Berkey Water Filters Europe Reviews 20

Horrible service and horrible product. Dont buy from this company.

2nd follow up in response 25/006/2024
When I checked we bought our carbon replacement filters from you Berkey Water Filters Europe and we purchased the most recent ones from berkeywaterfilters.fr - with the same logo for the filter itself and the same carbon rods in exactly the same packaging as the ones we bought from you including the silver seal.
When I look at the reviews below 68% are really bad (one star) so it seems to me that it is you who should be passing on our feedback to the supplier. They have obviously changed their standards. We will never buy another Berkey and will not attempt to replace these carbon rods - the product is trading on its historical brand success and you are not keeping up the standards this was based on. This is a problem for all of you suppliers to take up with your USA carbon rod/filter supplier. I will not take this message down and suggest you take action rather than asking me to write to your supplier to complain.
Follow up on response:
We bought them from
BERKEY WATER FILTERS FRANCE.
berkey-waterfilters.fr
As you can see from our notes below we did write to them and have sent them photos as requested.
They said "We assure you that all our products are made by the same and only manufacturer in the USA. In over 10 years, we have not changed our supplier."

This filter is not working as expected. We primed it in the first instance and did so again when it did not filter after the 3rd day. As we said we have a Berkey (now we have 2) and we bought the full filter set because we wanted to ensure that the filters were authentic and worked well.
We have only bought from authentic Berkey suppliers and this supplier has all the trappings of authenticity.

If they are selling under the Berkey Brand then how can we tell who is a bonafide supplier of quality filters. They look authentic and have a silver seal on the carbon filter box with no. BK281703. THE PRICE
for a new Berkey with one set of filters was €415,00 EUR.

We hope you can track them down.

Maybe the best thing for us to do is to send these filters back - we received it circa end of May 2024 - and buy a new one from you?

Helen and Jack Sanger

(Previous comments below)
We have written to them and they asked for images which We have had Berkey filters for 14 years and our first set of carbon rods lasted for many years - 8 or so. We bought allegedly authentic replacement filters for it but these seemed to fail within a year - we were so fed up we bought a new set and these failed within months. We decided to buy an entire new filter hoping that at least those might have original quality rods - but no! The filters are what made Berkey great and now you cannot rely on them. Never again - We am changing to another system.
ORDER No. FR-10561

We've been using our Berkey for many years...first for a few years filtering less-than-great tasting city water and now 7 years filtering water from our own well. We love the taste of the water as does everyone who visits our home. We've never had any problems with our system and are saddened to know that the U.S. is not supporting this fabulous company. I've written a long letter of support to the company but obviously they're having a hard time and this is a real pity because we've tried other systems but nothing gives such wonderful results and sweet, refreshing water as the Black Berkey Carbon Filters that are now so difficult to find. The U.S. pushes GMOs and all sorts of toxic foods and substances upon it's citizens but then they have the nerve to try and claim that Berkey is bad. I love my Berkey, no regrets...it's a beautiful system that makes the best filtered water, ever!

I liked the solid build of the Berkey: stainless steel. I like that it is a simple system, you can assemble yourself and doesn’t require electricity. I like that you can use it to purify rain or natural spring water.

It took me a few hours to assemble the filter. Especially the activation from the filters. It took some time before water was flowing through.

I didn’t taste much difference after the water was filtered. And when I tested the water on ppm with my ppm tool it actually measured higher ppm after the filtration. As of today I haven’t found an explanation that satisfies me. And have to say that I’m not using the filter, as I’m not sure it filters the water.

I purchased the travel berkey last year and so far it has been great. Easy to use and does a good job at filtering out the bad stuff. Would highly recommend.

Latest batch of filters I purchased from them seem defective and as result the water tastes of chemicals and waste treatment products, truly ghastly. After several days trying to contact Berkey Water Filters Europe without success (even left voicemail with my contact but they never called back and I am "was" a client of over 10 years!), I was greeted with rudeness and an unprofessional attitude (not the 1st time this happened hence why I am writing this review), besides they were clueless as to what the problem may have been after little to no troubleshooting via phone, nor did they offer to replace the filters - they simply did not care at all. Shocking and appalling customer service and goods. Stay well away from this company.

Reputable company with Good customer service. Buy with confidence

After reading all the negative reviews here, I was a little worried to order a Berkey water filter. However I went ahead anyway, as I liked their product more than anything else on the market. After receiving my Big Berkey water filter, I had a minor problem with it. I emailed Berkey Europe, which they responded very quickly. After determining what caused the issue, they posted a replacement part promptly. The problem was sold quickly and efficiently. Excellent customer service.

Hugly disappointed with Brekey after reading all the hype. The product was faulty due to the filters taking around 12 hours for one chamber of clean water.

Berkey's customer service was shocking, they lied about trying to call me then stopped all contact via email, insisting that I call them in the USA to get a replacement, which I would also have to pay an admin fee for.
After a call costing over 30 pounds resulted in their system being unable to accept my admin payment for $7.50 they told me that they would not send a replacement and I would have to call again with a different payment method. At this point I gave up and now have a very expensive and almost useless filter.

Given Berkey's price compared to the competition I would have expected a better product and much better customer service.

The water also still has discoloration after filtering.

Would not recommend.

Would never buy one of these ever again. I am currently having to take my claim to the small claims court as the supplier, Philip Boerma has refused to help with my faulty filter - despite the company offering a lifetime guarantee for its products.
I am shocked at how unhelpful he has been. He was extremely hostile towards me and didn't offer any help at all. I wish I hadn't believed all of the Google reviews about how good it was - I realise now that it was all fictitious and misleading and that I have been conned into handing over hundreds of pounds for a glorified tin can as it won't work correctly.
I don't know how Philip sleeps at night....

They won't honour the guarantee at all and we will now have to take them to court. Very disappointed in the way they have conducted themselves - Why anybody would want to buy one of these filters is beyond me as it's been nothing but trouble - doesn't work, and is very dangerous in my opinion as it has caused countless UTI's in my family. Check out you tube videos and see what others have to say on the subject, you will see a lot of negative reviews about these filters, especially those who have experienced problems with it not filtering and actually breaking internally. Remember that most of the stuff that comes up on Google when you search for them is actually posted by the company or by people they have paid to say positive things.

Unlike online, when I make a High Street purchase, I select my item perceived as new and pay the cashier/sales assistant. Easy. I don't expect staff to surreptitiously and covertly exchange it for a different one that's old/used/damaged/opened/returned/ex-display/seconds/faulty. My purchase wasn't impulsive: I'd spent considerable time beforehand sourcing it and selecting it from the best point of sale. Importantly, I made sure I had sufficient funds in my bank or cash to pay. There should be absolutely no reason for me to be 'unhappy' with it. So, I shouldn't expect to arrive home and, on discovering the item had somehow magically changed its condition, to then spend my valuable time contacting the shop because of this. I complain. The result an apology - OK, the staff agreed it wasn't new. An immediate offer of a very small discount or the choice that I return it for a 'full' refund is suggested.
'Simply' repackaging a relatively large item and travelling the equivalent of 500 miles in expenses for a refund doesn't address or resolve the issue which should not have occurred in the first place. The expense in time and money returning the product would negate the value of the refund so most customers, such as myself, experiencing this won't bother. We'll be 'grateful' for the efficient resolution of a 'discount'. The staff in the shop know this so they 'try their luck' and hope to deal with only a few such minor inconveniences - after all, how long does it take to say, or write, "As you are not happy with your purchase, return it and we will be happy to issue a full refund" while ignoring or denying the fact a swap had been made. Obviously, in a brick shop this scenario doesn't happen - at least I've never heard of or experienced it.
I rate my experience with Berkey Water Filters Europe (BWFE) as Bad; 1 star. It was an "unacceptable experience" and it's wholly "unreasonable" to ignore valid questions about issues regarding my order. Poor cosmetic appearance is one thing but another, very important question about the functioning of the unit has been ignored.
The product reviewed is a water filterer/purifier unit and although unconnected to this company or the manufacturers of Berkey's, and having not occurred in the UK, although of UK residency, I have known personally of death caused by drinking contaminated water abroad. Although BWFE are unaware of this, as a customer, if I have an issue with the functioning of my new unit (independently witnessed) I expect it to be addressed. It wasn't.
I hadn't intended to publish a review on Trustpilot, or any other review platform, but I'd noticed 30 June that another review company sent me an email on 21 June at 06:27 requesting feedback for the product I purchased from BWFE and as I had already found several issues with its condition and had just discovered another, I decided to write it at my personal time and expense and sent it on 1 July. However, it wasn't published and neither did I receive any acknowledgement.
I don't appreciate receiving unsolicited feedback requests and then having my genuine experience ignored - even if it was too 'bad' to be published. It concerns me that the reviews for BWFE are mostly 5 stars with a few 4 stars but my review, -3 stars, vanished. I used BWFE because of its positive reviews online, and it's based in the UK.
This is now a review of my experience of BWFE and the quality of the specific Berkey unit I received.
The 1 star is for the quick delivery (to London) and secure packaging. There was reasonable courtesy via email and phone call.
Being unable to witness potential purchases in person, customers can only buy online in good faith that the supplier has integrity. They must believe, obvious accidental transit damage aside, they will receive the product as advertised. For me, this did not happen.
To provide some background, I didn't receive a confirmation email for my order placed on 11 June 2017 and nothing had been sent to my spam filter. As confirmation was expected, I didn't print the order information - although I made a note of the Order Number: 100001135 and time at 15:33. I've yet to confirm if this may have been an issue with my internet service provider which caused a breakdown of trust by the company, but if it were due to incompatible apps/software, glitches etc, I would expect any company with a 'big' online presence to have and employ technical resources to deal with such issues - even if it's a basic email from Customer Services requiring customer verification. Either way, BWFE received my funds without problem. Anyhow, the courier delivery emails were received the following day without problem and the order arrived quickly and well packaged on 13 June.
I emailed BWFE the same day because flaws were found on all parts of the stainless steel unit, but I received no reply. It was only when I made the time to call the company eleven days later (24 June at 13:11-13: 33) I was told an email was sent on 14 June which also contained a copy of the order acknowledgment as I'd requested this confirmation in my email. Again, I'd not received either. However, the emails were then sent (again) to me during that phone call but from a different email address which I received instantly.
As previously mentioned, had I not received requests for feedback, I wouldn't have written the review as I knew it would take more than 10 minutes of my unpaid time to compose. I'm also aware many people will simply look at short, 'good' reviews but it's rare to want to 'waste' 10 minutes or more reading lengthy 'negative' but informative and actually helpful - time and cash saving - reviews. Speaking of waste, I don't have a cupboard, loft, garage or otherwise full of unwanted, unused purchases.
I've included (some of) my original feedback below. It was intended for the product only and didn't mention BWFE as I hadn't noted the email/review site and connection. Anyhow, it wasn't published and I've edited it very slightly to include the company's name and some new information:

"A Surprisingly Poor Quality Product "I chose to purchase the Budget Travel Berkey as a trial with the view of further investment in the future.
I was of the understanding that the 304 stainless steel used is "highly polished". The unit I received not only had several light scratches and marks synonymous with being previously used or handled, it also had numerous minute scratches as would be expected if the entire unit had been washed or unprofessionally 'polished' with an abrasive and oily material causing damage to the finish. Reflected light takes on a matt, satin, almost brushed appearance with a distinct haze of repeated 'buff' marks. This distracting finish is either the result of a flaw, is incomplete or the description "highly polished" is very misleading. However, as I was assured I'd received a new unit rather than one at a discount from 'Scratch and Dent', I can only conclude that the quality of polish New Millennium Concepts allows to pass as "high" for quality control is remarkably poor. I certainly did not expect such an obviously substandard finish. About a week later, I noticed the clear plastic bag containing the spigot had also been opened and resealed but as it had been opened from the bottom, it wasn't immediately apparent. I see no valid reason why a brand new, unused and undamaged product in a sealed transparent bag required opening by BWFE to be "checked" prior to despatch - unless flaws and faults are an expected possibility or it was to be sent with the disingenuous knowledge it was a used/returned/substandard item. I was advised I either return the purchase or accept a £20 discount. I opted for the discount as I did not make the considered purchase from a professional, authorised and apparently leading Berkey dealer expecting to return it. I didn't have another unit to compare the finish with, so there was no guarantee a replacement wouldn't present similarly. Images have been sent to BWFE of the problems. I have since noticed that one filter immediately drips water eight times in five seconds while the other produces only one drip in the same time. They are supposedly new and identical but clearly something is amiss: so which is filtering 'normally'?

(Edit: on further inspection on 3 July, I can see that one filter has faint vertical 'scrub' marks and also has a slightly mottled appearance. While this was originally unnoticed as it wasn't expected and only realised after fitting the filters, it can be seen with the naked eye. It is very clear under magnification).

I'd suggest consumers requiring a professional quality finish look elsewhere. Furthermore, if a high grade, 'highly polished' finish and aesthetics is not needed, any reasonably competent person should be able to construct their own unique water filterer for a fraction of the cost of a Berkey. BWFE simply suggest I return the unit as I'm "not happy" with it. There has been no help, advice or explanation offered.

EDIT 19/07 Re BWFE's evasive reply: I was/AM FULLY AWARE of their BUDGET version's online details: i.e the ONLY difference was my purchase came with EARTH, not BLACK filters. This purchase wasn't made because I couldn't afford a 'proper' one - far from it. There was no mention that one filter would be used to the point of being non functioning and the unit itself would present as imperfect, and there was absolutely no information that it "is not the same as the proper Travel Berkey.." I can only conclude that BWFE assumes their time more valuable than their customers so the onus should be on the customer to resolve issues at their expense if they're "not happy".

I believe without valuable customers there is no value in business so it's prudent to iron out 'mistakes' before inflicting them on unsuspecting customers. Too many 'customers' are 'happy' to earn money just to buy junk to store unused or to send to landfill.