Martin & Co Sheffield reviews

★★★★★ 2/5

Trustpilot

Disappointed

To start with I was happy with Martin & Co, the man who showed me around the flat was helpful and was nice. The property was affordable but could have been slightly more ready for me to move in as there were a few issues. The oven door was broken (which was fixed before I moved in), there were holes and marks on the kitchen and cupboard doors and the shelves in the kitchen fell down when I got there which I replaced with nice wooden shelves. It wasn't very clean on arrival either. I also had to wait over a month for hot water as there wasn't any when I moved in! When it was arranged for the plumber to come and fix it whilst I was at work, he found that the spare keys Martin & Co had for the flat were wrong so it couldn't be done! I then had to get a spare set cut for them from a specific key cutting shop they wanted which I found had been closed down and had to run around looking for a place to get a set cut for them! I finally got the hot water fixed after a month but the water pressure was still low which I told them about many times and every time a check was done in the flat, they noted it but never did anything about it. One morning when I was due to go to work, I locked myself out (the keys to the flat and my car key locked inside). I had to wait till 9:00am to ring the shop for them to tell me they couldn't help me and I had to get the key. I explained to them that my car key was locked inside and had no way of getting to them as the flat was in a village twenty minutes drive away from the shop and there were hardly any buses running. Luckily a neighbour could help me but I wasn't happy that they couldn't help me on that one occasion I got locked out. On the day of my one months notice that I was moving out, I found out that the Dover branch who I have been with from the start had been shut down (they never let me know about this) and I was going round in circles trying to get through to the right person to speak to. The lady I finally spoke to wouldn't give a straight answer to my questions and was just trying to get me to stay longer, she was also rude. She then gave me the wrong email address to confirm this with someone else. I wasn't able to get a confirmation until four days after I first contacted them. I was told that a fee of £60 was coming off my deposit so they could do the checks on the flat after I had moved out. I was told "there is no point in arguing about this as we will win as it's in the tenancy aggreement" this was in small print which stated a 'small fee' not giving an actual amount to be paid. I was also told I "WILL NOT be able to be there during the checks due to covid19 regulations" in an email when I asked if I could sit outside in my car incase they had any questions or issues. I spent two weeks before I moved out of the flat making sure it was fully decorated in magnolia and professionally cleaned. This included using a vax machine to clean all carpets and a vax steamer used on all surfaces and the oven. It was left in a much better state and more livable to when I moved in! When I asked to see the check report, I was disappointed with the results. They had complained that I had left things in a draw- things that was there when I moved in, keys that I was given by them but didn't work for anything and a small tea light candle I forgot to take out. I left the packaging which I used to clean the washing machine and oven on the side to show them what I used to clean them which they complained about leaving rubbish and insinuated that the oven was not cleaned when I did in fact scrub it twice! They also quoted the flat was left in an "average state" and the "carpets look like they have been swept". My new landlord helped me to move and his words were "this is immaculate" and "it's the best property he had seen that has been left by a tenant!"Even when I handed the keys over, the man I spoke to in the Folkstone branch described the flat as "run down" before I moved in. I was annoyed that I spent two weeks making the flat clean, tidy and fully decorated to be told it was left in an average state. I expressed this to Martin & Co and the response I got was "don't get so angry, you're still getting your money back". Which took five days to receive after it having to be confirmed with so many different people. Less than a month after I moved out, the flat has already been let out and the rent has been put up to £25 more a month than I was paying and is described as a "great little flat" including all the photos of my hard work of getting it looking nice for the next person!

Chloe · 27 June 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Hey .some one give this guys a bit of…

Hey .some one give this guys a bit of credit.ive recently moved down from the midlands.so got in touch with Martin.co from start to finish they were so helpful first of all finding me a property that I wanted coached me through everything staff very professional on the move date collected keys from office oz personally help me move got welcome package they even came to the flat with me they made sure everything was in order ..fantastic bunch people...Raymond from Lytham st Anne’s

Raymond · 26 June 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

As a landlord I was forced to have them…

As a landlord I was forced to have them as the previous agents sold up to them. They were not allowed to tell us due to competition laws. I just got a new tenant who has been great but dealing with these people. They lost keys and the Directors words "what do you expect me to do about it" the blamed the previous agent. Put their fees up then even more due to landlords paying the fees and tenancy agreements which I support. I told them in March I was moving to another family run agent but instead of co-operating they are the opposite. Delaying everything even my tenants deposit. I have reported them to the Property Ombudsman and I will also report them to ARLA. Do not use. They handed over 4 sets of keys to a plumber I had not used before which is against ARLA rules. They have used the pandemic to make things worse for people. As a landlord they always had my permission to fix everything. But hopefully from Wed new agents never to use these people again.

Mrs · 18 May 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

They didn't help me when I needed it most

I like to be objective and positive but this is by far the worst company I have dealt with. I received a letter the day before Christmas Eve saying that my landlord had not paid his mortgage and there was a court date due. This was a genuine shock and I took the letter to the letting agent who promised to sort it out. Their parting line when I left the office was "if I don't speak to you before, have a nice Christmas". Well, yes of course I'm going to have a lovely Christmas knowing that potentially my 3 young children and myself could be homeless. Finally, I got a response the next day (interestingly my ex husband rang up because I was in such a state and they discussed it with him, even though his name is not on the tenancy and we do not live together) to be told that the landlord had expected his ex-wife to pay and he couldn't understand why she hadn't. Now forgive me for speaking out of turn but my rental agreement was with my landlord and not with his wife. Anyway the message was, he had paid it and it was all sorted. I felt dubious but what can I say. I tried ringing the courts, the bank and the solicitors but no one would tell me if this was true so I had no idea whether we were going to have our family home taken away from us or not, and I was in the middle of a contract so not in a position to look elsewhere.Imagine my extreme surprise (read with heavy sarcasm) when on my son's birthday (always great timing!) I received a letter from the bank's solicitors telling me that the house was going to be repossessed. You can not imagine the utter anguish I felt at receiving this letter. I don't think I slept for a week. No one would tell us anything, Martin and Co promised to phone my landlord and let me know what was happening, 1 month later and despite me chasing them up I have heard nothing.The council have been utterly brilliant giving me advice and support and helping me find alternative accommodation. I have now found another house for the children and myself and I could not ask for a more supportive landlord or more professional letting agent (very thorough, I have never filled in so many forms in my life).The icing on the cake was when I gave in my notice to Martin and Co because we managed to find somewhere else they asked me to do a video of the house for potential viewings. You have got to be kidding me, right?I’m sorry but I really can not recommend this company. As people, the staff are lovely, friendly and approachable but as a company, I have found them unprofessional and unethical. I have had the worst month of my life and whilst I realise I have the landlord to thank and not my letting agent, they have not helped the matter by keeping me in the dark. Very, very upset and disappointed.

Jemma · 27 April 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

0 star. service

We rent flat in birmingham with them, i had an issue with wasching machine they fix it after 1 month , i asked to extend 3 months my contract they asking for 60£ charges. in full pandemic, i had paid nearly 4500£. when i move in a year ago , the manager said he will call us he never called us back, they just want to charge you and in change just roodness and 0star service. , in this hard times is very sad to see this atitude

Doğan · 14 April 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

The worst rental company I have ever used

Below 0. Company which is cheating and wheedle your money. You will pay for evertyhing before you move in and when you check out. For example I have played deduction because they cleaned (I have cleaned the whole flat before move out), I left bed at flat so I needed to pay for removal ( a lot of money) I payed for check out. So if you will pay deposit you can forget about getting it back.I had problem with mices 1,5 month. I was escalating the problem to the company a lot of times to do something with it. When I was asking about the progress they told me that they are still working at it. When I cautch 4 mices by mayself and stop to asking after 1,5 month they inform me that they need to close the issue.

Piotr · 3 April 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Unreasonable, bad business practices

Works with lettings hub for referencing which didn't bother checking my references with employer being a new company and rejected my application within minutes - agency didn't advise on this practice and won't even refund their part of the agency fee. Wouldn't recommend unless you have the most straightforward application. Unreasonable agency.

Stephen · 2 January 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Belongings destroyed by mould...

Absolutely shocking company. Very helpful getting you in but once there, you're very much on your own.Been waiting for 2 weeks to be called back about my deposit - many promises to call back before the end of the day have been broken constantly and nobody seems to care. Lived in Mould for weeks on end due to structural issues. This mould destroyed some of our clothing and a £1,000 mattress. I wish I could add photos the this review to illustrate how bad it was...When we asked for the situation to be resolved, a maintenance guy was sent out and he was shocked, telling us that the mould was dangerous and that he'd advise the agency to send out dehumidifiers.Nothing happened until we chased more and more. A roofer was then sent out who informed us that the roof needed replacing...the next communication we received was from the agency telling us that we were being evicted due to a change in the landlords circumstances.Avoid these cowboys like mad - I've rented many times before and have never experienced anything like this happen.Honestly wish I'd read these reviews as I would have not used them and would never use them again - 73% of Trustpilot reviews are rated as "Bad" - Says everything it needs to really.

Shane · 6 March 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

I can not stress enough to people to never deal with Martin & co

I can not stress enough to people to stay away from Martin and Co. they are the worst estate agent and letting agent I have ever witnessed. They false advertise their buildings as brand new never lived in apartments. Yet had renters in them over for over 2 years. So when their apartments are advertised for sale as brand new, they are not! It then means you can’t sell your apartment as it’s lived in and they are bringing the market value down. They deal with dodgy builders who build these properties with none qualified personnel and you have nothing but major issues including dangerous electrical fire issues. Which the fire service have condemned. They let their properties out to drug dealers and do nothing about the havoc they then cause for families having to witness drug drops and the stench of weed in the communal areas. This is just 1% of how badly this company are! Please for the sake of your families and mental health stay away from this company!

Danny · 2 March 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Pretend to be nice before you sign the…

Pretend to be nice before you sign the contract and pay the money. Assure you they have corrected everything needed in the property but as soon as they got your money they don’t care about you anymore. Lee always advices you to use your money to correct everything and cancelled most of the things that needed fixing. Overall company is run by a clown. Expect an auto reply to this.Sorry, they call and harass you.

Asif · 22 June 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

AVOID martin & co stafford

AVOID martin & co stafford. 2.5yrs lived in this property, been waiting for a council property for around 1.5 years, offered somewhere and I asked if they could deduct the remaining rent from deposit for them to send a reference off (made me pay £20 for) to the housing association that offered the 3 bed home to me as I'm overcrowded with me, 2 boys and my daughter in this 2 bedroom saying I owe the money and they wont deduct from out deposit we have with them. We paid to have brand new carpet put down in the living room costing around £240 as it was chipped laminate. Reported 7 repairs 8months ago, roof leaking/boiler leaking being 2 of them but nothing. So I paid £20 for a 'bad' reference so I have now lost the property I was offered for me and my 3 children. The house is in brilliant condition, I've always looked after my homes I've lived in, I'm absolutely livid with them!

Emilie · 26 February 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Horrendous Company

Horrendous CompanyI have worked with various leasing companies, Martin and Co is by far the worst. They just want your money and once they have it, their "customer service" immediately dissipates. When you email with an urgent matter, there is no rush to respond. The building I live in is invested with mice and break in's, however they do not seem to care. A homeless man entered into the building, and upon emailing the property manager, she said: "And your point?"Please please please beware of using this company. Do your research and avoid them.

Jillian · 25 February 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Unprofessional

Unprofessional, unhelpful and uninterested. Left with damp on walls with mould growing for over 6 months, locks not fixed, leaks left. Nobody answers the phone or tries to resolve issues. Avoid avoid avoid

Louis · 10 November 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

I’ve had really poor communication

I’ve had really poor communication, not contacting me or my other housemate to renew our contracts, to be told by the landlord that they only do 6 months (then my housemate was given a rolling contract) I was then told I’d had an early release from the property to then be charged for the month I’m not there and they expect me to pay for water electric etc that the current housemates are using. They’re terminology is not clear enough, and they don’t ensure you understand what your signing for. Would never recommend them!

Anon · 3 February 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Very good company until checkout and change of staff

I was a very happy tenant for 2 years with extremely nice property manager( oxford office).I vacated the property on 31/12/19, and as to this date have been chasing them (weekly emails and calls) for the check out inventory, my deposit amount. Finally, after a lot of effort, managed to get a new property manager to send me a check out report and an extensive list of deductions. Most of these major issues ( agreeing to removal of professional cleaning clause from the contract, discarding a broken glass table which was a health hazard) were discussed and agreed with the old property manager, however, the new property manager is not ready to believe the same- i have sent her the relavant email threads. Also, as per the contract, the deposit should be returned within 30 days ( and this has been more than 30 days after the check out inventory- so a breach of contract. The property had an old mattress which was stained even in the check in inventory, and the current manager has charged me for that as well. I had actually thought of leaving good reviews as they were very good when i was actually in the property. However, i dont know why team wants to spoil the good reputation made by the previous manager.The saddest part is that they dont have a complaints email id on their website, and the website only asks to email the branch ( the same people who are charging me and causing significant mental trauma)

Adarsh · 3 February 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Don't even bother going near them

Don't even bother going near them, they can't even set up a viewing. Most unorganised company going. I set up a viewing for Friday at 4.30 and immediately after the call I wrote it in my calendar as a reminder. It got to the day and I arrived at the property, no one was there. So I rang them for the same person who set up my appointment to answer and in short tell me there was no appointment set up at all. She then proceeded to make out as though it was my fault; even asking me if I was sure I booked it through them and not another agency, even though she had my email and phone no. in the system. Massive waste of time.

Kyle · 25 January 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Very poor estate agents.

Very poor estate agents.I went with Martin & co as there agent dawn that came out said that she had 2/3 people on her books that was looking and would be interested in our house But these was lies as nothing came of it.so I was actually conned into using Martin & co By gift of the gab.Sale advert was rushed stating the house was 1 minute walk to a school then in the next sentence it was couple of minutes.Photos that was taken wasn’t good they was to Dark.I revamped the bathroom over Xmas Giving it a massive makeover and when the agent came out to do the second viewing she didn’t say that the photos on site should be updated.On our first viewing something didn’t feel right almost as if they wasn’t real buyers like a setup That the agents had arranged.Also this viewing happened after I’d raised concerns and was talking about leaving.After asking for feed back for the first viewing I was Told someone will get back to me and didn’t feel days later had past I rang again and again no communication what so ever.Asked Them for feed back from Rightmove to see how many people viewed the property they said It would take a day to be email To me but it took them 2 weeks! Told them I was giving 2 weeks notice then all of a sudden I have a “VIEWING” again this time it well they wanted second viewing came to viewing day and they didn’t come as there car broke down which is laughable bearing in mind there car wasn’t that old.Asked if estate agent would be willing to pick them up in the sign written Martin & co car to be told they would get back to me again they haven’t.They are rubbish in polite words there’s a reason why they have bad reviews.Ask yourself why is bad review at 72%?!!!Stay clear use someone else to sell your house pay a little higher on the sale fees get a better agent like w h brown do it.No communication just total crap I wouldn’t recommend these to anyone.

Daniel · 15 January 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Worst Customer Service

Worst Customer ServiceI was with Martin and Co for a year and a half and experienced some of the worst customer service I have ever known. From the start, the staff were unhelpful and uncooperative. Every issue that I experienced required my chasing despite being repeatedly told that they would be in touch the same day. From them losing my spare key to being left without a shower for 4 months, I was consistently made to feel like I was the one in the wrong. Would advise not to use them.

Pippa · 6 January 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Don't use them

Don't use them. We rented our property for 2 years as me and my partner were at college and for a 2 bedroom flat in Torry, the rent was reasonably cheap. However, when we were moving out the property we were told we had to give me 2 months notice which lead to losing our first place we looked at as 2 months for the new landlord was too long. We told Martin & Co what date we were moving out and they arrived 2 days early at 10am to say they were there to collect our keys. Outrageous! So then we got our original date back and was told that on Tuesday we had to give back our keys, but no. On the Monday we received a call which made us more angry because they said they needed the keys before 9am on the Monday when they said Tuesday, which lead to us not being able to clean the entire flat properly. Over the course of living there, we reported on several occasions that there was mold growing in cupboards and on our roof and window in our bedroom and yet nothing was done about it. The extraction fan above the cooker wasn't even a proper extraction fan as the steam literally didn't go anyway, but it wasn't even screwed in properly and ended up falling ontop of me. Lastly, since they never gave us this time to clean the flat because yet again they changed their minds, the cleaning bill just happened to come back at the EXACT same price as our deposit. So, this meant we never got our deposit back and just to top it up, they sent us an email to tell us we will be getting £0 deposit back. Absolute joke.

Amy · 8 December 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

DONT use this company whatsoever

DONT use this company whatsoever. Was a tenant in a property for 4 years. Have never been late with payment. So they are happy to take your money.Have asked for various things to be done to the house and have only been told that "its been added to the list". Nothing has ever been doneBefore my contract ended they called and said that the owner wanted the house back - which of course is ok. Only gave me 6 weeks notice - even people that are evicted get two months. Found another property and requested a reference. Was then told that i "had to pay £30 before they would consider to even look at it".The new tenant fees act (2019) states:1. All Payments Prohibited Except Rent, Deposits and Three ExceptionsLandlords or their agents will no longer be allowed to charge tenants for anything except: the rent, the tenancy deposit and a holding deposit (more on these below).This means you will no longer be allowed to ask tenants to cover the cost of their own referencing. You also won’t be able to charge check-in, inventory or admin fees.House inspections get arranged and whoever turns up does so usually two hours late - without consideration to the fact you have children and routines.Glad i will never be doing business with that business again!!

Jenna · 20 November 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Bad and unprofessional

I paid my rent one year in advance, things were broken when I arrived and they were never fixed during my year there. Although it was written in the inventory list that its broken, martin and co tried to charge me upon leaving the property. In winter my balcony was broken and open, it was stuck and open the whole time without martin and co reacting to the issue for THREE weeks. Also they showed up with strangers unannounced to view the property while I was there, with 0 emails or communication. They Are very late in replying to any issues, and it is been a month and a half with martin and co refusing to return my deposit. My advice is stay away!!!Just like a reply below, I also got fake cleaning invoice!

Le · 25 October 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

The most diabolical agency I have ever…

The most diabolical agency I have ever dealt with. I have been renting for the past 5 years and have never experienced such inconsistency, inefficiency and disrespect. - left without hot water and heating during December/January, with no compensation paid. - everyone in the house was above the age of 23 and we were spoken to and treated like children with absolutely no respect. - If we ever rang with a problem they would promise to call me back and I would then have to spend the majority of my day chasing them. They don’t make notes of your calls. - People from the agency along with contractors attended the property Constantly with no notice and did not show ID. - Deposits took over 6 weeks to be returned. - fake cleaning invoices were provided in attempt to take money from our deposits.- the office closed early without notice most days - my shower did not work if anyone in the house turned on a tap or flushed the toilet. The agency refused to believe this and continued to lie about its efficiency. All in all, the staff working within the derby branch are rude and useless, they couldn’t care less about the safety of their tenants and refuse to accept blame of any issues in the house. If your a young person wanting to rent, steer clear of any Martin and Co owned houses in derby!!!

Rosie · 21 October 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Without a doubt the most DIABOLICAL

Without a doubt the most DIABOLICAL renting experience I have ever had. Martin and co are shambolic, their service is terrible and the staff are the most unhelpful individuals I have ever came across.To begin with when I viewed the property I was told the other tenants were proffessionals who were women and a mature student who was male which seemed ideal. Upon moving into the property I found out he was a convicted violent criminal. He had been kicked out of University for not disclosing his record and was being allowed to live in the property until his student finance ran out. I contacted Martin and Co about this to be told its 'none of my business who the other tenants are' which i find disgraceful. As a paying tenant and a young women; I have every right to know if someone who I am living under the same roof as compromises my safety. In the following three months he resided in the property he was often drunk and verbally abusive towards myself and other tenants.Maintenance reports were frequently ignored or dealt with ineffectively. For example our landlord bled the radiators and didn't increase boiler pressure, therefore we lost heating in the middle of January. Their solution was to provide 4 heaters, 2 of which didn't work and left 2 of us freezing cold. One of my housemates has thick mould grow up one wall in her room during the winter months which is clearly some kind of structural/ damp issue, their advice is to 'open a window'. They are quite frankly useless.The landlord constantly enters the property without giving notice which is a breach of the tenancy agreement.  Martin and Co do not care about this unproffessional and inappropriate behaviour.Also two days prior to me leaving the property I was putting some things in the bin when my groundfloor room door blew shut, leaving me locked out. I called Martin and Co as luckily I had my phone in my pocket, they told me I would have to walk to town to get some keys from them. I informed them I had no shoes or coat and it was a 20 minute walk to which they responded thats not our issue. Luckily I managed to open the door with other methods or I would of been locked out of my room for the forseeable future! I have been renting for 6 years both professionally and as a student and this is without a doubt the most disgraceful service I have ever recieved.DO NOT RENT WITH MARTIN AND CO

Kathryn · 15 October 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Do not rent from this company!!

Do not rent from this company!!! Or sell your home with this company. This company failed my application. Held onto my holding deposit for "failed reference".The company claim that the referencing company "letting hub" is impartial and a third party. But infact they are ran by the same director. As seen on companies House. Please check for yourselves.Another company did the referencing and found no problems. They leave me no choice in taking them to court for this to return my monies but deny me if this.I will keep this updated

Gary · 11 October 2019