An astonishingly bad experience. We were tenants of Martin & Co from May 2018 to late 2022 – a solid 4.5 years, with an excellent record and a very good relationship with our landlord. In August 2022, our circumstances changed unexpectedly and we needed to leave Abingdon at the end of the year to move to another country. We notified Martin & Co immediately – hoping for a constructive dialogue. Instead, we encountered rigidity, opacity, and a distinct lack of decency. Martin & Co informed us that they wouldn't even contact the landlord until we paid an "early release fee" of over £2000 to them. When we asked for a breakdown or justification of this amount, we were told flatly: “We do not need to provide you with any evidence of costs, because this is an early release fee which we are allowed to charge you for.” Our request to discuss this in person was also refused. In the end, under legal advice, we paid this sum under protest so we could move. Tenants were found within three days of the property being listed – using recycled marketing materials from years before – and signed within the week after a single viewing. The landlord raised the rent, meaning he actually gained financially from our early departure. To add insult to injury, days after paying the early release fee, we were told we must pay an additional 3 days' rent “just in case any jobs are needed to be carried out.” Again, failure to pay meant we would not be released. Another sum, paid under protest. In our view, these charges constituted prohibited payments under the Tenant Fees Act 2019. We made every effort to be reasonable and cover legitimate costs – but Martin & Co offered no transparency and no evidence that the fees were anything but profiteering. Having reported them to the Property Ombudsman, we recovered most of these costs. In addition, deductions were made from our deposit, which were outrageous. One example being evidence of mould on some curtains. The photos used to justify this were photos we had previously raised with the agent and prior to having the curtains dry cleaned and repaired at our cost. These photos were provided in the checkout report, but were in fact our own photos we had previously shared with the agent. There were charges for the lawn not being lush and green despite damaged caused by the intense summer. Most of these charges were returned to us following a complaint to the DPS. We would urge other tenants to proceed with extreme caution. Ensure every i is dotted and t crossed, ensure you are well covered. The interactions were perfectly good during our tenancy, but incredibly hostile afterwards.