penetrated across the whole of the fabric, and flooded the tent completely, soaking us and our possessions.I contacted BCT Outdoor on 01/08/2017 to make them aware of the issue. I received a reply the next day to thank me for letting them know, and say they would be in touch. Since then I have sent them several more emails and a facebook message. I have not heard any more from them to date.As things stand, I consider the entire cost of £159 to be completely wasted. While the wash and repair were fine, the total failure of the waterproofing has basically destroyed the tent. Before we sent it, it was leaky but usable. Now, it's a write-off.I don't know whether the waterproofing process went wrong, or whether the assessment of the fabric was over-optimistic - both are understandable - but either way I have paid £159 for an outcome I was specifically told to expect (a "year or two" more use of the tent) and I haven't received it. Furthermore, the complete lack of any meaningful communication from BCT Outdoor is extremely disappointing.Should BCT Outdoor get in touch and help to address this, I will post a follow-up. However, for now I can only advise that sending your tent to BCT Outdoor is taking a huge gamble.
approvedbusiness.co.ukBCT Outdoors Ltd Tel: 01274 728469
