AVOID this letting agent! We had the misfortune of dealing with them for 2 years as a tenant. It was a horrible experience. They charge extremely high rent and ignore requests to fix maintenance issues. At the end of the lease we were told we had to get the property professionally cleaned. We used their recommended cleaner Bleu Maintenance and paid £415. We were told the work would be guaranteed however the landlord requested an extra £125 as the cleaning was deemed unsatisfactory. It took 4 months to get our bond deposit back as we had to take it to arbitration. We happened to speak to previous tenants and they all had the same negative experience. Stay away!
We are having a nightmare with this company. We have now rented a property with them for a year. We turned up to the viewing, sat there for 10 minutes and no one showed. We called the office to be told they forgot to book it in and it would need to be rebooked, we had driven 4 hours to view this property as we were relocating so told them they had to send someone out. We were then rushed through the viewing. We ended up going ahead with the property and had no problems with this part of the process. However, anything that requires any form of management from Martin&Co is horrendous. They have 2 months to complete a gas safety check but left it to the last week they could legally have it done and then Oliver had a go at US for not being able to take a day off work to let them in. We got told it wasn't possible for them to give us a timed slot so we called British Gas ourselves and got told it was possible they just had to request it, M&Co wouldn't, so we did and I was able to work it around my job (but had to organise everything myself). We then got contacted about our yearly inspection, we called and booked it in for my day off, they never showed up. We called to find out that once again, they didn't book it in. We live in Wokingham but half of our communication comes from the Staines branch. We then got emailed 3 days before rent due to say they were changing the account we needed to pay, we went on to set it up and the bank stated it looked like a scam payment based on the account, we contacted the landlord as it was a Sunday and he said he hadn't authorised any bank change, so it did look like a scam! However, after contacting a very rude woman at M&Co they stated THEY were changing the bank account and we have no right to talk to our own landlord and to pay them immediately and we were lying about the warning from the bank (proof attached). We are on a fully managed contract and have had to organise everything ourselves so far, which is ludicrous. We are fed up with communication from this company and would never rent with them again.
DO NOT GO with Martin and CO! I was with Martin and Co (renting) for 2 years. I had maintenence ignored to the extent of a bedroom being inhabitable during winter months as it had a broken window on moving in!! For 2 years the window was left broken, with email receipts to show they were aware from day one! A severe lack of comparison and care was apparent during the entire of my tenancy, even after making them aware I was medically vulnerable (confirmed by the NHS). I lost a lot of my savings having to deal with these people... make sure you don't too.
Well, it all went downhill. The WORST management agents I’ve ever dealt with. I recommend avoiding ANY lease that they are handling, it’s not worth the hassle to deal with a terrible and corrupt group of people. Despite moving out of a place in September due to a divorce, and getting my name taken off the tenancy agreement (all the while they delayed refunding me the deposit while earning as much interest for themselves as possible), they are chasing me up for the last months’ rent that my ex-wife should be paying. I don’t even know what arrangement they have due to limited contact, yet somehow I am being asked to pay? Absolutely corrupt. AVOID
Good luck talking to the lovely lady on the lettings team. No time for anyone.
I don’t recommend anyone to buy from this agent very rude people
52 Peach Street, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40 1XG, UK, RG40
Martin & Co Estate Agents are proud to serve the local area. We are part of a large listed organisation with over 700 branches in total. We are No. 2 for SALES and No. 1 for Lettings. The franchise is owned by Mike and Erica Townend. Our clients have the benefit of the professionalism of a large listed organisation with the accountability of two local dedicated business owners Owner, Erica Townend brings a wealth of experience and knowledge across property sales, lettings, management, property development, and building surveying, all gained over the last 25 years plus. We offer expert advice to our valued customers. Our team of 10 dedicated property experts are here to help with every aspect of residential property. We are dynamic and helpful, and put Customer Service at the forefront of everything we do. Please call us on 0118 334 2389 to book your appointment or call in at our iconic Wokingham Town Centre shop on 52 Peach Street.
Director