“The most horrendous experience I have ever had. Staff at ......”
1 Star Review
Mar 05,2015
By:
'LMP008'
Mar 05,2015
Branch: Norwich, 1 Charing Cross
Services: Lettings (as a Tenant)
Rent PCM: £1150
Would you recommend?: No
Postcode: NR4
Branch: Norwich, 1 Charing Cross
Lettings (as a Tenant)
Rent PCM: £1150
Postcode: NR4
4
people found
this helpful
The most horrendous experience I have ever had. Staff at Martin & Co are rude, obnoxious and totally unwilling to help; from the smallest cases to cupboard doors breaking (due to them being improperly fixed at the hinges in the first place), to very adverse living conditions such as horrendous mildew and now even the caving in of my bedroom ceiling. Over the past few years that I have lived in my student house, I have had nothing but trouble from this estate agents. Upon moving into the house, it was unclean (McDonald's bags and cartons everywhere, grease on kitchen surfaces, toilet black) and bedrooms were not properly furnished. Issues arose, such as the bathroom light switch snapping due to mildew, cupboard doors falling off hinges due to poor fitting, and exceptional damp problems within the house. The oven constantly had problems, as did the shower and bath (there were times where 4 girls had to go over 3 days without showers in the house), and these were met with the blaming of tenants and reluctance to help. At the end of my last tenancy agreement in the house, they charged us for things that had not been our fault (for example, nails in the wall that had been there before we moved in, chips to poorly applied paint - which had also been there since we had moved in, and the cleaning of items of which we had thoroughly cleaned ourselves, including the bathroom which had been left in a much better condition than it was received in, even according to the inventory!). They took as much money as they could from us for things that were not out fault, and things that they didn't even fix before the start of my new tenancy. They also did not allow for reasonable wear and tear considering we had lived in the house for three years.
I am now on a second tenancy with new housemates and problems again have occurred - the oven has given up, the floor and radiators are falling to pieces (of which a contractor was meant to have come around and fixed 5 months ago...) and to top it off, following consistent arguing that there is a damp problem with the property, and dealing with walls dripping with water, green ceilings and my entire wardrobe going mouldy, my ceiling has now falling in on me (whilst I was asleep) and they haven't even apologised or asked if I'm okay! I am now living at my boyfriend's out of a small suitcase with the rest of my clothes, and belongings ruined from the fallen plaster, with exams and my dissertation imminent. Honestly the absolute worst estate agents there is, money-thieving, rude and heartless people and I cannot wait for the day that I never have to hear of or speak to them again. DO NOT USE MARTIN & CO.
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Firstly the damp has been confirmed by several experienced contractors to have been caused by the Tenant's lifestyle and failure to adequately control condensation within the property. This included (prior to the incident occurring) a highly qualified Damp Specialist, who, having undertaken a thorough investigation at the house, drew up a detailed report on the cause, which was shared with all of the occupants. Previously, on several occasions the Tenants had been issued with various guides to assist them and explaining how to control the condensation within the property.
However, as a direct consequence of our advice being ignored, plaster came away from the ceiling. Subsequently, the Damp Specialist confirmed, unequivocally, the major contributing factor for this was the Tenant's failure to control the condensation within the property.
As soon as the issue was reported to ourselves, a contractor was instructed to visit the property and make safe the rest of the ceiling. The Tenant was offered alternative accommodation at a local B&B that evening, whilst this work was undertaken, however this was declined by the Tenant. The affected room was then thoroughly cleaned with an industrial machine and was fully habitable the next day. The Tenant was kept up to date by the contractor during the works and is fully aware the room is habitable.
With regard to the deposit deductions from the previous Tenancy, these were made on behalf of the Landlord and were for issues raised in the formal Check Out Report which had been conducted by a qualified independent Inventory Clerk. To clarify absolutely none of the deductions awarded by The DPS adjudicator were for the benefit of ourselves and the funds recovered from the deposit were transferred to the Landlord in full. The libellous accusations made here, that we are Money thieving etc are completely untrue.
We fully understand the value of Review Sites such as this, particularly to give disaffected tenants the opportunity to vent their frustrations, real or perceived. However, it would have been helpful if this particular Tenant had in the first instance contacted me to discuss the matter before publicly libelling two members of my staff, one who has had no involvement with them for over 12 months and the other who I know to have been both sympathetic and diligent in resolving the issue above.
Matthew White
Director – Martin & Co Norwich