Overall we’ve had a pretty terrible experience renting through Martin & Co. I’ll start by clarifying that we did work with two helpful members of staff over the 18 months we rented with them, but both have since left. If the employee experience is in anyway comparable to the tenant experience, I can’t blame them in the slightest. To be fair, we should have known something was up from the minute we moved in, summer 2021. We’d had a virtual viewing due to Covid protocols at the time, but on our moving day it became clear that the video we had seen was not as recent as had been suggested. The garden was massively overgrown and the house hadn’t been cleaned in weeks or more. But we tried to make the best of things, and after a fair bit of back and forth, Martin & Co sent round a gardener to cut back the 5ft high weeds. Problems arose again in the autumn. Large patches of damp appeared on the ceilings and walls of the bedrooms and dining room, and black mould accumulated in the corners of the bedroom too. We immediately sent photos of this through to Martin & Co, and while the staff were very helpful in contacting the landlord, nothing actually got sorted. A roofing specialist was sent round to inspect the property, and after compiling an extensive list of issues (ranging from no felt in the roof and rotted fascia boards to full-on holes in the brickwork), the landlord ultimately did nothing to address these problems. The advice we received from Martin & Co was just to sleep with the windows open… in winter. We were assured that when it stopped raining, the damp would soon sort itself out. It didn’t. Fast-forward to May 2022. There’s a hole in the roof. We take a photo, send it to Martin & Co, who pass it onto the landlord. A roofing specialist comes round, inspects the roof and yet again compiles a list of issues with the roof. Again, the landlord decides to do nothing, claiming that it’s not something he can afford. Bear in mind that at this point we had paid over £9,000 in rent to this man. A month later, the roof hole proved to be an excellent entryway for two families of pigeons, who took up residence in the roof. Again, we contacted Martin & Co, again we sent photos, and again the landlord refused to do anything. It’s also worth mentioning that this is around the time that the one helpful member of Martin & Co staff left, and communication became increasingly poor. We were simply told that as the weather was fine, the hole wasn’t really a problem. Also around this time, the landlord announced that our rent was increasing, no doubt due to his tireless efforts to keep the house in tip-top condition. After almost a month of pigeons living in the roof, we began to hear squeaking and chirping. They had, as birds do, set up nests and hatched some chicks. We let Martin & Co know, and of course, nothing was done. At this point, we decided to withhold rent. Amazingly, less than ten minutes after I notified Martin & Co of our decision, the landlord suddenly found the money to do the most minor of roof repairs. However, rather than actually paying someone to check on the pigeon situation before fixing the hole, the solution was just to replace the missing slate, trapping several pigeons and their babies in the roof. Hearing the panicked birds scratching around and trying to get out, we called Martin & Co and were told by the director “yeah well he’s a roofer, not a bird expert”. After calling the RSPCA, we were informed that not only was our landlord a negligent landlord, he was also actively committing a crime against wildlife since it’s against the law to trap animals inside a building. Phone calls to Martin & Co from the RSPCA led to the hole being reopened to allow the birds to leave. And our decision to give notice on our tenancy. But it doesn’t end there. Remember the damp walls and ceilings from autumn 2021? Well they of course returned. With a vengeance. Martin & Co did nothing, again. Terrible communication right up until our deposit was returned. Do not trust them.

Spoke to an agent as I am helping a friend to look for a property. I found this agent so rude and arrogant. The friend is a student who has come to study. So many students who are new to the country paying high university fees and ready to pay the amount required for the accommodation, contributing to the economy at the same time should be welcome and not spoken to in such a rude manner. I feel this may be the way this agent must be speaking to people who call this particular agency due to the demand of accommodation in the area. I was shocked about how she spoke to me.

One of the worst and rude letting agent I have experienced so far. We had a viewing arranged for a flat in Colchester and the agent was rude in all of his responses. E.g. We asked if there's a dishwasher in the house and he answered "Why can't you wash it by hands", an appropriate answer would have been a simple 'No'. And there were many inappropriate questions about me which were certainly not needed at that stage I don't think the whole agency is like this, but the agent that we have seen certainly not someone whom I'd recommend in any of the viewings or lettings discussion Thanks

The worst estate agents. So unhelpful & useless - do not bother with lettings

Martin & Co apparently, according to their website, opens at 8:30am. So how come when I call them at this time, I get diverted to an answering service. Maybe it's time Martin & Co updated their website to show what time they start answering the phone, rather than the time they open.

If I could put 0 stars I would. Absolutely outrageous experience and I haven’t even been to view a property yet. As someone who used to work in the lettings industry, and used the same referencing agency as Martin & Co I know exactly what the requirements to pass referencing are. My partner called their office to book a viewing, to be told we cannot view because there is no parking and we have a car. Now I can understand the reasons behind this decision, as it would be a waste of time, HOWEVER, they didn’t give her a chance to explain we already had parking and told her to “come back when we had sorted it”. I then called the office, to then find out it was actually because they had decided we didn’t meet their affordability criteria, 30 times the rent as per homelet, so £21,750 per year. My partner has earned well above this already this year and it isn’t even the end of the tax year! I spoke with a lady called Corrine, who made me feel extremely patronised, and was just down right rude, not even an inch of sales in her voice and she works in a sales office, laughable really. Both my partner and I felt like we were brushed aside because they have their sights set on a more “ideal” tenant. No wonder they are absolutely nowhere near their close competition in the market. Terrible terrible terrible.

Dishonest letting agency. I do not recommend.

Property photos on the advertisement were outdated and apparently it was an error where they put the photos from 2020- before the last tenant moved in. Information on the ad was also incorrect and outdated as it stated the property was to be redecorated/ new carpets put in which wasn’t going to be the case. Found this very sloppy. The garden looked immaculate in the photos yet when I got to the property it was overgrown and the shed had been removed due to rotting. I drove all the way down to view a property only to be told afterwards that the landlord didn’t want to accept my offer based on my financial situation. Surely financial situation which the agency was aware of prior to me viewing should have been discussed with the landlord rather than wasting tenants time and showing them around the property if you don’t stand a chance of getting the property? Is that not what the tenant questionnaire is for after all? I have never had a problem renting before or securing more expensive properties but according to this agency your savings aren’t considered? Would personally avoid as they don’t mind wasting prospective tenants time and advertise properties wrong.

We are tenants in a property managed by Martin & Co Colchester. In the 3+ years we have been in the property, we have had numerous serious maintenance issues. In most instances, it has taken weeks and sometimes several months for the repairs to take place. At present we have a significant leak from our upstairs bathroom which has caused major damage to the ceiling in the lounge. This is also preventing us from being able to use the bath/shower in our family bathroom. The fence in our back garden is falling down and we have numerous broken planks in our decking in the garden. We had a new back door fitted to the property several months ago after waiting several months for a replacement. It had to be replaced as the previous one could no longer close/lock which caused security issues. The new door is the wrong size and does not function properly. Martin & Co have been notified of these issues as soon as they occur, but are very slow to respond. We have had to phone and email regarding issues repeatedly to get any response. Yesterday (and again today as we had no reply to our email), we notified Martin & Co that the oven has stopped functioning. Their reply was that they would arrange for an engineer to come out to look at it, but it might not be until next week. They said that there was no guarantee that this could take place before Christmas. We are good tenants who have always paid our rent in full and on time. We believe that as we pay £1480 per month in rent, we should be entitled to have a house in good order and repairs should take place promptly as a priority. Very dissatisfied with our experience with Martin & Co.NegativeResponsiveness, Value