Martin & Co Oxford reviews

Gioia, the deposit deductions awarded to the landlord by the DPS reflected evidence provided to them from an independent check-out report detailing condition at the end o your tenancy. Deposit negotiations are between a landlord and tenant, as managing agent we are duty bound to remain impartial. The DPS arbitrated a dispute between you and your landlord a process that is entirely independent of Martin & Co. The arbitrator stated that the award of costs to the landlord was 'given the amount of cleaning required at check out and at check in, I find the claimed sum is reasonable ahd justified'. It further states ' I find the rest of the claimed sums are reasonable and justified'. In future, I would encourage you to maintain your rental property in a better state of cleanliness and avoid doing damage that may result in deposit retentions.

Carol, thanks for your feedback generally, and specifically on Jordan's service

Dear Stan, Thank you for your recent review. As you outline above, the pre tenancy details were confirmed by your landlord prior to your tenancy commencing but unfortunately he did not fulfill these before you moved in. We do not have authorisation to instruct contractors to carry out these works without having confirmation from the landlord. We have asked contractors to attend and quote for the requested works but due to the nature of the external clean where you cannot get a van near to the premises with an external supply of water the job is proving quite specialist. We have also been in contact with the block management to see if there is an external tap to run a water supply from but we are yet to hear back. We do understand that it is frustrating that your problems seem unsolved but please be assured we are working on this issue to try and get it resolved ASAP. Kind regards, Martin and Co

Hello Dean, I hope you are well and thank you for your recent review. Perhaps when it is convenient you would like to contact the office to discuss these issues as I am struggling to understand why this review has been necessary? In particular I would like to know more about the 'services' you refer to in addition to your points regarding cleaners and ceilings. I put my complete trust in my staff and the advice and service they deliver and naturally I welcome any feedback where we may have fallen short of the standard I expect. I am particularly interested in your last point regarding card payment. Unless I am mistaken it is not possible for anyone to block your card other than yourself or your bank. With best regards, Martin and Co

Hello Joanna, I hope you are well and thank you for your recent review. I am sorry that you felt it necessary to write this. I have taken the time to review this chain of events relating to your application to take one of our rented properties and having read all written correspondents between yourself and my colleagues Luke and Iulia I have now been able to make an informed opinion on the claims you have made regarding our service standard. You made an offer to take the property on 22/6/17. My colleague Luke advised you at the viewing that all monies including rent and deposit were payable by the end of June including completion of referencing and signing the tenancy agreement. It is common for us to look to complete transactions for both tenants and landlords within a very short but realistic timeframe to ensure everyone is offered security that the deal has been completed nice and early. Iulia sent an email to you on 23/6/17 confirming this arrangement in writing and making it very clear what had been agreed. Subsequently I understand that you then spoke with Iulia and then Luke regarding payment of this money and completion of this deal and it became apparent that you couldn't afford to pay both the rent and deposit. At the time this conversation came about we had already had both you and Daniel fully referenced and had drafted the tenancy agreement ready for completion. The comments you have made with regards to the tenancy agreement being continually sent to you is slightly inaccurate. We use docusign for sending all of our agreements. Docusign will send you daily reminder that there is a document outstanding for signature until it is signed. When it became clear that you were not going to be proceeding with this application we then voided this agreement for you. I am of course sorry that we were not able to secure this property for you. It is clear that at some point there has been a breakdown in communication and some of this has led to this unfortunate circumstance. I am however clear that my staff have followed normal procedure when processing your application and I am sorry if you believe that any of the staff were rude in dealing with your concerns. It is not typical that any of our staff will be unhelpful or rude to tenants or landlords and I am sure this was not at all the intention. I wish you well with your new tenancy and hope you are settled. Best regards Richard

Charlotte, I am sorry that you feel our service was below the standard we aspire to deliver. The lettings negotiator who showed you the property should have been able to answer these straightforward questions. I apologise that he was poorly prepared. The rental property market in Oxford is busy and dynamic. As agent we are duty bound to put forward each offer received from tenants to the landlord, it is for the landlord to accept or reject offers. Many of our properties will be viewed multiple time a day, and offers received will each be communicated to the landlord. Unfortunately, sometimes there is advantage to be gained from being the first to offer. Bill Cooper, Director

Mike, thank you for taking the time to write your review for a property where Martin & Co does not provide a management service, limiting our role to that of finding and securing a tenant. You are correct in stating that Martin & Co chased you for rent due for the room which we had completed your application for as we were not aware that you had not been allowed to move in. The first time that we were made aware of this was when you informed us and made us aware that you had agreed to stay in an alternative room, agreed with your landlord directly without our knowledge (neither you nor your landlord had previously informed us of that arrangement). When we contacted your landlord regarding the issue, she confirmed that she had agreed to reimburse you as compensation in cash. We then received your rent payment through which was short. When we chased this, you then advised us that you had not received the full reimbursement. Again, this was not a matter that we were party to. We then verified with this with the landlord, she agreed and this was then reflected on your account correctly. Upon vacation, your landlord has checked the room that you had lived in and proposed deductions from your deposit. You have not been charged for a replacement blind but a £25 cleaning cost, which the landlord has since reduced to £20, in order to reach a resolution. The remainder of your deposit has been returned to you. We await further instruction from the landlord regarding the disputed £20 amount for cleaning your room based on the checkout carried out by her with further evidence of this. Whilst we recognise that you were inconvenienced early in your tenancy, and you are in discussion with your landlord in relation to your security deposit, none of these matters fell within our responsibility as the property was self-managed by your landlord. It is important that reviews properly reflect the facts and are directed towards the person or organisation that was responsible. In this case we were not, and we acted correctly once we were in possession of the facts.

Terry, it is really fantastic to receive full and positive feedback from one of our tenants and it was our pleasure to work with you to make your tenancy a positive experience.

Dear Jane, Thank you for your glowing review! We are thrilled to hear that you found Maz's valuation and market assessment comprehensive, and our services efficient. Our team is dedicated to delivering a seamless experience and we're glad we could meet your expectations. We appreciate your trust in us to market your home and look forward to a successful sale. Best regards Martin & Co

Thank you so much for your feedback. I am delighted we were able to support you effectively. Kind regards, Bill

Dear Helen, I completely understand and empathise with your comments. When renting a room in a shared house it is not always guaranteed that the other rooms in the property will be let to similar aged people or the same gender. Whilst I can understand your thoughts on the other tenant, we do not discriminate against people. We do carefully consider applicants who apply for properties and carry out substantial referencing on each person, as well as meeting tenants ourselves to carry out viewings and at no point did we have any reason to have concerns about the tenant you refer to. Regarding the accusation of molestation, your Google review is the first time this has been mentioned. We were made aware of a text message being sent which was deemed inappropriate by the recipient at which point we advised that tenant to block the number and report it to the police if they felt it necessary. Both the landlord and Martin & Co are unable to evict someone from a tenancy immediately, there are UK laws which prevent anyone from being able to do that without following the correct procedure, which was explained to you at the time. Every tenant has an early release option should they ever need it, this was also explained to you. I am disappointed to hear that your time renting this property affected your experience, we would welcome you to contact us directly to discuss your complaint further. Regards, Martin & Co

Polly, great to receive your feedback, thanks! Bill Cooper

Juri Na, I will look into this as a matter of urgency and respond further once I have understood the situation. Kind regards, Bill C. Juri Na, as you know from our email correspondence we accept that your feedback was fair, and on this occasion we have not met the high standards we aspire to deliver. I hope you can see that we are now making amends by pushing the deposit return forward. Please acept my apology. Bill.

Dear Helen, I completely understand and empathise with your comments. When renting a room in a shared house it is not always guaranteed that the other rooms in the property will be let to similar aged people or the same gender. Whilst I can understand your thoughts on the other tenant, we do not discriminate against people. We do carefully consider applicants who apply for properties and carry out substantial referencing on each person, as well as meeting tenants ourselves to carry out viewings and at no point did we have any reason to have concerns about the tenant you refer to. Regarding the accusation of molestation, your Google review is the first time this has been mentioned. We were made aware of a text message being sent which was deemed inappropriate by the recipient at which point we advised that tenant to block the number and report it to the police if they felt it necessary. Both the landlord and Martin & Co are unable to evict someone from a tenancy immediately, there are UK laws which prevent anyone from being able to do that without following the correct procedure, which was explained to you at the time. Every tenant has an early release option should they ever need it, this was also explained to you. I am disappointed to hear that your time renting this property affected your experience, we would welcome you to contact us directly to discuss your complaint further. Regards, Martin & Co

Hello Joanna, I hope you are well and thank you for your recent review. I am sorry that you felt it necessary to write this. I have taken the time to review this chain of events relating to your application to take one of our rented properties and having read all written correspondents between yourself and my colleagues Luke and Iulia I have now been able to make an informed opinion on the claims you have made regarding our service standard. You made an offer to take the property on 22/6/17. My colleague Luke advised you at the viewing that all monies including rent and deposit were payable by the end of June including completion of referencing and signing the tenancy agreement. It is common for us to look to complete transactions for both tenants and landlords within a very short but realistic timeframe to ensure everyone is offered security that the deal has been completed nice and early. Iulia sent an email to you on 23/6/17 confirming this arrangement in writing and making it very clear what had been agreed. Subsequently I understand that you then spoke with Iulia and then Luke regarding payment of this money and completion of this deal and it became apparent that you couldn't afford to pay both the rent and deposit. At the time this conversation came about we had already had both you and Daniel fully referenced and had drafted the tenancy agreement ready for completion. The comments you have made with regards to the tenancy agreement being continually sent to you is slightly inaccurate. We use docusign for sending all of our agreements. Docusign will send you daily reminder that there is a document outstanding for signature until it is signed. When it became clear that you were not going to be proceeding with this application we then voided this agreement for you. I am of course sorry that we were not able to secure this property for you. It is clear that at some point there has been a breakdown in communication and some of this has led to this unfortunate circumstance. I am however clear that my staff have followed normal procedure when processing your application and I am sorry if you believe that any of the staff were rude in dealing with your concerns. It is not typical that any of our staff will be unhelpful or rude to tenants or landlords and I am sure this was not at all the intention. I wish you well with your new tenancy and hope you are settled. Best regards Richard

Dear Charlie, Thank you immensely for your kind words and excellent review! We're thrilled to know that our team's efficiency and support made your experience smooth and pleasant. Your recommendation means a lot to us. We're here for any future property needs you may have! Warm regards, The Martin & Co Team

Dear Stan, Thank you for your recent review. As you outline above, the pre tenancy details were confirmed by your landlord prior to your tenancy commencing but unfortunately he did not fulfill these before you moved in. We do not have authorisation to instruct contractors to carry out these works without having confirmation from the landlord. We have asked contractors to attend and quote for the requested works but due to the nature of the external clean where you cannot get a van near to the premises with an external supply of water the job is proving quite specialist. We have also been in contact with the block management to see if there is an external tap to run a water supply from but we are yet to hear back. We do understand that it is frustrating that your problems seem unsolved but please be assured we are working on this issue to try and get it resolved ASAP. Kind regards, Martin and Co

Hello Ryan, Many thanks for your review. Clearly it is never our intention or desire to want to re-market property when a tenant expresses a desire to stay in the property, however from the letter sent to you dated 5th August 2015 it makes our process very clear in writing. I also note emails sent to you chasing your potential renewal for a decision from your property manager Lily. Wording on the letter to you as follows: 'If we have not received the agreement by this stage we will automatically begin re-marketing on our landlords instructions. This may lead to property viewings and the landlord potentially considering other offers from new applicants.' Clearly I am sorry that this may have come at a shock to you and as stated it is always our intention to renew to good tenants that indicate a desire to stay. In this case and as per our strict guidelines for renewal and from our landlords instruction we reached a point where the property had to be re-marketed to ensure minimum risk to our client. Until we are in receipt of your firm intentions, along with a signed tenancy agreement, the potential risk of a void period will always remain. This is what we must guard against. I am of course now very glad to see that your renewal has been completed and wish you all the best during your tenancy term. Best regards Richard

Hello Ryan, Many thanks for your review. Clearly it is never our intention or desire to want to re-market property when a tenant expresses a desire to stay in the property, however from the letter sent to you dated 5th August 2015 it makes our process very clear in writing. I also note emails sent to you chasing your potential renewal for a decision from your property manager Lily. Wording on the letter to you as follows: 'If we have not received the agreement by this stage we will automatically begin re-marketing on our landlords instructions. This may lead to property viewings and the landlord potentially considering other offers from new applicants.' Clearly I am sorry that this may have come at a shock to you and as stated it is always our intention to renew to good tenants that indicate a desire to stay. In this case and as per our strict guidelines for renewal and from our landlords instruction we reached a point where the property had to be re-marketed to ensure minimum risk to our client. Until we are in receipt of your firm intentions, along with a signed tenancy agreement, the potential risk of a void period will always remain. This is what we must guard against. I am of course now very glad to see that your renewal has been completed and wish you all the best during your tenancy term. Best regards Richard