Martin and Co Devon reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

SHEFFIELD...0 STARS UNPROFESSIONAL...TERRIBLE....NEED CUSTOMER SERVICES TRAINING

0 STARS...I'VE JUST READ THROUGH SOME REVIEWS AND IT SEEMS SALES IS FANTASTIC, WHILE WE TENANTS RATE THEM TERRIBLE. WHY IS THAT? RENTAL PROPERTY.....WE pay them for a service, yet the customer service skills are terrible (especially GINA WHYMAN). Whinge, moan, excuses, argue. I worked in the CS field for many years and have never spoken in this way to a customer. Put yourself in their place and get on with it as I did, hence there were no complaints about me. I honestly don't know who employs these people. lol If you complain and state facts, want efficiency (no shouting or swearing), it's seen as being rude. What can I say, the truth hurts.They think they are doing us a favour, not that we're actual customers.

Kay · 30 January 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

TENANTS BEWARE

Tenants beware. In my experience this agency work for the landlord and the tenant is treated like an inconvenience. I rented a property for three years and although I left the property in compliance with the tenancy agreement I was presented with 65 pages of zoomed in photos outlined in red to suggest otherwise. It was an unfair and extremely unpleasant experience and my deposit was withheld. I hope this review can prevent others from this treatment; when you check out please take lots of photos to show your side of things. If it's like my experience it will not be a fair process. Good luck but stay clear if you can!

Julie · 29 January 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

NO CONSIDERATION FOR POTENTIAL CLIENTS

Saw a property for rent in Leslie. Contacted their letting agent who informed me that she would send out an application form, pointing out that the property would not be available until start of February AND that those who are in the property were refusing access to it for viewing until they had left.Martin & Co rep was very strict on that and decisive on that. Application forms didn't arrive, despite receiving another promise from them. One day after the forms were due to arrive, we reveived a call from Martin & Co rep, stating that the property was no longer available as it had been rented out......VERY unfair and VERY unprofessional. Absolute disgrace.

Alistair · 20 January 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

0 stars for 0 decency (London)

I would give 0 stars if I could. These agents have 0 decency.I just came back from a supposed viewing. My partner and I agreed to view the property at 6.30 and confirmed with Luke M. via email to meet at the location.We went at the said time and waited for a few minutes. Decided to call them via the phone number that Luke signed his email with. Some other agent answered and asked us for all our information again, then told us to wait while she checks and comes back to us.10 minutes pass without any sign so we call the number again. A 3rd agent answers and asks for all our information AGAIN, then has the audacity to tell us to wait another 10 mins and if no one shows up we can leave. Luckily it was only _raining slightly_ in London this evening.These agents clearly had no idea what was going on. 0 coordination. 0 decency. 0 skill. 0 professionalism.P.S. they never got back to us to even apologise for their mistakes.

Cristian · 13 January 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

One of the worst letting agents I have…

One of the worst letting agents I have seen in my life.Absolutely disgusting, unpleasant and pretentious.Don't waste your time, they will try and push you mouldy stinky house and treat it like they are life savers.

Monika · 11 November 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Simply Awful

Awful experience from start to finish, with not a single positive to mention throughout our two year tenancy. • They took an absolute lifetime to complete and send across the initial documentation for us to sign to move in to the property. As it took them over a month to send the documents we ended up completing them whilst we were out of the country, in order to ensure our move in wasn’t delayed.• They failed to send across the signed tenancy agreement and documentation for months after we’d moved in, despite us repeatedly chasing them.• At the end of our tenancy they attempted to charge us a full end of tenancy clean costing £100, despite the apartment being tidied thoroughly before we moved out and their own end of tenancy survey stating that the kitchen only needed some “wiping”. We contested it, and agreed to pay a goodwill gesture of £50 to cover any additional cleaning that may have been required. Martin & Co then took the full £100, which then had to be raised with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. Martin & Co conceded that only £50 had been agreed and that they would refund us the additional £50 they charged. They finally returned it after being chased twice by the TDS over a number of weeks.We lived in the apartment for two years and looked after it like it was our own, so we were very disappointed to have had both Martin & Co and the landlord try and swindle us out of money once we had left the property. Luckily we took plenty of photo and video evidence, so neither had a leg to stand on with their claims.I strongly advise any property owner and renter avoid this company, as they will no doubt give you poor customer service from the start and will try and squeeze every penny they can out of you when you leave them. If you’re in the unfortunate situation of renting with them, I STRONGLY advise you to take pictures and videos of every single thing possible, as they will try and take advantage of you when you leave.

Colin · 27 December 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Absolutely terrible experience

Absolutely terrible experience , I've been looking for place to live which accepts dogs. Martin & co offered flat with "pets allowed" then after viewing the place - went through referencing. I was waiting 10 days. After those 10 days they emailed me saying the flat was withdrawn from the market.... then offered flat. - in the same building but half of the size - for same money 😂 I agreed because I needed to move out. They told me it will take another 10 days for referencing ( don't know what they were doing in first 10 days when they supposed to be checking my references) After couple of hours, I've been told that pets are not allowed anymore in this property 😂 this agency is a joke they can't do anything right. They have a mess in paperwork and aren't professional st all. It's out of ORDER. Stay as far away as possible from them. Waste of time !

Adrian · 23 December 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Awful, Horrible experience with Martin& Co ; STAY AWAY!!!

Martin &co tried to charge us a ridiculous amount (TOTAL £2,128.80) and our deposit for the general wear and tear, they also tried to charge us redecoration costs.(We maintained the house well, cleaned everything properly w/o any breakage, handed over to them as it was received.; #We maintained the house as Smoke free (As we both don’t smoke/drink), Pet free , there are few acceptable wear and tear which are due to one-year usage /tenancy)When we refused to pay(We submitted all the required proof as requested by them ), they started negotiating(We initially agreed for £75 where they made us agree for £120 with an immediate effect as if they are going to release our deposit, saying they are doing us a favor by charging less which we again said no to. When I asked to see any proof of the costs (an invoice) they stopped replying to my emails altogether, leaving us to have to wait for our deposit. Ridiculous, they should really be ashamed of themselves, we are very much disgusted!!!

Meenakshi · 9 December 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

The whole team was super friendly and helpful. Massive thank yous to Rosie, Alice and Duncan for all the help they provided when trying to secure a new house! You guys really made a stressful month so much easier. Thank you!

James · 20 August 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

STAY AWAY

Issues with the property and the agency/landlord throughout the tenancy! Every inspection for 2 years has described us as exceptionally clean and tidy yet apparently after moving out the new tenants found it so dirty it needed to be cleaned before they would even move in!! Utter rubbish as we broke our backs cleaning that house before we left. Now being told we’ll be having the cleaning costs deducted from our deposit!They made mistakes right at the start charging us the wrong amount on check-in/picking up the keys and later on told us we had to pay the difference. Constantly harassed about keeping the garden maintained despite it being perfectly fine - even in winter!It took 5+ weeks for them to sort out repairing the oven. Just stay away, honestly. There are far better letting agents you can rent with.

Laura · 2 December 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Awful, absolutely vile!!! STAY AWAY!!!

I find it unbelievable that in this day and age a letting agent can still get away with literally trying to shake us down for money (very reminiscent of Peaky Blinders ie Martin & Co are the racketeers)I honestly wish there was the option to give them ZERO stars as we've had such a horrible experience which left me in tears, angry and riddled with anxiety.We've had a tenancy managed by M&Co which lasted for 3 years and throughout they offered far from decent service, which wasn't that much different to other agents so we went along with it (eg took 4 moths and at least 15 emails and as many phone calls to get a leaky faucet changed). However, when we moved out it rapidly went from bad to painful!!! They tried to charge us a ridiculous amount from our deposit for a splashback glass and they also tried to charge us redecoration costs for mould on the walls WHICH WAS THERE IN THE CHECK-IN REPORT. When we refused to pay, they started negotiating the price down saying they were doing US a favour by charging less which we again said no to. When I asked to see any proof of the costs (an invoice) they stopped replying to my emails altogether. Now, I'm trying to get my deposit money back from DPS and they refuse to use the DPS dispute resolution just so they can drag out the process more, leaving us to have to wait for another 6 months until DPS can release our deposit. Ridiculous, they should really be ashamed of themselves, I'm so disgusted!!!

Cat · 30 November 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Excellent!

Very friendly and helpful staff, who certainly didn't mind us asking about a million questions! Quick response on the whole process from viewing to handing over the keys. Compared to the last letting agent we used, I certainly felt more welcome and treated well, I was not just another reference number to them.

Jo · 18 December 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Dissappointed tenants

We were tenants, and M&Co took over the property mid-way through our tenancy. Straight away they changed the contract to add in clauses that each year the rent will go up by a minimum %. It wasn't the best written but after contesting this and a long email chain, they assured me the landlord still had a choice as to whether he wanted to impliment the clause and increase. Knowing that the landlord hadn't increased the rent in the previous years, we proceeded. Low and behold first opportunity to do so the rent was increased, which I believe was due to M&C, not the LL.The levels of maintenance has been lacking. We've reported several issues on numerous occassions, but unless they are extreme items that need fixing, they don't bother. Upon chasing items, it is like raising a new query each time as they have no recollection of previous emails. On checking out they have been slow to respond to emails chasing return of deposit. We are still awaiting, but are expecting heavy deductions for very minor issues due to the language used by agent in presenting the check out report back to us. Claiming we have left damaged items which are tenant liability, which are the exact things we have spent the tenancy complaining about and trying to get rectified.I honestly do not beleive there are any estate agents out there who can be recommended, but I def don't reccommend M&co.

Cat · 21 November 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Not enough words to describe how bad they are .

Don’t know where to start . My partner is pregnant and we’ve been looking for a property for months now. Nathan called us saying that we were moving to the referencing process and paid the holding fee to take it out the market . We provided what was requested but every single day they wanted something else. For some reason they couldn’t check my partner’s income ( even with her payslips ) and asked us for guarantors or £600 extra ( is this even legal ???). Agreed to pay the extra as we were tired of all this mess, specially with a baby due in a month time, and they confirmed that we had the property. The morning after Nathan called us saying that the landlord changed his mind and that they are going to keep the holding fee anyway. Made us lose 2 weeks of our time, gave us multiple headache with nonsense request and still keep our money, now saying that we haven’t passed the referencing . Worst service of my life, don’t expect me to stand back when you just play with people like this . Horrible people !

Pedro · 19 November 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

From Bad to Worse. Despicable Ethics.

The negative really outweighs the positives here. To begin with, the company sometimes ignores their phones, only for me to visit and see them all away from their desks and chatting. Also note that the property itself was a mess upon moving in.They got our names wrong on numerous occasions: once on our contract so we had to sign another, twice on emails (calling my friend a completely different first name with a different first letter), and worst of all on our DPS which resulted in a long process to clear a cheque for a deposit as the name was wrong. A positive is throughout the tenancy, they carried numerous checks, and fixed things when required.However the worst occurred on our checkout. The landlord under them requested a full deposit, with the potential of further charges and the threat of court action. The charges were mainly toward redecorating and fixing things that was already broke prior to our moving in. As you may know, it is the landlord's responsibility to redecorate from general wear and tear and not the tenant, especially for a period over 2 years. Also note that the property was a mess upon moving in, and they also charged us for cleaning despite the condition being a lot better than initial move in. Needless to say, we won a huge sum of our deposit back after a review from DPS. This deposit issue happened during a pandemic when we were already struggling financially with being furloughed, and the last news we wanted to hear was a company charging us unfair amounts for something they should be responsible for. This resulted in a very long process of acquiring a sum of our deposit. Absolutely despicable ethics!!

Naz · 15 November 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Deep gratitude to Scott Haddock

Almost 2 years after continuously reporting the leak in my ensuite shower which encouraged the water to travel into my second bedroom and subsequently hallway , the issues FINALLY got put to right last week thanks to SCOTT HADDOCK at the Jewellery Quarter branch.Just when I began the process of searching for an alternative accommodation and spoke to few other estate agencies that were recommended by my nextdoor neighbours as I had lost complete faith in Management at Martin and Co, I was lucky enough to come across Scott Haddock whom although does not work at the relevant department, showed far more empathy towards my frustration than I had met over the past two years of communicating and pleading for the problems to be remedied with the relevant parties at the Harborne branch. Although I had my doubts and very little hope that I will come to a positive resolution with the team, I still relaid the case to Scott and hoped for the best. He made it very clear that although he empathised, he couldn't promise me success as that wasn't his department HOWEVER, he'll try his best to help chase the repairs for me. *SIGH* It felt incredibly good to FINALLY feel that someone atleast cared about my welfare as a tenant and substantially understood their duty of care owed to not only their Landlords but also towards their tenants. Literally within a very short period of liaising with Scott, the problems got rectified.I cannot believe that I am finally able to use my amenities as intended but most importantly, having the freedom to no longer breath in the toxic particles of mold is a luxury I paid for but was denied up until recently.As one can appreciate , paying £950 per calendar month for what was advertised as " A Luxury Apartment" , you just don't want or have to deal with the acute emotions of defeat that comes along with chasing Estate Agents to fullfil their contractual obligations towards their tenants.Being severely asthmatic which was communicated to Management and having to deal with the intense stench of mold for such an unreasonable rate of time was ever so taxing. I stopped using my second bedroom which was initially my home office for almost one year and the same applied to the ensuite bathroom as they were both unfit for purpose.Scott truly is GOD SENT and Martin and Co could definitely do with his kind in every branch. He definitely takes his job very seriously and goes that extra mile to ensure the tenants health and safety . What certain Agents fail to realise is , ignoring their faithful and loyal tenant's well-being will only make recommending their Agencies to prospective customers impossible. I had to warn many of my colleagues and friends against renting with them because I do not wish my struggles upon anyone. Also , it is useful to remember that today's tenant is tomorrow's landlord and keeping a good and appropriate rapport is ever so important and I genuinely believe that Scott recognises this element of Agent and Tenant relationship.Because of him my faith in Martin and Co has been restored. He truly is an incredible asset to this corporation and I hope it's acknowledged internally as well.Kind regards,Amie Jobe

DIY · 12 November 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Poor customer service

Very poor experience over a number of years using Martin & Co (Crewe and Nantwich). Constantly fail to actually do the job they are paid for and manage the property and customer service started off poor and remarkably seemed to be able to get worse every year without fail. Both tenant and landlord consistently left frustrated by their inability to perform the simplest task effectively. They’ve even managed to upset others who are not linked to the property as neighbours have complained several times about the property and we were never informed.Appear to want to cut corners at every stage and then no use at all trying to resolve issues other than acting as an email forwarding service despite paying high fees to ‘manage’. I wouldn’t recommend using as either tenant or landlord unless you want to be frustrated and disappointed with every interaction with them.Have decided to take business elsewhere despite them having a tenant lined up for the property (as the property was once again left in an awful state despite us authorising every single maintenance request straight away). This is costing £££’s in lost rent and refurbishment costs to make the property good again but it’s worth it to no longer have to deal with Martin & Co.

Anon · 9 November 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Egregious

Martin Co have consistently raised the bar on awful business practice. Their treatment of tenants is what you would expect from a company that only cares about it's own profit and the profits of landlords. I was repeatedly taken advantage of despite having autism. A few points you should know:They will let people into your property without asking you.When you want to leave they will plague you with viewings (regardless of a pandemic)They can find the most inventive things to charge you for. Avoid. Avoid. For your own sanity stay away from these crooks.

Simon · 9 November 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

What a mistake using this company

This organisation in my opinion is nothing short of a sham. Throughout the life of the agreement didn’t uphold their own tenancy - left us without a working toilet/bathroom for almost a week with sewerage filling the yard, took an age to respond, just one example. Their ‘emergency’ number is never switched on - good luck with that. Then at the end they try and withhold a deposit without giving a reason why. Try to ask and the staff ignore your calls and your emails, are unprofessional, rude, deceitful and don’t uphold even a low level of standards. The company director Juli doesn’t even know the law surrounding her own business. It’s laughable really. Signed up to the property ombudsman but refuse to allow you to complain, and do not provide you with a response as mandated by TPOS... Why even advertise this on your shop window?The staff have also rated this page 5* to try and boost their google reviews, that’s false. Just read some of the actual detail. Avoid this company like the plague. God awful, likely be taking legal action against the landlord if their ignorance continues.

L · 8 November 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Terrible experience with the Brighton…

Terrible experience with the Brighton branch. Attempted to evict us during a pandemic because we wouldn't change from a rolling tenancy to a long-term agreement, when they knew we were in the process of buying a house. Had to contact the landlord directly - can only assume they wanted their signing fee.Then they stole money from our deposit, claiming our house wasn't clean enough when it was professionally cleaned, and cleaned by ourselves again, claiming for a reclean of ridiculous things like the front door knob not being polished and a cleaning smear on some glass. Absolutely no reasoning with them, they were obviously determined to find something to charge us for.

Penny · 31 October 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Money money money obsessed.

Money money money obsessed.Stay well clear of these people, they will rip you off.Rented with them for 2 years and they had no problems with me and my son.Paid on time, looked after property, happy when they inspected every 6 months etc etc.Move out date they become money obsessed.Loyalty or being a good customer means nothing to them, can’t keep accurate records, try to keep your deposit money for jobs that I have clearly done and have video evidence of.Manager sends you unprofessional and harsh messages, just absolutely shocking behaviour from this establishment.They tend to forget that you are a customer.Avoid seriously they have left me feeling betrayed, frustrated and very depressed.

Ady · 30 October 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Awful Communication & Respect

Throughout the tenancy there were no particular issues worthy of review. However, upon concluding my tenancy I have received next to zero communication regarding the return of my deposit and the communication that I have received has been insufficient and poorly explained. Responses to emails have come as late as 45 days after the initial email and still no conclusion has been reached despite my tenancy having ended two months ago. This is by far the worst and least communicative lettings agency I have ever had the displeasure of using.

Anonymous · 26 October 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Horrible service

Horrible service. Looking for any reason to keep our deposit. Washing machine was not working from the day we moved in- three months and we weren't compensated. Our agent took too long to respond to our enquiries. The apartment looked nice on the website but a lot of things were not as functional as it was supposed to be. DON'T USE THIS AGENCY, they are not efficient and effective. I would give 0 star if i could

DA · 28 June 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Jobsworths, incompetent

Since renting from these people, myself and my housemates have had nothing but problems. Any time I have reported issues to them, they have been ignored. I have reported the same issue 3 times on their site, and only once has someone come round to look at it. Even after the person came to look at it, nothing was done. No correspondence, no communication at all. They will make sure they get any money they can off you though, as the only time I ever hear from them is when they're trying to charge us a fee, or if we are late to pay rent by just 1 day (which has happened only once might I add). These people are jobsworths and are completely untrustable to manage households.

David · 17 October 2020