Balconny 

If I could give negative stars, believe me I would. Atrocious service, communication and scans.

It sounded too good to be true because it was.

I understand you've vacated your premises now.
You owe me a lot of 120 film. No negatives received. Poor low quality scans. Money Taken. Avoid at all costs.

I'd write a letter before action if I knew where you were located Rashid.

This review is based not on Balcony’s work as a film lab. They were a tenant at my building. This is a notice to confirm they are no longer based at their studio in Haggerston E8. Please therefore do not attempt to send any film to them as they will not process it.

The balustrade needs a complete re spray. It’s rusting on every post. We were told someone would come. To no avail despite numerous telephone calls and texts were made enclosing photographs . They will not communicate on the phone so letters were sent. We have been waiting for 6 months for it to be put right. This job was done by Newbalcony. Ringwood road.

I'm afraid I'm another one of the multitude of customers left angry and disappointed by this company. Months of no replies or fob-offs to my increasingly desparing emails. Months have gone by with no scans and no negatives returned. Even if Balcony.Industries wasn't a scam when it was set up, it certainly appears to be one now. Too many similar stories of people who have been left out of pocket and, worse, with no way of getting their films or negatives back. It's such a shame because this seemed like a promising model that could potentially have worked - and God knows film photography needs some heroes. Sadly, Balcony.Industries is one of the villains. Don't go anywhere near them.

Decent improvement since the new management. Hopefully remains that way and not a false dawn.

Dropped off 40+ rolls of 120 from a fashion shoot that was booked last minute Friday evening. Needed them turned around for the weekend (Was expecting a substantial rush fee)......had the scans in my dropbox Sunday morning in time to *enjoy* the Euro final

Update November 2024:
After initially posting this review, Rashid magically got in touch after all that time of ignoring emails and messages. ‘Going to make sure you get your negatives, will be sending you a photo of your negs in the next two hours’ he says. Unsurprisingly, there was no delivery on this or further update since. I’ve since reported to Action Fraud and Trading Standards, not that I expect them to do anything, but by the looks of things, I’m not the only person that got had.

I've been waiting well over a year now for the return of some negatives from some rolls I sent in back in April 2023. Each interaction with Balcony has been marred by some kind of snag or oversight, with plenty of opportunity for things to be put right, but right now the cons (literally) outweigh any perceived pros, and frankly, this is not a 'business' to be trusted.

If you're one of Rashid's friends/someone in the fashion industry, you will be lavished with the attention and care that he feels that you deserve. If you're not part of this circle, well, good luck trying to get any semblance of customer service, regardless of how much you have paid for the services that you're entitled to as a paying customer.

Your emails expressing concern over lack of contact or meeting of obligations will go unanswered. If you attempt to contact them via any other means where Balcony/Rashid is active (IG), you will initially receive a response about offering to put things right of outstanding services being carried out, before being ghosted without anything happening, whilst he continues to update his socials about all the Kodak Portra they've obtained, supposedly by purporting to be a business.

If you attempt to visit the lab to try and obtain your property/negatives in person, be prepared to face difficulty. Speaking with one of the other keyholders in the building when making enquiries as to when Rashid or anyone is actually at Balcony; parcels sent into Balcony are left to pile up outside their unit door for weeks, so clearly being given the care they deserve.

If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. The 'membership' and what it offered, along with Balcony's 'Manifesto' claiming so many things it hasn't delivered on, is a clear example of this, clearly exploiting people thanks to the recent revival of film. Fraudulent at best.

Incredibly bad customer service. Takes weeks to respond to emails, doesn't accept phone calls and has lost 6 sets of my negatives.

Just an awful experience. Dropped off film to be processed, it always takes at least 1 month, no information if they've received it, or processing it, and no replies to emails/messages.

I am still waiting for scans now and has been over a month, and the owner is no longer replying to messages. Always seemed to be lied to, it's always the same excuses, either the email system was down, or Dropbox had an issue... Not once has their service lived up to the "dependable film processes coupled with the highest level of service to our patrons" they boast in their manifesto. Also a paid subscriber for what looks like zero benefits and only headaches. Judging by the other reviews, they've been found out... I just hope I can at least get me scans back and a refund...

I recently used Balcony, to develop some film rolls. While their website seemed convenient, it lacked clear instructions on the film drop-off process, leading to confusion having already paid. Just to clarify I am also a paid subscriber to their studio (Which appears to have little/none of the benefits as promised)

After dropping off the film at their studio I received no confirmation email they had received the rolls and haven't heard anything back despite sending multiple follow-up emails. Unfortunately, there's been no response from the owner and I have no idea how long/how to receive these rolls back

This lack of communication has been frustrating and concerning. With no updates on the status of my film, I'm unsure if they even received the rolls.

While I can't speak to the quality of their development work, the unclear instructions and unresponsive service leave a lot to be desired. I would recommend for others to avoid.

Paid for membership and took over 6 weeks to get all of my scans back! Loads had to be redone, and the quality was really poor. Save your time and money and go elsewhere.

Used em for a bit great quality pics awful turn around and service, a subscription based lab shouldn't be this unprofessional. Still doing transfers of dropbox lol and nothing at all like there slick pretty claims on the site. You got low self esteem if u fall for their gaslighting lol

Best film processing you can get in London...dip and dunk processing at Noritsu prices. Rasheed sound guy too. Thanks!

Hard to overstate how disappointed I am. Ordered 3 rolls to be developed. It took me months of chasing, I actually lost track of how many times I had to follow up. I sent emails, dm'd them and after all that they lost two rolls. The lack of communication alone was enough to never uses this company again but losing my rolls having taken over 2 months to arrive is insulting.

Cleanest scans I've ever received! Dropped off on Tuesday, negatives were at my doorstep on Thursday. 10/10 so far

Great transparency and communication throughout. I picked up my order from the lab myself. Rasid and I spoke and his love for film radiated. His enthusiasm was infectious and he takes immense pride in his work. That cumulated into an end product I'm delighted with.

Thanks Balcony!

Ordered film months ago with 48hour tracking, they finally said they’d sent it and almost two weeks later still nothing.

Similar to the other review. Have not received negatives from multiple orders. Film deliveries incomplete, awful communication and do not reply.

Avoid.

Avoid. Avoid. Avoid. Trusted my film with this new company that promised exceptional service as per their “manifesto” after 3 weeks of chasing and little to no communication I receive scans for another customer! I then have to chase again for weeks to have my negatives posted back to me and again, I received another customers negatives! I have now cancelled my membership and thoroughly recommend to stay clear of this scam of a company.