Martin and Co Slough reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Worst agency ever to rent from

Worst agency ever to rent from. I would give 0 star if there was an option. Spent over 2 months without a refrigerator, 3 months without a washing machine. When we moved out they claimed some £240 out of our deposit. My husband and I agreed for £200 as few of the things they specified were already on the original inventory. Then suddenly they decided to claim the whole deposit of over £1000 for no reason. Luckily I got the money back from TDS after I submitted all the relevant documents and proof that their claim of the whole deposit was outrageously greedy. As they had no reasoning or proof to claim all of the deposit the legal assessor gave the verdict in our favour. Also they asked us to pay a checkout fee of £120 when we moved out which we paid along with our final rent but kept including it in the final claim despite us telling them so many times that we have already paid it. This shows how they don’t actually maintain proper record of transactions etc. It’s funny how they responded to one of the reviews here that rent takes 3 days to clear but they charged us £45 of late fee for the final month rent as the standing order was cleared by my bank on the Monday following when our rent due date fell on a Saturday. I emailed them about it but of course they decided not to respond. They are totally unprofessional and I will highly recommend STAYING AWAY from them!

Mekala · 20 September 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

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Martin & Co. Maidstone, Thankful for their service and professionalism!

I have hired many Letting Agents to manage multiple properties. I have plenty of experiences to compare and the best experience I have had is with Martin & Co (Maidstone). I have hired them to manage my apartment and 12 years on our business relationship is still going strong. They have kindly kept the commission the same throughout the years. They have been very professional and accommodating. I have had the same lovely lady manage my property for this entire time. I live 50 miles away in London and their services has been invaluable to me...there is no need for me to worry about my apartment at all because I am rest assured it’s in great hands. In fact I trust them so much that in the past ten years I have come to inspect my property on three occasions only! I trust my tenants are just as happy with them because they have been there now for 10 years. Thank you Martin & Co.

J · 11 September 2020

★★★★★ 4/5

Trustpilot

Helpful and professional

Have recently started looking to rent a property and have contacted many local estate agents via email and Martin & co Newport have been the only ones to actually reply, I have dealt with a few estate agents over the years but always found Martin & Co to be the best, the staff at the Newport office are always helpful and always follow up a veiwing with a phone call, heres hoping when I find the right property it will be managed by them.

Len · 10 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Landlords steer clear!

Landlords steer clear!My company Tabony Lets instructed M&C to tenant find for us, we was charged over £1000 when told it was £650. They expected us to allow tenant to move into our property without forwarding the tenants deposit and rent, they are unorganised and in professional aswell as the hassle they then dragged their heels paying me over £10k in rent making excuses as to why they can’t pay it. Wouldn’t recommend nor use this company. Tabony Lets

Dom · 11 December 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Martin & Co Abingdon ‘Excellent’

I never normally write a review but I felt I needed to. Normally when people write reviews they write a bad one. I can honestly say Martin & Co in Abingdon have been so helpful from the 1st phone call, I have not had any complaints they are very friendly & helpful any problems I had they were always there to help. I would just like to say a Big Thank you to all the ladies for helping me find a place to live Lisa B 😊

Lisa · 27 August 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Incompetent and unprofessional

Unprofessional, incompetent, unresponsive.Go ahead to use them if you want to become homeless, mentally stressed and physically drained of any energy to deal with them.No maintenance once you rent with them so if your front door breaks down be ready to pay out of pocket because they will do nothing about it.Even before renting with them it is a huge hassle just to get the application process going. I had to tell them everything that needed sorting out (what documents I needed to send, the fact that I needed a contract!), incredibly incompetent at their jobs.Honestly, the people that work there have no qualification whatsoever to do any kind of office job.

AW · 26 August 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

They don't deserve one star - worst agency I have eveer dealt with

They don't deserve one star, but 0 stars isn't allowed. Bear that in mind.Think of any problem you might have with an agency, and we've probably experienced it with Martin and Co. They are extremely rude and have attempted to extort anything possible from us, with the threat of court action. We had extensive communication with them regarding the state the flat was in when we arrived - filthy and lots of disrepair. They repaired and replaced some things after a lot of chasing and arguments, but much of it was not completed. They asked us what was left to be done, we told them, and it was never actioned.They have been extremely rude - I once phoned the office, asked who I was speaking to - as he was incredibly rude - and got the response 'Micky Mouse'. I was told by a friend that the man in the office is Alex, who runs the Manchester branch - but was looking to sell and I guess that's why he was so rude, because he didn't care.During co-vid, my flatmate decided to move out but I wanted to stay as I was happy with the location and price of this flat, so asked if I could find another flatmate. They said I could, then quickly said I couldn't - they made it really difficult for me; and then they claimed that the rent was in arrears as my flatmate had not paid the portion of the rent that was her responsibility - no way was I able to afford her portion!Many an email they don't respond to, and when they do, the tone is often incredibly rude.They ignore important details and then act like it is the tenants' fault.I have never been caused so much stress in regards to renting.

Pdixon · 24 August 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Had to fight to get my bond back

Martin & Co in Saltaire Bradford took over my tenancy several years into it and were professional up to a point, In so much as they were friendly and approachable and carried out regular inspection reports. However they came Into their own when I tried to claim my bond back when I moved out. They tried to deduct for every small scratch or mark on doors and walls etc saying they weren't fair wear and tear despite the fact the owner had never decorated during the tenancy & I had lived there for over 7 years and had really taken care of the property as if it were my own and remained on good terms with the owner. In all they tried to deduct just over half, around £500I had to fight them by taking the matter to an Independent adjudicator through the my deposit scheme.At this point they changed the deductions to now suddenly include bogus rent arrears! Fortunately I was able to provide lots of proof and the decision made was in my favour.If you rent a property from this company expect a battle at the end of your tenancy and as stressful as it is, don't give up!Always take your own photographs when you move in, keep copies of all communication including, emails, letters, texts and screenshot your matin & co account which shows receipts of rental payments. Also if used keep any general cleaning, window cleaning and gardening receipts.

Hazel · 24 August 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Worst letting companying going!

Worst letting companying going! Viewed a property in Leamington Spa and rang the next day to put a deposit down,however, the letting agent I needed to speak to wasn’t available so they “passed on” the message. Didn’t get a call back so I rang again the next day and again she wasn’t available, this continued everyday that week. I also sent her an email and received no reply. First thing Monday I saw the property had been let! Very unprofessional and untrustworthy company. Glad I didn’t sign a contact with them!

Kim · 17 August 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Absolutely the MOST horrible

Absolutely the MOST horrible, unprofessional, lying, cheating Estate Agency I have ever in my life dealt with. Dawn and Lucy mislead us throughout the purchase process for nearly two month and ending up not to complete. Anyone with healthy rational thinking would not deal with them even if they sell your dream house! Avoid if you don't want to end up with losing money and being lied to. Trust me on this matter, there are many other much much better Estates to go with.

Gona · 12 August 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

I rented a house for 1 year with 3…

I rented a house for 1 year with 3 other trainee doctors in Cornwall. We have been treated appallingly by Martin and Co through the year. The house was in a substandard condition when we arrived, which we noted on our inventory. We returned the inventory to the office as requested, however they conveniently 'lost' the inventory when it came to justifying their extortionate deductions in our deposit. We lived for many months with a mouse infestation in the house, which we notified Martin and Co about numerous times yet they failed to resolve. This was unpleasant to live with and also meant a large number of our possessions and food was destroyed by these rodents. Due to the Covid pandemic, we were redeployed to different hospitals mid way through our tenancy. We continued to pay rent for a house which we did not live in for 5 months. We were then fined a huge amount for having not weeded the garden. I would have hoped for a bit more kindness from both the landlord and agent, seeing as we were by this point based all over the UK, some within lockdown areas and unable to return to do this minute job.In summary, avoid like the plague!

GEORGINA · 11 August 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Shocking customer service!

Went to view an apartment in the Jewellery Quarter Birmingham on Saturday 8th August at 3pm, when we got there we weren't even greeted with a hello how are you. I think the girl who showed us around was called chloe(small build with dark hair), she really lacks customer service skills. She took us into the building which was literally next door to the Martin and co office, but she said she had never been to the building and didn't know her way around so we spent some time looking for the flat and couldn't get the lift as she didn't know which floor it was on. If I was trying to rent out a property I would have pre planned the viewing and definitely have been to see the apartment for myself before bringing anyone to it. She didn't speak the whole time whilst walking to the flat which made it very awkard. When we got there she didn't have a clue about the details, she said it was furnished then said oh no it isn't, she didn't know anything at all. She also said the furniture was just a cheap, basic pack that all landlords give.. This is not a great selling point telling us we'd be getting cheap furniture. We were in and out of the flat within 5 minutes it was extremely rushed and when we tried to ask us some questions she short answered us and basically pushed us towards to the door. When we got outside the door we asked how much the bills would be and she said I can't give you this information. I understand she may not be able to give it but there are much nicer ways of saying things, I work in customer service and she could really do with a few lessons she was SO RUDE. We hadn't even finished asking the details but she said 'I have another viewing now I'll leave yous here bye' and ran off out of the building to get another viewer. She literally left us at the door of the flat we had just viewed and we didn't even know how to get back out! When we went to the wrong exit we also seen someone had left a note 'these apartments have been burgled 3 times in the past month'.. I found this shocking. We are none the wiser about the details of this property as she didn't answer anything. We actually liked the look of the apartment but I would never want to be in contact with this girl again and therefore would never rent from Martin and co, and I'll be warning anyone I know of the awful service. I see this is a common trait amongst the staff at Martin and co from various branches since reading through similar reviews. If anyone in the Birmingham branch is reading this please do pass on the message to this girl that her customer skills are appalling and that is causing the company to lose potential tenants, she needs to be trained better or sacked. Ta ra now

Lauren · 10 August 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Unfrofessional

The flat above me is rented through this company,so far i have had two tenants who have been nothing other than problems,the flat has wooden floors where they STOMP around on,sometimes all night,,both have had dogs that bark,they slam doors,there are bags of dog dirt left outside the front door,,on one occasion for two months,part of the garden is shared,my half is cut,regularly,the part for upstairs hasnt even been cut this year,,a neighbour phoned this company up,she was told someone would call her back,,guess who hasnt had a return call,,so if your looking for a company who doesnt bother about contracts being broken,,i would recommend ,,MARTIN AND CO,STIRLING

Derek · 6 August 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Really wish i could give 0 stars

Really wish i could give 0 stars. Asked for viewings for a block of largely empty apartments and i wanted to see numerous different ones. I got shown 2, the estate agent didn't know the prices, whether they came with parking, furnished or unfurnished, just completely clueless about any questions we had. We decided to put a deposit down and an offer which the landlord accepted, only to be told 3 days later that they have already let it to someone else. We then got shown another property in the same block which was smaller and worse in almost everyway, we put an offer in and have heard nothing back since. Do not use these clowns, they don't have a clue.

Jake · 5 August 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Untrustworthy

We arranged a viewing on a property in Folkestone 03/08/20 when we turned up at the property we waited 10 minuted for the agent to show but ended up being greeted by the vendor which we had no problem with but were not told that this was going to happen. The vendor mentioned they had no offers as yet. We were bowled over by the property so much so we called Martin and Co straight away at 17:15 to make an offer. Unfortunately the agent had gone home but our offer was said to be passed on. The next day we were called by the office manager at 9:30 who said the offer wasn't going to be accepted as they already had 4 offers on the table - I think that's strange as the vendor wasn't aware of any offers before they opened. We loved the property that much that we put in a sizeable offer right away and the office manager said they would call our agent to understand where we were at with our sale. The offer was rejected at 16:00 to say they wanted a first time buyer with no chain. We thought fair enough, the vendor made that clear to us however we have since found out today that the call to our agent was never made so the vendor would not have had all the information presented to them. Had they called they would have realised we are 2 weeks in to the soliciting process with a first time buyer ourselves so practically chain free.Very disappointing and not a nice experience - selling a house is stressful enough!

Tom · 5 August 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Hello my experience with Martin&Co is…very upsetting

Hello my experience with Martin&Co is so strange that I still can’t believe I was trying to purchase a property in Exeter and I was contracted by Chris I really liked a Georgian Town House with the asking price of £700000 I have made an offer of £650000 amount which seller agreed to sell for My offer was turned down stating that they have a cash offer accepted Few days later I am browsing through internet and I see My property online with the new information We have received an offer of £645000 and the deadline for better offers will expire in 5 days I feel cheated and lied to I have been dismissed for no reason because I am a cash buyer I have made a clear statement that I have very large amount of money on my bank account and I will have additional money within 5 weeks and that will be double amount I would need for that property I wanted to buy this property to be close to my family after I lost my dear husband a year ago I have my children and grandchildren in Exeter I am not a property developer!!!!I feel very sad that Exeter branch is treating clients like this 03/08/2020Kind regards Dorota Newman

Dorota · 4 August 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Disorganised and Deposit scammers

Their partnership with the inventory company in bordering on fraudulent. Inventory clerk they employ lists nearly all aspects of the house as "good", irrespective of pre-existing damage, meaning we have to spend hours making amendments to the check in report. Then when checkout comes they pick out the tiniest flaws, which were already there when we moved in, and send it to the landlord alongside there original report saying everything was fine, with our edits attached in a separate document. I can only assume it is to try and keep as much of the deposit as they can, fortunately I've kept all the photographic evidence from when we moved in.Also the standard of cleaning was very poor when we moved in, when we moved out we used one of their recommended "professional" cleaners, and then they have the cheek to say it was badly cleaned on the check out report! In general they were very disorganised, with different people repeatedly asking for different bits of information. Very slow to get back to us but expecting us to reply same day to their requests!

L · 1 August 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

A company to avoid

When looking for my first rented home, I was advised time and time again not to use letting agents due to their poor reputation. Unfortunately my experience with Martin and Co WGC was not an exception to this and why I've felt it necessary to leave a review.In the time I was renting through this company, I have only had one polite conversation with various members of the team. Despite always being polite and lenient myself, most correspondence had via email and phone call has been particularly rude, unprofessional and incompetent, and not at all the standards expected of a company who supposedly prides themselves in their customer service. Working in a similar industry myself, I can understand tenants frustrations but always would respond in a professional and courteous manner, unfortunately this isn't the case with the majority of the team at Martin and Co. Welwyn Garden City.We were left without hot water on several occasions and went 3 months without a working washing machine. All requests were recorded on our part but regularly we experienced far longer delays than seemingly necessary. It was very clear they didn't want to report or deal with a lot of maintenance problems as that involved asking the vendor of the property to spend money to fix them, thereby risking upsetting the vendor and losing business. While I understand you need to speak with the landlord to handle maintenance issues, that does not excuse problems lasting for weeks, months in my experience. At one point we received an email from a team member with an accusatory tone implying we had somehow broken an electrical item in the property, even though twice the professional THEY sent out informed both us and the company that it was a fault of the model itself and nothing to do with any user interference. Any emails regarding this from here were not responded to, or again, responded to in an impolite way. Attempts to contact the team were often unsuccessful, and when they were answered there was no consistent reply as to who was the property manager, which surely would be recorded on CRM systems that a well-known company such as Martin and Co. would use. Lastly, as I imagine someone from the team will be reading this, I encourage you to retain some of your humanity when dealing with enquiries regarding major problems with the properties you manage. Please remember these are people's homes, where people spend most of their lives.  For tenants to already be trying to live around problems they can't control and then for the people that can help them to be rude and unhelpful, it's enough to make someone feel extremely uncomfortable living in their home and it is a reason we did not want to continue business with this company. I would not advise anyone looking to rent to use Martin and Co due to my experience with the company. For any new tenants or landlords I encourage you to research the rights and expectations of you and the letting company to ensure you're not taken advantage of.I want to finish by saying none of my comments are in relation to the period of lockdown/interference due to COVID-19, I can appreciate that delays during this time are completely impossible to avoid..

Emily · 7 July 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Wast of Time

Looking to rent a new apartment. These guys had a few on rightmove but you cannot call them to speak to them, everything is a pre-recorded message, the portal they tell you to use does accept any information and surprise, you cannot call anyone to tell them.Shocking way to do business.!!

NA · 17 January 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Martin & Co required proof of deposit…

Martin & Co required proof of deposit before I could view a property.I am looking for an investment property and saw an advert with Martin & Co last week. I tried to book a viewing but was told that due to new COVID rules, i had to send a Decision in Principle before I could book a viewing. I cooperated but when I asked for the reference that detailed this new requirement, I was simple sent a link to Property Mark with a reference to “serious buyers only can view a property”, there was no mention of financial assessment before viewing a property. Once I had sent through the DIP, I was then asked to send proof of deposit and this is where is drew the line. I don’t mind being financially evaluated if I make an offer, but not to view a property.

Jack · 27 June 2020

★★★★★ 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

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

I had an excellent experience with Martin & Co, especially as first time tenant. From start to finish everything was explained clearly and was made easy to understand. Once I moved in any small issues were dealt with quickly. Couldn't be more happier with the service

Harry · 25 April 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Extremely poor experience with the…

Extremely poor experience with the Leeds branch, communication wasn't great from the start. Someone forgot about something so we didn't receive the keys on the planned date. Then they confused lead tenant with a second tenant and the deposit money went under the wrong name. They were unable to undo that. We asked several times to amend the lead tenant, no one did. Then they decided to sell the property so strangers were coming to our home for viewings, although it was much more than 3 months till the end of tenancy. When you move in with Martin & Co, please take photographs of EVERY single corner or dirty surface or anything old and worn, mattresses underneath. In our case the flat was not clean when we got the keys so there was a lot to take pictures of, now I'm rocking through gigabytes of data for dispute/court case or both. Please have a lot of evidence of the condition of the flat before you move in and plan to see any money back.

Łukasz · 31 May 2020