Me and my boyfriend bought our first house through Oulsnam Redditch. It was an awful and very frustrating experience. To be completely honest, the initial contact and Kirsty who did our viewing was excellent, punctual and very helpful. After we put in our offer for the property, sadly this all changed. From there on, there was little to no communication, and what communication we did have was unclear. Due to a hold-up in the process, we were pressured by Oulsnam to get a survey done on the house to "show our commitment" to the vendors. When our solicitor found this out, she went mad as this was a very sneaky move by Oulsnam. Both me and my boyfriend have both felt very misled in the whole process, and reasons why mortgages were delayed were not communicated, leaving us and the vendor in the dark! After we got our mortgage approved, we made a new offer to the vendors as the bank were not willing to lend us what Oulsnam had said the property was worth. Again, this was not handled professionally as I was made to feel extremely guilty. We eventually met in the middle after what I can describe as weeks of playing "chicken". In the months following, our solicitor had continually tried to contact Oulsnam, and received next to no effort or contact from them. I received a phone call in mid August out of the blue saying that exchange and completion could happen in the following few days. When relaying this to my solicitor, she said this would be impossible and was again annoyed that Oulsnam had not contacted her to liaise this. In what should be the most exciting time of your life in buying your first house, Oulsnam has made it completely miserable and stressful. Communication is key, and a bit of empathy and not backing people into corners would go a long way!

A Disappointing Experience with Martin & Co Housing Agency I would like to express my gratitude to Afsha Sadiq for sharing her recent experience with Martin & Co Housing Agency. It pains me to say that her story struck a chord with me, as I too had a regrettable encounter with this company not too long ago. Several months ago, I arranged a property viewing with Martin & Co, and much like Afsha, I had the unfortunate experience of dealing with Hannah during the process. When I initially set up the viewing, I was informed that the company allowed for a 15-minute grace period for 5 pm viewings, considering potential traffic delays. However, on the day of my appointment, I arrived just 6 minutes behind schedule, only to find that Hannah had already left the property. Her explanation was a terse, "I have an appointment at 5.30 pm, so I had to leave." What makes this incident particularly disheartening is the fact that I had travelled all the way from Manchester to Bradford for this viewing, with my 6-month-old baby in tow. Being a single father, this viewing was an essential step in securing a suitable home for us. My plea for understanding and leniency fell on deaf ears, and I was left feeling utterly disregarded. At that time, I contemplated leaving a review but ultimately decided against it, believing that such mistakes could happen in any company, and perhaps it was just a one-off occurrence. However, only four weeks later, my sister faced a similar ordeal with Martin & Co. Like Afsha and myself, she was told upon arrival that her viewing had been cancelled, even though she had not received any prior notice of such a cancellation. When she raised her concerns, she was met with the same dismissive attitude and was informed that she had called in to cancel the viewing. Like us, she questioned the logic of setting off if she had indeed cancelled. Yet, instead of addressing the issue, Martin & Co staff pointed to their outstanding reviews and awards as if this somehow invalidated our experiences. Regrettably, I cannot help but notice a recurring pattern in these incidents. It seems that individuals with English surnames have been more fortunate with their interactions with Martin & Co, while those of us with Asian surnames have been met with indifference and scepticism. I am compelled to leave this review now, not only because I have witnessed Ms. Sadiq's similar experience but also to bring attention to a concerning trend that suggests differential treatment based on ethnicity. It is disheartening to see that such experiences continue to persist, and it is my hope that Martin & Co will take these accounts seriously and strive for better customer service practices in the future.

We rented a property through M & M Properties for just short of 5 years. During our stay we never once missed a payment and there was little to no trouble, until of course, we needed M&M to provide on their end. In December we came back from time away to a broken boiler. In the coldest period of the year, and with the energy crisis M&M continued to support the Landlord in his lack of effort to support the situation and as a result were left without a boiler for near enough a month. 4th - 29th December. No hot water, no heating. They did provide heaters to borrow but were of course more expensive to run. But more importantly continued to defend the landlord with lack of support/ alternative arrangements. I had to push M&M to action in the end, and managed to have £150 in support from landlord which I don't believe we would've had if we hadn't of complained profusely. Hardly any care given for tenants as priority comes to landlords. The episode caused us to leave and I wouldn't advise using them as plenty better agents in local area.

Very disappointed for the service provided and no follow up at all. I am sadly writing this review as I am hoping to discuss with the agent that has follow up with me for a shop leasing. It was a very positive discussion and the agent just kept telling me it is very promising. However I have to keep chasing the progress by myself and I have been asked to submit our business proposal in which I did on the following day. I waited till a month after that calling the agent again sadly the agent just avoided to pick up my call and asking me to keep waiting...after a few months right now, they just simply ignore my request and I am really shock by the level of professional that it should be.....I totally could understand if the landlord doesn't want to proceed for any reason though we agreed for all the terms and conditions....however at least as a professional agent they should really call and let me know a YES or NO.... Seriously as a business runner , time is extremely precious stuff and it is alright even though we cannot rent the shop but i am quite doubtful for all the potential tenants to seek leasing from this agency.

We left the property cleaner than when first found, and were charged £150 cleaning fee each and £82.50 each for a supposed blocked drain 👎🏼 …

Michael Chapman during our tenancy lied, changed details and made the whole experience terrible. After moving out he swindled out of the deposit as much as he could, claiming maintenance is my responsibility to pay for. To be rid of him accepted the charges as I could no longer deal with the lies and strongarm tactics he used

Martin & Co - avoid if you ever plan to leave a rental property.

Appalling service. Never pick up the phone and always seem to rush you off the phone and hang up on you. Also never reply to emails. Wish they could be more proactive in ensuring the best customer service considering they are dealing with prospective buyers.

Martin & Co - avoid if you ever plan to leave a rental property.

Martin & Co - avoid if you ever plan to leave a rental property.