Martin & Co Birmingham Land & New Homes Birmingham reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Martin & Co Central Manchester branch

The worst customer service experience I have ever encountered.Staff were incredibly rude and argumentative when dealing with my enquires.They used phrases like:"that's not my problem""deal with it""call the police or get a lawyer" After a face to face meeting, Martin & Co employees informed me that myself and my partner would be able to find new tenants to replace us once we vacated the property. Once the new tenants had already started to move in their belongings we were informed that this would no longer possible. We dealt with a woman named Jessica who was rude, argumentative and unhelpful.I then contacted Martin and Co 3 weeks after vacating the property to collect some post which had been sent to my previous address. Martin & Co (who are acting as the landlord) refused to help what so ever as they said it would take too much time and cost too much money. All I asked of them was to contact the current tenant on my behalf to organise a time for me to go and pick up my mail, a 2-minute phone call at most.When enquired on how to lodge a formal complaint they assured me they would send over their complaints form and an outline of the complaints procedure. I am still waiting to receive this email a month later.This has been the worst customer service experience I have ever encountered.Avoid Martin & Co like the plague.

Nicholas · 21 September 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

We own and live in a property in…

We own and live in a property in Ashford Kent where Martin and Co have let out a property. The tenants are very volatile and have had the police called twice due to very offensive language and arguing, where all the neighbors are having to endure this behaviour.We have contacted the estate agent to voice our concerns ( as in government guidelines on letting this is considered anti social behaviour) and were told by the lady at the agent that it’s nothing to do with them and once they come to the end of their tenancy they will decide if they will let them renew and if we have further problems call the police! Do you not feel you have a responsibility to people who own and live around the house you are letting?Appalling, shame on you

Adrienne · 19 September 2018

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Offering Truly Professional Service to Market a "Difficult" Property

I am an American commercial attorney with decades of experience in Europe. I have now been working with Martin & Co for about five months on the marketing and sale of a very "difficult" but premium residential property and have found their level of commitment and professional attention to be consistently excellent. They really know the market and have access to an extensive network of purchasers, cooperators and developers to whom to present their properties. Martin has offered my client invaluable advice and been very responsive to its requests. I would highly recommend their services.

Gregory · 18 September 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Martin and co are by far the worst…

Martin and co are by far the worst agency I have ever came across. Two of their workers who have reported this review are extremely rude with no customer skills. They prupose to take my full 700pound deposit. I paid 200 of it as a pet deposit. They want to take the full amount. 450 of it due to needing new carpets because of puppies. My dogs had pups it was not planned but it happened. They were kept in the kitchen in a pen at all times never on the carpets. The landlord knew about the pups and said this was ok as long as they were removed after the 8 weeks with their mother which is exactly what happened. And now they hit me with this. I have asked for evidence of the phone call where the person i was dealing with states the landlord said it was fine for the pups to be there. They want to charge 20 quid for a little lock on the shed that I lost the key for. The padlock they want to replace it with must be made of gold at that price. 20 for curtains that I left there that they need to remove. And apparently the council won't pick up the '' overflowing bin'' that funnily wasn't overflowing upon my departure and shows in photos of the check out that It wasn't overflowing.Absolutely disgusted with their service. Happy for me to be there and my 2 dogs for the last 2 year's with inspections every 3 months with no problems. Do not use Martin and co because they are a huge scam and will do anything to keep your money. They took the side of the landlord and did not allow any comments from myself. This is not how it should work. Use a company that is helpful and respectful of their customers and won't try and take you for every penny you have. Funnily I was warned by numerous people to not use Martin and co for this exact reason but I thought who could be that bad. How wrong I was. And judging by all these one star reviews I'm not the only unhappy customer that's been messed around by this awful company.

Rachel · 12 September 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Awful and Confusing Estate Agent

Just want to share my awful experience Martin & Co Ipswich -Awful answering team that can’t answer any questions and are meant to pass on messages - not sure if they did?-No call back to say we were not successful and received the bad news from looking on rightmove-Messy application process which clearly led to us not being considered to the landlord and led to a confusing call asking if we were interested when we already had told them we were-Can NEVER get hold of the branch-Nearly impossible to book a viewing for a property-So much time tried to get hold and chasing them and you haven’t even got the application stage yet (can’t imagine what it would be like if you ever had a problem with the property that needed fixing)Saw a property we liked on rightmove come up, called after hours and they have a handy team taking messages ready for the morning. Didn’t receive a call back the next day like they advised, I called the day after within the opening hours and still got through to the message taking team. Sent them an email as well as lately properties have been flying by and we didn’t want to miss this one. Still no response the next day so my partners mum went into the Ipswich branch and the woman there was advised she’d get back to me, I did then receive a call back later that day.The viewing went better than I thought it did after the mess trying to arrange a viewing. The agent was very friendly and knew his stuff. He did go through the process of how they do applications but I had to ask several times if there was anything we had to do, like a pre application. The agent said no he will just put the names forward to the landlords and our salaries and the landlord will decide. Sorted.. so I thought.The next working day after bank holiday he left me a voicemail asking how we thought the viewing went and if we were interested. This was confusing as we had made it very clear on the day we loved the property. Tried calling him back but he was out of the office, spoke to someone else in the branch and they said they would advise him we were wanting to be in the running to be considered by the landlord and will get him to contact me if any issues. Several days later, not heard anything back so thought maybe the landlord is taking their time. Looking through rightmove and suddenly see the property is showing as let agreed. Tried calling them but went to answering team and they advised would get someone to call me straight away. Still nothing, tried calling over the weekend and no answer from the branch. I take it we were not considered for the property due to the awful communications between your colleagues and the difficulty trying to get through to someone. Luckily we had since found another property and are now in the application stage of this one with a better estate agent.If you really like a house please do take into account the estate agent you are going through, I would never go with Martin and co due to the experience we have had and will have to pass on any property’s that come up with them.

Giles · 3 September 2018

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

I have had an amazing,seamless experience in securing an apartment with Liberty. She was approachable, patient ,and still so very helpful. Thanks Liberty.

Victoria · 26 June 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

DISGRACEFUL Company - Rochdale

DISGRACEFUL COMPANYRented a property from martin and co. started having issues with the boiler (heating was coming on instead of the hot water) - they sent their engineer round who fiddled with the pressure and then said it was fixed. Problem wasn't fixed. We advised them problem not sorted and the guy clearly didn't seem to know what he was doing - they showed him the email and sent him back. still not fixed. We had to get an independent person to tell us what the problem was and report it again and tell him what the exact fault was. finally sorted that problem.then the boiler stopped coming on, we had to reset it and heat the water if we wanted hot water - send the same man, didn't fix it.then the boiler has started having massive bangs, shaking the house to the top floor (my mum thought there had been a car accident when she was in the house and it happened) - same engineer has said its safe to use, but needs replacing but landlord wont replace as only 11 years old!we have had to move out as reading about the problem online suggests it certainly isn't safe. Will be today reporting them to the health and safety executive.they have just done a check out of the property, report is fine, new tenant moved in same day, then after they have been living there said there are cleanliness issues - so martin and co have sent a cleaner round and are going to take the cost out of our deposit. when asked how much, they said they don't know and expect an invoice next week - so they have appointed a cleaner, without getting a quote and they can charge what they like.they also wouldn't update my email address, so sending gas safe check men round without telling me and they let themselves in. disgraceful letting agent. would never use again. since moving in, every single person I know who has used this company have had major issues with them (as tenants)They have also provided me with the landlords home, mobile and work numbers, which unless the landlord has agreed to this is a breach of GDPR

Carl · 13 August 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

we called martin and co to arrange a…

we called martin and co to arrange a viewing on 3 properties we liked as 1st time buyers we wanted to view 3 to see which 1 would suiote our needs the agent said they would get back in touch later that day ,3 days later no call so we contacted them again we were told that all 3 properties had tennants and they were trying to arrange so we could see them all the same day.3 weeks later no contact so today we called them again to view the same properties that are still on the market ..we have now been told ooooh its awkward to do a viewing in case the tennants find outwhat your doing..COME ON MARTIN AND CO DONT YOU USE FOR SALE BOARDS....HOW DO PEOPLE GET TO SELL THIER HOUSE IF NOBODY CAN VIEW THEM we will not be using this agent now

Julie · 13 August 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Apsolutly apauling

Apsolutly apauling DO NOT USE We found a house we liked and began to go through the proccess I had to call atleast 3-4 times a day to get spoken to once We gave them £50 of the 250 to take it off the market and get credit checks started like they agreed We were told that it would be used for that specifically They then did NOT take the house off the market and did NOT do the checks We gilled out the form and since im new to all the procces i was trying to get in touch but no one picked up the phone When we decided no we dont want the property as there level of attentiom was abismal I called up to ask for the £50 back as nothing that was agreed had been done They organised a call back And didnt call back They did that multiple times throughout They also claimed to have tried to call me whitch they didnt as i would have had a missee call or a call discone ted notification And also claimed that they only had 1 missed call from me All of whitch are lies Do not use this company i trully belive they have no respect for people who are looking to buy They take far to long and drag there heels and borderline refuse to follow through on a agreement Id give them negative stars for everything and will not use them again Even if they offered a mansion for a tenna Disgracefullwashington

Dan · 13 August 2018

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

I recently viewed a property with Martin & Co Birmingham City Lettings and had a great experience. The agent was very polite, took the time to let us view the property thoroughly, and answered all our queries. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a property in Birmingham. Oh i remember , Her name is Amelia

Dr · 16 January 2025

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

They will deduct your deposit for definite!

I signed a 12 month contract with Martin and Co. I paid £350 deposit. One week before the contract ended, a pre-check-out insection was carried out by their staff called L****n. L****n said everything is okay. The property is cleaned. And I did clean the property etc. On the check out date, L****n came for check-out inspection and keys collection. L****n took tons of pictures of every corner of the property. L****n said a deep cleaning is needed. They charged me £180 for minor dust on the skirting, some stain on the stove whch is irremovable, and mould on the windows silicon. What a hypocrate! Don't be like Martin and Co. Don't rent from Martin and Co.

Randy · 31 July 2018

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Dealt with Kirsty for renting a flat, and despite the extra problems that covid creates she made the move as least stressful as could be. I probably had more contact with her than I'd normally have in a move, and she was always friendly and understanding to work through all the issues.PositiveResponsiveness, Professionalism

Belsky · 25 December 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Well where do I even begin?

Well where do I even begin?! After living in London for a decade and being exposed to many years of renting, I can honestly say that my experience with Martin & Co wins the award for the worst tenant experience hands down. From day one the service that we recieved was dreadful. During the paperwork stage, we spent alot of time chasing for updates as we were relocating from London and wanted to ensure everything was in order. The fees were seriously high (approx. £550 agency fees) and I never paid this much even in London. We had several issues after moving in and it took over two months to come in to the property to inspect and fix the issue. It shouldnt take this long when it only takes a matter of seconds for them to take your hard earned money for rent and fees. When we ended our tenancy we where then charged additional fees for extra cleaning. This was frustrating and not a surprise as I was waiting for the company to put extra charges ontop of the final bill. We left the property in a cleaner state than what we moved into and even fixed some things in the property whilst living there. My advice is don't use this agency. You will spend so much time being frustrated, angry and chasing for responses and updates. Its a waste of time.

HP · 13 July 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

This company is extremely horrible.They…

This company is extremely horrible.They never return calls or emails after taking their payment.They lie to you they will take down the property and then list it again, hence taking application fees from multiple tenants which is non refundable.They never return calls, they never offer any sort of help or information whatsoever as long as they took the money.Please never use them, i wonder how they are still in business. I AM IN TOTAL REGRET FOR MY HEARD EARNED MONEY

Eightonetwo · 9 July 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Landlords beware

Landlords beware - Huddersfield branch!They take a significant percentage of the rental income to manage your property, but the ‘management’ part seems to be non-existent!Half of the staff show a clear disinterest on the telephone with the most shocking telephone manner and are blatantly rude. The others are polite, but then do not return calls, put anything into action or ‘manage’ - no communication until you chase them again and again.They DO NOT CARE whether the tenant is damaging the property, and simply write reports about items that need replacing. Biggest regret I have is allowing them to manage my property, such a stressful experience!

SU · 23 December 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Avoid at all Costs

This agent needs to be avoided at all costs. I chose to rent a flat through Martin and Co Nantwich and it was the worst decision I have ever made.On moving in I found a huge number of issues that I believe should have been found in the check that is meant to be done prior to a new tenant. There include a leaking pipe under the sink, a boiler that constantly needed resetting and a washing machine that was unusable due to the seal being black with mold. The whole flat was also filthy with cobwebs everywhere,dried food and grease all over the kitchen and limescale on all taps.On all phones I was assured issues would be sorted but they always done the cheapest repair possible if they done anything at all. I was regularly left without hot water and heating and this was whilst the UK had snow. At this time my boiler never worked for more than 20 hours at a time. I was never offered heaters I had to borrow theses from friends as there was just no empathy from Martin and Co.I did write a complaint but it got me no where the whole thing was shrugged off as though I was over reacting. The fact the flat was so dirty was shrugged off as I had signed the inventory but I had sent an email advising off all this and it was acknowledged.Most of all their out of hours service is useless. I lost all power on a Saturday morning and was told I would have to wait until Monday as it wasn’t classed as an emergency. Again this happened on a weekend where the temperatures were in the minuses. Luckily I could go and stay with friends as not sure what I would have done with no power!Advice to anyone is just stay away, they will cause you nothing but stress and in the end you start just living with some of the issues you find as you just can’t bring yourself to deal with them as you know it will be a battle

Joanne · 16 June 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

WORST Agency ever!!

WORST Agency ever!!! Do not rent from them! They are a bunch of scammers! They stole money from our deposit and we had to go through disputing it and we only got very little back. And what was their excuse? That the landlord paid a lot of maintenance for us!!! As if its not their job to do that!! Even the contract says so! We got charged for light bulbs that weren't working so they will put new ones in. Guess what! They didn't even change them! We know that because we asked the new tenant that moved in after us! It was a very stressful period. They couldn't give a damn to be honest. They seemed used to it. Also, we had a lot of problems with the flat because most of the stuff in there were old and it was like begging them to come and sort it. One time a guy came in to fix our shower and he left all the tiles he took out from it in our living room, and left the place extremely dirty and messy. On top of that we had to clean it all! When we first got inside the flat, we had to clean it all because it was dirty and there were blood stains on the wall!! We left the place cleaner than it was but they charged us for cleaning in the end!

Notauser · 13 June 2018

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Liberty is such an amazing letting agent, got my property less than a week of putting in my offer. Definitely recommend.

Talk · 26 July 2024

★★★★★ 4/5

Google

Martin and Co have been a reliable and responsible company. My friend and I recently moved to a new area and with the help of Megan from the lettings team it was a smooth and clear service. They answered all our questions and even offered advice on local spots in the area to ease in as new tenants. Thank you for the kind and valuable time and service. :)

Loz · 26 July 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

What's the point having an out of hours…

What's the point having an out of hours phone number if you can't be bothered to answer it?

Anonymous · 11 March 2026

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Look for a better company - they are terrible…

I can only recommend to both landlords and tenants that they do all they can to avoid this incompetent company. I am a tenant who has reported a faulty shower since I moved in, ten months ago. Nothing was done for 8 months and then they promised to fix it. They have not done so in the subsequent two months. I now have family and guests at Christmas and we will all have to share the only working bath/shower, which is in my en suite. They have already tried to get 2 contractors to complete the work. No success. They cannot tell me when they will try a third. They cannot guarantee any date or progress. They are a Management Company that appears not to have the ability to deliver a service to landlord or tenant. Yet they take a significant fee on the promise that they do. To add insult to injury, they do not even communicate with me to tell me what is happening. Because they do not care for the end user - and this comes from a national business that professes to offer personal services. I am just beginning an exercise to be compensated for their inability to get anything done and for the botheration and distress that it has caused me.

Ralph · 20 December 2023

★★★★★ 4/5

Trustpilot

Excellent Stage 2 resolution

Excellent Stage 2 resolution from the Senior Management team

Andra · 19 May 2026

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Completely bizarre experience

Completely bizarre experience. They don't reply to texts or emails, told me the property was for sale after the checks were completed (too late to find anywhere else) changed the move in date, had people visiting constantly for viewings (I mean a LOT) while I was out, extreme damp in property (they know about) which I cleaned off the walls and units (actually, weekly!) threw out most of my stuff due to it stinking of mould - but they want bond money for the blinds and artex walls which have damp damage (which cannot be cleaned), said 3 lights weren't working when they are (they hadn't pulled the cord properly), promised to call me multiple times but didn't., I could go on. Just incredible. when I brought up issues the response was really shocking (I'm glad I saved that email.) So I just made sure it was spotless when I moved out.I've never had a problem with lettings / landlords and always had my full bond back. I didn't complaint about issues I should have because I don't like to cause a fuss. But seriously, even if you love the property, avoid them. I actually can't quite believe they are managing to survive as surely due to word of mouth and people avoiding them they must be struggling. I have to go through the ombudsman now as the response I had last time (and only time) I raised an issue was frankly insulting. I signed up just to help others avoid going through what I did. As I know (looking at the other complaints) my deposit money will not likely be returned without external involvement. Stress you don't need.Of course they know it's my word against theirs but I bet the Ombudsman will have a trend of complaints about Martin & Co. Shameless, dishonest, disingenuous. Makes me really bloody angry. they didn't respond to my last 5 emails so I'll vent here on the public forum.

Chris · 26 March 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Substandard from start to premature finish

My boyfriend and I tried to lease a flat through Martin and Co. and we have now withdrawn our application as a result of their conduct; judging from the reviews on this site we got out in time!My boyfriend was the one to view the flat. Having experienced troubles with previous rental properties I gave him a list of things to look out for, including to ensure that the boiler worked well. The Martin and Co. employee ran the tap over her hand and reported after a minute that it was warm. My boyfriend ran his hand through the water and found it to be cold, which wasn't surprising when it transpired that the boiler was in fact switched off! This lie, intentional or otherwise, didn't fill him with confidence.We decided to go ahead with the application and were promptly charged a £400 non-refundable admin fee (£200 per person). We were asked to complete a terms of business form (no issues there) and also an application for a reference check with a third party. As the instructions were to fill in our current employment details I did so, despite the fact that I would be starting a new job between that time and the start of the tenancy. When we contacted Martin and Co to rectify this issue we were told that we would have to pay an additional £150. This, alarmingly, turned out to be untrue when I contacted the referencing company directly who immediately updated my details over the phone free of charge.We then discussed the signing of the lease. Martin and Co. required us to sign it in person at their office, which is a bit of a trek from our current flat and it is not feasible for us to reach there during the work week. We arranged to visit in two weeks time as that was the first Saturday during which we were free. We agreed that in the interim we could be emailed the lease, print it, sign it and send a scan to Martin and Co. This was on a Thursday and we were told that the employee to do so would be in touch on the Tuesday with the lease. Tuesday came and went as did the rest of the week and we were finally sent the lease the following Tuesday.Having grown increasingly concerned at this point, I sent it to my stepfather, a partner in a national solicitor's firm specialising in real estate, who described it as "over the top" for a simple residential rental. He provided me with a list of issues to raise with Martin and Co. and I sent this list on the Wednesday night. On the Thursday morning I received an email at work from my boyfriend warning that I would likely receive a "rude(ish)" phone call from Martin and Co. who were inquiring as to when we could return the signed lease, as the landlord was chasing for it. This, we can note, was approximately 48 hours (and working days) since we had received it. We can assume that Martin and Co. did not tell the landlord that the delay was due to them sending the lease a week late.My boyfriend told Martin and Co that we had sent a list of concerns. Martin and Co. then contacted me requesting we resend it as the person I had sent it to was off that day. In the same email they chased for this to be completed so that the lease could be signed. Before I saw this email they managed to find my original one with the list and responded to the queries.The first query regarded liability for shared areas. I was told that the contract said "where applicable". This does not confirm or deny any liability.The second regarded a long list of potential deductions from our deposit, none of which had any indication of their amount. I suggested that estimates should be included and was told that the fees that would be payable to Martin and Co. were "clearly stated" in the Terms of Business. I agree with this point, however, this is no reason why they should not be included in the lease. I will also note that these fees are higher than those from other letting agencies in the area.The final query regarded the lease informing us that we had been supplied with a "head lease" which we were to adhere to. We have been sent no such document and I was told in Martin and Co's response that "This can be requested from the landlord." While I do not doubt this, that is not what the lease we were expected to sign stated.Finally, we grew seriously alarmed throughout the entire process at Martin and Co.'s inability to use basic punctuation, spelling and syntax; for example "Ive just managed to pick up (name with no apostrophe) emails regarding your queries. Please see my response in red to your queries if you have any further questions please let me know, can you advise when you can send the signed tenancy over as advised the landlord is chasing for conformation on this to book the check out with the existing tenant." This indicates a worrying lack of due attention and proofreading. I have since emailed to withdraw our application, though as this was sent after business hours this evening I do not have a response. Fortunately we have not paid any other fees than the £400 admin fee. In a nutshell; I would strongly advise that everybody should avoid Martin and Co. at all costs.

Richard · 8 March 2018