I was the tenant of Flat 1303, The Heights in Bedford for two painful years until 17/08/22. Initially at the viewing I made it clear they would need to decorate especially as the property was “not to standard” in their words and instructed them to clear the waste left by the last tenant, treat the vermin and pests. The last tenant arrived just as I was leaving my viewing and he made several subtle comments trying to steer me away from Martin & Co. However I fell in love with the penthouse even though it smelt like a damp dog. Moved in, found nothing had been done along with filthy stained carpets, poor decoration and generally damage all over the property to every room and most surfaces including windows that don’t operate properly. Bug infestation, bird infestation but M&Co just left it all. I rolled my sleeves up & turned it into a palace, decorated and repaired most of it because it was embarrassing. I got to know many people in the block who are lovely and have become friends. The building unfortunately is full of anti-social behaviour, homeless people living in the gym and using it as a toilet. The building is around 50-60% social housing, police visit daily and are even appealing for help to reduce the crime. You can see the Police letter on the notice board in reception. The car park is unsecure, anyone can walk into the car park and even the building as there are doors left open. Last year a person walked in and smashed up several cars randomly. If you have a parcel delivered which is left in reception, it will often be stolen. This happened so many times I had to get deliveries sent to the local supermarket. Long term residents informed me this has been going on for many years. The person was caught but nothing was done about it. In my case block management have still not provided CCTV of the theft almost a year on, this can only be because the cameras are not actually recording all the time. The main lifts break every few weeks, the block management frequently turn the water off to all flats. In the last three months the water has been turned off twice and there are regular leaks mainly on the 10th and 11th floor. Most notable was no water or heating for 10 days before Christmas 2021. Martin and Co done nothing but blame SDL/Century 21/Samson who manage the Heights block and left their tenants with nothing. Not even offering to lend us fan heaters or a discount on water bills/rent. To make matters worse, they sent us inflated water bills out of the blue, with no meter readings to defraud tenants demanding payment immediately and with no notice. I had to chase them to provide a proper bill in the end I just paid it to avoid repercussions. There is currently a court case ongoing involving the block owners, Bedford Council, the Police and many more. I have had two visits from environmental health & Bedford council who are trying to take over management. I did also hear this court case was about defrauding the leaseholders for many years and at several different buildings the owners have. I tried to inform my landlord of M&Co’s poor standards and all of this, the terrible condition of his penthouse and M&Co refused to give me my landlords contact details which a tenant is entitled to by law. To make matters worse, M&Co’s Property Management couldn’t even manage their way out of a cardboard box. One example of many; They sent several contractors over 8 months to fix one door. M&Co didn’t pay the contractor and so I received threats from the contractor directly, threatening to come into my home and remove the new parts. The door is still not fixed by the way. They break the law, stress out their tenants, defraud tenants and display an abysmal amount of incompetence. AVOID!! Plenty of good agents out there but this is not one of them. I have emails and pictures to back this all up, some attached. If you are still in doubt, just go to the Heights on St Johns Street in Bedford and ask anyone there for the truth. I hope this helps the next victim.