Martin and Co Devon reviews

★★★★★ 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

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Martin &Co are letting agents to be…

Martin &Co are letting agents to be avoided. If you are going to rent a property I would suggest you use someone else. Our experience has been costly with false claims of repair and damage costs. We have never had a complaint from landlords before, in fact compliments. Don't make the mistakes we made and trust them, you will be very disappointed.

Steven · 27 August 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Avoid Plymouth Branch

Plymouth BranchCompletely incompetent and unethical letting agents. They either don’t understand the tenancy act and contract they put together (very worrying as that’s their role) or they are purposely deceitful in order to manipulate the contractual agreement (I don’t know which is worse!). Only out for your money, very poor at communicating - unable to answer simple questions and provide basic information (will completely ignore you if the request doesn’t suit them and their pockets).Avoid at all costs.

Tenant · 21 December 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

We rented a flat with them in postbox

We rented a flat with them in postbox. Very inconvenient as they charge but never get back if there is any issues. We haven’t got any update with letting agency as they always say we are waiting for the revert from owner? How far is that for a tenant to wait for 3 weeks to get one issue resolved. This is not acceptable at all. And they are really rude as well. They have charged bom amount of rent but did not give microwave and hoover which is of basic needs. Very disappointed with the service of letting agency martins and co as we cant even get in touch with our owner directly.

Suathi · 1 November 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Renters - avoid at all costs

Renters - avoid at all costs. Martin and Co tried to scam me out of my deposit. They claimed the carpet was new at the start of my tenancy and a number of other false accusations in order to try and keep half of my deposit. Luckily I had plenty of evidence and was able to wait the 3 months it took the DPS to decide it was unfair, and I am finally in the process of getting my money back. In addition, the agency use poor contractors, leaving issues unresolved for long periods, and let themselves into the property unannounced. If you find yourselves unlucky enough to be renting one of their properties, make sure you take plenty of photos and save all evidence upon leaving as they WILL try and con you out of money.

Alice · 30 October 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Martin&Co Camberley

Martin&Co Camberley,First time buyer so understandably had various questions, dealt with Raymond throughout and he was very professional and easy to deal with.would definitely use again in the future. Dan

Dan · 21 May 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Appalling- you'd get better service…

Appalling- you'd get better service from a monkey.We had been renting from Martin and Co for 3 years, with the same bank account servicing the rent. They withheld our rent overpayment for 4 months... still haven't received it. i suppose it's hard to care about money that's not yours... especially if it's making interest in your bank account?When we first checked into the property it was filthy, we spent the first 2 days cleaning! The check in sheet even said how filthy it was but again... if you aren't living there why should you care? No work was done to the property since we lived there, no maintenance work ect - they didn't really care about the property at all. Very clear through out our tenancy that we were no more than cashcows. I would not recommend doing any business with them at all. We found a lovely property to buy but they were the ones in charge of the sale,,,, nope!Avoid!

Kathryn · 24 October 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Try to avoid!

Really disappointed!For my first viewing, the agent did not turn up, when I called the office, the viewing was in their diary, however the agent didn’t know. I was then told that there was not an agent available and I would have to rebook.I rebooked an appointment for a couple of days later, and I reconfirmed on the day, I spoke to an agent who said “you will be meeting with me today” she then asked if I was booked in at 2 or 3pm (I was booked in at 2pm with an email confirmation), I was then asked if I could change to 2:30, but I was unable to do so (the agent had sent an email prior to this, but I had not seen it).The agent that arrived was a freelance agent and was not the agent I had been booked in with. She didn’t know anything about the property, other than the price, I had a few questions which she could not answer, so she called the office, she tried to call quite a few times and there was no answer. She eventually got through to the office, and I was having to communicate through the agent that was with myself to the agent in the office. I did not receive an answer to my questions and I was told to “make an offer” when I asked if there was any movement on price. The agent that met with me really tried to do what she could to assist me. She was as frustrated as I was with the service I had received and didn’t find it acceptable. The property was in a bad state and was not worth the money that it was up for. I am really disappointed that I was booked in with the same agent each time and she failed to turn up on both occasions. I understand that things come up and mistakes happen, but I feel that the service I have received has been unprofessional. I also understand that the property would not have been a high earner for the company and that it wasn’t a large premises, but I believe that there still should have been effort made for viewings.

Keara · 23 October 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Landlords if you want a property…

Landlords if you want a property management service DO NOT USE this company. They are unethical, unprofessional and incompetent with property management.The communication from these agents is shocking and disgraceful and give letting agents a bad reputation.Considering they advertise themselves as "professional and trustworthy agents" my experience with them has been anything but. AVOID AT ALL COSTS

TRISHA · 8 February 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

They took a deposit of £850 and a…

The previous company were bad. They took a deposit of £850 and a months rent in advance at their Bournemouth branch. Now the tenant wants their deposit and the branch say it must have gone to a charity.no récords to help at the office as 8 years ago approx.The present manager helped try trace the £1500 but head office have not responded.Any ideas on whether this is trading or is it theft by a letting agent .

Customer · 31 October 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

DO NOT USE THIS AGENCY

I paid a 5% rent guarantee so if the tenants did not pay rent I would be guaranteed to receive my rent. Marin & Co vetted the tenants who proved to be fraudulent, I am out 2 months' rent, as they refuse to honor, as the tenants were frauds. While away (from Dec) I tried to get the agents to get access to the property as previous tenants had complained of damp. However, they never gained access to the property till I received an email saying they haven't paid 2 months' rent do you want us to serve notice? bear in mind this is meant to be a fully managed property. They gained access in June and eventually sent me the report a month later after I had complained about being granted access. the report was a waste of time it showed me nothing of the state of my property. These frauds had been growing cannabis in my house and have caused a lot of damage, when we finally entered the property towards the end of August the predominant smell was smoke and this was a no-smoking property. the backroom smelt of urine. Ok, so this is extreme case, let's rewind to last Nov when the previous tenants left, a) the green bin went walkabout, never ever been stolen on that street, b) they put decking up, outside c) they changed the carpet in the front hall to crude decking and lost the runner rug that was in the kitchen. No permission was asked or given. The agency did not pick up on this and did not like that I argued against the return of their deposit.Now to top it all off they have lost a couple of keys belonging to the property and their tradesperson has charged for new locks front and back. 1 lock was left in the house (so i was informed), so they put that back on and the other has an old key so no way it is a new lock. they never sorted out getting a new green bin for the property. This agency 'claimed' the loft was not part of the house, but it has electricity, is all boarded out, and has carpets, basically another room.The agency doesn't care that I am out 2 months' rent, or that they are the ones that did the checks, 1 person 'claims' that they tried to gain access in Feb, Mar, Apr, and May. I do not the law, but am sure as a landlord, or someone acting on behalf of you can send a notification that I will be entering on such and such a date and will let myself in if no one is home. Surely if you cannot gain access to the property alarm bells start to ring? Oh and the person 'managing' the property is part-time and emails are sent before they finish for the week, and no handover so someone who is there knows what is going on.I would NEVER use this agency for anything, thoroughly disgusted, oh and my insurance policy is null and void because the tenancy was fraudulent.

Elizabeth · 14 October 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Burgess Hill - First Class Rental and Sales

I worked with the Burgess Hill office for over 10 years. Jason Chandler and Caroline Wooden and the whole team provided first class customer service: friendly, professional, knowledgeable, flexible, with great commercial insight. They let the property for nine years consistently and then sold the property within a week of it going on the market. I cannot rate their performance highly enough. Thank you!

Richard · 24 August 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Thieves

Was a tenant with this property manager for 2.5 years. Took care of the place, worked with them any time there were issues and always paid my rent on time. They try to pay me in full by trying to pocket my £1k deposit and not responding to any queries regarding return. I now have to go through the faff of going through the DPS.

Manny · 7 August 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

HORRIBLE SERVICE

Prior to even considering renting and moving in last May, I was told by the guy who showed me around the property that black out blinds/curtains can and will be installed. This was a huge factor for me as i work a lot of night shifts. By May 31, 2023, I logged in an official request via the letting agency's online repair service and waited. Come July, nothing happened. Rung them several times and nothing. Logged another request by July 17 and their operations manager replied but wasn't able to fix the blinds as I wasn't in the country and no one got back to me. Fast forward to Sept 8, got hold of the agency and i was advised that someone will come and fit measurements by Sept 11 and aim to fit the blinds by end of that week, 15. I waited and heard no one again, Rung them by Sept 27 and was then only advised that the landlord has just approved the job. I was then advised that blinds can finally be installed by Oct 3. I asked to move it on another day as I am on night shifts and they offered to have it done today, Oct 4 and we agreed that contractors will come after 12nn. I waited, sacrificed my whole day and sleep post my night shift and Lo and behold, its 16:46 as of this writing and Ops manager from letting agency advised me that for some reason he doesn't know, he cant reach either of the 2 guys who should have set out to do the job today!!!!!!!!! I am now advised that he will send a lady to fix the blinds tomorrow!!!! What a waste of time!!!!On another note, on September 12, there was a sudden outage in the whole property. Rung and spoke to agency and they had absolutely lacked the initiative and willpower to help us had I not asserted myself and got angry of the situation! Had i not done so, we would have been left with no power and no heating whatsoever on that day!!!!Absolutely disgusting! He/they keep on saying theyre just saying whatever they are being advised but they dont seem to bother on liaising our concerns and rightful needs as tenants. I am baffled why they are unable to give any update and why we, people who are rightfully paying rent, would need to go thru so much to have things "repaired" or even get an update of the things reported . They say they understand my frustration but what theyre doing says otherwise! Absolutely horrible service! I would not recommend this letting agency at all.

Ryle · 4 October 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Excellent service, Martin & Co Exeter have gone out of there way to help.Extremely grateful to Alice. Big thank you Alice and Emy. Also thank you to Chris he was very welcoming when viewing the property.

KYLE · 17 June 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Thank you Kav!

I had a very positive experience with Kav Pahal, who consistently provided us with excellent customer service. He has been extremely helpful, friendly and made the process easier than expected. Kav is a great asset to the team.(Martin & Co Birmingham City, Carver Street)

Olivia · 20 September 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

It appears I’m not the only one that…

It appears I’m not the only one that has had a terrible experience with this company!Avoid using them for student accommodation please! I entrusted them with my daughters Uni accommodation last year in Brighton. They refused to deal with health and safety issues so sadly my daughter felt she could no longer stay at Uni so she left in April. Just had an email claiming over 2k damage from the 3.5k deposit will be retained. So even though my daughter left early and was the one to report the behaviour that was causing the issues, she’s been equally apportioned in costs. Beware. You will be charged for not cleaning or weeding the garden, not dusting the skirting boards or sweeping the front step, the fire alarm overheating, any stains including mattress stains and basically anything and everything. Please take heed. Don’t use this company for Uni accommodation. I’m currently talking to a deposit lawyer so we’ll see.

Lisa · 26 September 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Lying, useless and money grabbing

I rented a flat through Martin and Co, in Birmingham, we contacted them multiple times through our time in the flat and never got any useful advice or help. They would book viewings in without telling us, so we had multiple strangers just walk into the flat!! And now we are in dispute for our deposit which they are refusing to hand over saying it "isn't on them". They have tried to charge us for numerous expenses, such as a dishwasher clean, the dishwasher was never even opened since we were there! When asking for proof of the long list of items we had to pay for they sent photos of clean items! Even they couldn't tell us why it needed cleaning and then just said it 'wasn't their problem'. They would then not reply for days when trying to resolve the deposit issue and lie saying they already replied and fail to show any proof. Hopefully we can get some answers soon. Avoid at all costs.

Izzy · 26 September 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

This is the best agency I have ever worked with, the manager Alice and her colleagues has provided me with a very satisfying support for me since the beginning of my tenancy, and for the last two years they have been quick responding to my needs. I highly recommend Martin& Co to people who's looking for an agency who is always be there for you.

Wei · 25 July 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

lee street fulwell

The service i have received from Sarah and chris was amazing on the property at lee street.They were both extremely helpful chris on the phone and sarah at the viewing. No question was a problem and they really wanted to help unlike some other estate agents.I will not hesitate to use your company again when buying or selling a property.

June · 17 August 2022

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

I spoke with Charlotte Bladon who has…

I spoke with Charlotte Bladon who has been a star. She was communicative and helped us through the process.All my thanks to Charlotte.

V · 26 March 2024