Martin and Co Devon reviews

★★★★★ 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

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

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

The absolute worst "agency" we moved…

The absolute worst "agency" we moved into a flat and it had black mould and was freezing cold due to there being no insulation and they did nothing about it despite us trying to call them so many times on the issues they sometimes don't even answer their calls. i wish i had never moved in none of the doors worked properly either so it was hard to keep heat in. the oven didnt work. theres was just a huge list of issues and they do not care at all. i do not recomend this agency even if you're desperate. really sad excuse for a company they need to sort themselves out. pathetic.

Joshua · 11 December 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Do not use Martin & Co (Manchester) under any circumstances!

In 2016, I had received my first role post-graduating and was moving to Manchester (from London). Unfortunately I had the misfortune of coming across Martin & Co as the letting agency that I was to be renting with. Being slightly desperate to find accommodation in Manchester (as my role was to begin soon), I signed for a property that at the time seemed like an ideal distance from my workplace. The first red flag arose when the letting agent from Martin & Co was showing us the property and had a stand off with the tenant at the time who refused the agent entry to the property, claiming he had not been informed of the viewing. Despite this, I chose to sign for the property and was due to move in the following month and had agreed a collection time and date for the keys to the property. A week before I was scheduled to move in, Martin & Co rang me, asking if I could delay my moving in date. I told them I couldn't as I had arranged movers and I had members of my family who had taken time off to help. A day before moving in I rang Martin & Co informing them I'd be coming the next day to collect the keys, when suddenly they said I would not be able to move in as the flat was not ready. I was seething at this point and told them that everything had been arranged for me to move in and I had already incurred a cost under the impression that I would be moving in. I also asked them what would they have done had I decided not to inform them that I was coming to collect the keys. Martin & Co chose to hang up the phone call and did not offer any explanation until I hounded them again via e-mail. The previous tenant was refusing to leave. I had finally managed to move in to the property (one day before I was scheduled to start work at my new role). The property was a mess. It hadn't been cleaned at all, there were several glaring issues such as hanging wires, damaged sofas and a bed that shook. However the biggest issue was in the bathroom, with a movable lino floor that was a health hazard and was allowing water to escape to the flooring beneath. I informed Martin & Co of all these issues with picture evidence, including informing them that the movable lino could damage the property below. Martin & Co stated they would resolve the issues, however never got around to doing so. So months went on and I continued living at the property. Martin & Co were always slow resolving issues including a faulty fire alarm and a bathroom door that did not shut. They decided they would try to increase the rent, however never addressing the issues with the property. Approximately 8 months later, I was informed by the occupants of the property below that water was seeping from the property I was renting into theirs. I informed Martin & Co of this and they immediately attempted to pass the blame on to me. Claiming it was my usage of the bathroom that had resulted in the leak. I showed them evidence where I had informed them of the movable lino and potential water damage to the property below on the first day of moving in. They removed the shower-head so I could not shower. I had to send several letters to the landlord and numerous calls to the agent to get this reinstalled. Unfortunately during this process this caused a massive influx of drain flies and essentially made the property almost uninhabitable. At the end of my tenancy, Martin & Co attempted to withhold my deposit money and thus causing me to engage in a multiple month long battle fighting to get my deposit back. I sent Martin & Co and the landlord multiple evidences, however the response was always denial on their end. Eventually, getting to the end of my tether I threatened with county court action and only when threatened with legal action did Martin & Co return my deposit. They also tried to claim a "cleaning fee" from me, however knowing how this letting agency operates I took pictures of the condition that I left the property in. In short, do not use Martin & Co they do not operate within the realms of the law and are a cowboy agency. If you are going to use them please make sure you document everything.

Customer · 3 May 2018

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Successful and pain free sale of flat (Mansfield Branch)

My wife recently sold her late fathers flat in Mansfield and the staff at Martin & Co at the local branch went to great lengths to provide an excellent level of support. In particular, and on top of the excellent personal service they provided, they also helped find local companies to clear and clean the flat at short notice, which made the whole process hassle free. I can't thank them enough!

Philip · 9 June 2024

★★★★★ 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

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

An absolute nightmare.

An absolute nightmare.Don’t do it! My experience with them was so bad.They made us live in an apartment for 4 weeks without heating! No hot water for 4 weeks and it was freezing cold! Got in touch with them to discuss this and guess what their response was “the property manager for one of the apartments in crewe, “what do you want me to do about it”.It was so horrible. We finally decided to move out and the landlord still wanted to claim our deposit! No apologies for putting us through the terrible experience! Their office in crewe, Nantwich road, avoid! It was really bad, I am still traumatized! Worst month of my life!

Laide · 6 December 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

I purchased my flat

I purchased my flat, got keys and a temporary fob which I was told they want back, so I will be left without one. I was told I would have 2 replacement fobs provided to me, yet to receive these. I haven't been provided with my Post box key, code to the meter cupboard so I couldn't provide meter readings, no key for the balcony, basically I haven't got half the access to my property that I have purchased.I phoned a week after I completed the purchase (after sending 2 reminders asking for these last items to allow me to move in fully) and got a defensive message about how I will most likely have to pay for all these items to be replaced..... WHAT! I think I have had to spend enough money getting house clearances organised for the furniture that I requested to be moved out by the seller, now I have to pay for things that I should have received... 'Did it say in your paperwork that a post box key would be provided?' Not being funny, but a key to the post box is pretty standard. I categorically am not paying for these items that I should have been provided in the first place. Now I am living I'm an insecure flat that I cant get meter readings to so don't want to use electricity as I have not been able to get my baseline meter readings. Any info from the building manager about paying my service charge and ground rent will be sat in my post box which I don't have access to so don't know who I can directly contact about organising my direct debits for it. On top of having to clear out all the sellers furniture at my own cost! I am very angry.Such a joke.***UPDATE**** *(05/03/18) No news from M&Co. Still no postbox key, nor fobs. Had to pay £140 to replace car park fobs. £80 for the house clearance. Booked in for locksmith (which will be god knows how much) for the other jobs. Trying to sort the issue without escalating to the head office because I dont want to complain for complainings sake. I just want to live in a secure property.Still insecure, still not fully moved in. Still angry. Dont think its work chasing it up again. I dont want some snotty defensive reply. Just going to sort it myself. Martin and Co couldn't run a bath, let alone a business.

JC · 5 March 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

How rude

On Friday I received a call from Martin & Co informing that the boiler had broken in on of my flats, I arrange for British Gas to attend and fix, I rang back today to ask if every thing was ok and was asked are we meant to keep you informed, very quick to inform me about the problem, would only have thought it good manners to inform me it was fixed, not to be so rude.Thank you for your response, the office was Stoke on Trent

Customer · 19 February 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Walton branch ran by a crook

They never seem to want to improve on their customer services. Awful company. They seem to like to hire crooks like the guy in charge of the Walton branch who takes bribes for allowing tenants to sub let and for some bizarre reason fire staff, then replace them with morons! One staff member was a two faced cow and was so up herself. To add further insult, they hire an electrician who makes YOU pay for something to be replaced!? AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!

Marketing · 4 December 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

No replies for over 5 month when holding over £1500 in deposits

I was a tenant through university and since I have left the building my and my housemates have had no contact in regards to deposits or when we would get them back. Countless emails have been sent (Sunderland branch) to Adele, each just getting fobbed off or sent to Juli who hasn't replied either, but rates the company 5* on Google reviews. It has now been well over 5 months since we vacated and would like deposits back.Would never recommend as severely unprofessional.

Liam · 21 November 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Stay away from these people

Stay away from these people. They are extremely unprofessional. Had a viewing this Saturday past at 14h30. At 14h30, rang the office and was told the agent was on her way. After 30 minutes waiting for her outside in the rain no one turned up. Current tenant opened saw me standing in the rain, took pity and invited me in to show the property herself. Left a voice message on their phone but no one returned my call. Managed to get hold of them later on the day and the guy who answered the phone was unapologetic. I said I liked the house and got told he would call back on Monday to advise me on the next steps. Guess what? No one called. Very unprofessional.

Not · 20 November 2017

★★★★★ 4/5

Trustpilot

Martin and Co Banbury. A refreshing experience.

I am staggered to read the negative reviews directed to Martin and Co in Banbury.My own personal experiences with the company and the owner David Stone have been very positive. David has many years experience in the local property market and his wide experience of both lettings and saleswere apparent from the moment I decided to do business with them.Their office is in an excellent position and I found all staff members to be both welcoming and professional.I would have no hesitation in recommending Martin and Co to my friends or anyone seekingto sell, buy, let it rent.C.J.Stace.

John · 30 October 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Total scam

Total scam. Avoid at all cost. Rude staff. Ran away happily with my 150 pounds application fees by saying "sorry, landlady rejects you". When I demanded them (and also their scamming referencing partner) to disclose information about me passed onto landlord they said they could not due to "data protection". Wait a minute, I am asking to see MY OWN information held by them. They insisted that my reference passed their internal check and landlady just "didn't like me".

Kay · 31 August 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

How this cowboys can still run a …

How this cowboys can still run a company like this were is about housing people....i rent a property from them on 29...they offer me to clean it for me...i was very happy...they ruined the carpet with chemicals...and they closed the windows...when I gone to the property to move in as I open the door I throw up...the smellcwas disgusting....as I call them to see what happen...they told me everything is ok..just smell a bit like a pet house....i can't live in this condition....so after argument they replace the carpet but not before me spent 100 pound on candles air cleaners...even a air blower...to take the smell out the house...all this took 2 weeks...so I offer them I will start pay rent from the day I move in....and are like not...when you took the keys...but they didn't even give me a I kay for the front door...very disappointed and I will not going to pay them any rent at all...we going to resolve it In court....horribele staff like deepa...and some other living people were they are liers....i wish them kids to get what I got from them...and to take there three..years old kid like they ask me ...in this disgusting place....

Giorgos · 20 September 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

WHAT IS GOING ON FOR GOD’s SAKE !!!!!

WHAT IS GOING ON FOR GOD’s SAKE !!!!!I thought it was me but this is getting out of hand now. Rented from them last November, complete gutter , they sold me the dream that all be be replaced and taken care of . Apart of a lick of paint and change of carpets NOTHING ELSE had been done which is :MOULD IN D KITCHEN Very bad smelly old flaking chipping off cupboards Bubbling old flooring mouldy bathroom Disgusting old bath tub Etc etc etc . Threaten me WITH SECTION 21 TOO !!!!!!!This had to STOP ! We need to TAKE THIS SCUMBAGS DOWN !

John · 23 November 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Plumber threatened my partner when he…

Plumber threatened my partner when he called him out on something thew his tools down picked up a screwdriver and told my partner to go outside called him vile names and told him to phone him and arrange a fight!!!! He was also informed by martin and co of sensitive information breaching data protection act and was shouting it out in the street for all the hear. When I contacted martin and co to explain what happened as my autistic son was home at the time sick from school and all this happened in front of him they totally brushed it off didn't apologise or even take note of the incident just started throwing wild accusations towards my partner saying he has threatened every contractor who have attended our property and the very same day(coincidence!) All of them complained. This was an act of revenge as we contacted environmental health as we been in the property for 12 years and have had issues with damp mold and general disrepair this has been going on for months they just send odd job man to patch repair or make good issues we living in a building site as we had plasterers electricians plumbers and odd job man here repeatedly and still having all the same problems nothing is getting solved they are qualified in fobbing people off.The manager is very unprofessional telling different contractors our business and told us we have no right to complain or say that the work isn't good enough as she has an I work you don't attitude so therefore as we are not employed (I'm an unpaid carer and my partner has mental health issues) we have no right to say that work carried out by someone isn't good enough that we basically have to be grateful as we are jobless scum in her eyes. They my son has asthma as a result of this property and when they visit they blamed previous workers for why nothing got done agreed with us that things were unsafe and needed doing even suggested that we hold the rent and promised us that they will sort it all out only to have another 12 months of patch repairs and making good. No acknowledgement of disgusting violent behavior of plumber and made up stories of my partner threatening their staff rather than admit it and deal with it then threatened us that they won't send anyone here to do work and will take things further if we complain again. Constantly send workers on school holidays when we have asked them to come when my son in school due to his autism and being upset with strangers in the house constantly send people on the hobble and off the books as they want to come at evening and weekends so it doesn't interfere with their actual jobs the plasterers even told us that they called them off a job that they were doing on their street and give them the job in our house just saw a random workman and employed them for a big job in our house no reference no checks! have passed my contact number onto loads of different people we asked after the plumber threatened my partner if she could not do this no more only for the next day her to inform us that she has passed our number onto ANOTHER contractor attending our property. Basically if you are willing to live in a property that isn't fit for purpose and not complain you will be fine but if you want a safe home for your family you will be treated like scum and physically threatened by workers in front of your children and not even get an apology for it then have a pretentious manger throw her weight around informing us that if we go further about treatment she can get a pile of people contracted to work for them to tell lies

Suzanne · 22 November 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Absolutely amazing

I was dealing with Martin and Co Camberley branch and I must say I never ever have had more help,support and assistance with any other agency.Lauren , Ray and Giles had went extra 100 miles for me and my partner. They helped and assisted us in all possible matters.We have now moved in into our new home and we so happy. Had few things that needed attention as the branch acted quickly on the same day gave us appointment day!Thank you very much guys, it means a lot to us!

Ineta · 21 June 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

They caused me a lot of stress and hassle and basically conned me

I applied to rent a house it said it was £580 a mouth but after they said I'd got it, it went up to £650 they said I need a guarantor who was earning at-least £21,000 a year then it went up to £23,000 I said I don't know anyone who's earning more then that who would be willing to be a guarantor and the women was super rude to me on the phone cancelled my tenancy blocked my number and I only got less then half the deposit back and it took nearly 6 months they all so seem to have banned me from viewing any other property they have available to rent just wanted to warn people not to make the same mistake I made

Stevie · 17 November 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

just part of the tricks that Martin & co don't tell you about, and that's how you get the house after you've paid the deposit and the rent, and when you want to ask for the money back because it's not what they promised, you can't do it …

Ioan · 16 April 2025

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

A shockingly poor company

A shockingly poor company. Failed to conduct essential repairs on a tenancy for more than a year - despite potentially being a health and safety hazard. Charged an £80 cleaning cost on checkout - despite being provided proof of a professional clean - because their 'independent' assessor found a single hair under the rim of the toilet. No interest in good customer relations or looking after tenants unless they're making a profit on it. Avoid them at all costs.

Iain · 5 December 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

I spoke with Shannon who was a pure…

I spoke with Shannon who was a pure delight. Very knowledgeable and understanding, thank you Shannon!

Dawn · 12 September 2024