WARNING… …suffer the consequences should you make a valid complaint about their service. It was only their actions, or lack of, that compelled me to write a negative review. All was OK until my Mum left the property she was renting. She was advised by Martin & Co that despite leaving the property very clean and in the same condition it was when she moved in, the checkout report didn’t look good and could result in the loss of the deposit. The 'moving in' inventory was very top level and vague, but the checkout report included photos of small specs of dust, even a rubber band left on a door handle. In addition to what appeared to be a negagtive checkout report I was advised that the deposit was being transferred from one holding company to another which would cause a delay and I would just have to wait. Why their internal business decisions and actions should be my problem was beyond me. I was told that the landlord wasn’t prepared to go visit the property to see for themselves that it had been left in a very clean and ready to move in standard. No one followed up and kept me up to date with the situation … if they had I wouldn’t have needed to chasing this up. Only upon calling was I informed that the member of staff who was dealing with this was off sick and I would have to wait. No problem with someone being ill but does a business shut down because of it? Naturally after a few days of no updates I called Martin & Co to be told that the person was still off sick so I asked to speak to another member of staff who took offence at my insistence to speak to someone to find out what was going on with the deposit… to say they were unsympathetic and unhelpful is an understatement! The company where the deposit was being transferred to had no information of our deposit and so we weren’t able to request the return, and so with no further communication or updates from Martin & Co, as a last resort I decided to post a negative Google review (it was actually different to this one)… funny how that seemed to prompt some action! The deposit was eventually refunded, but not by the company to who I was advised it was going to, and so because I was made whole and had recieved the deposit in full I delete the negative Google review … until I was prompted to write another one!!!! It was my Mum who rented the flat from Martin and Co and she was moving to Wales for family reasons. She found a place to rent but was advised by the letting agent that Martin & Co wouldn’t provide a reference. On calling Martin and Co I was advised it was because I had written a negative Google review. My Mum is 76 and was a model tenant, paying six months upfront and leaving the flat spotless but because I had challenged them on their service, or lack of, and wrote a negative review they were going to penalise my Mum by not providing a reference for a new property she had found. Unprofessional, shameful and childish actions by the owner. BTW, the faulty window which was pointed out before my Mum moved into the property was never fixed. Their website says: Martin & Co Southampton has a reputation for providing a reliable and professional service with a dedicated team who would be delighted to help….I think not. Shame on you.