As young, professional, newcomers to the world of renting, our experience with Oliver nearly put us off trying to find a house altogether. We were left between a rock and a hard place when we asked for a second viewing after being chosen first by the landlord (due to my disability and inability to get to the first viewing with my partner), as Oliver told me that the landlord was unsure of us if we were unsure. Oliver knew the details of my circumstances but left us feeling that if we wanted somewhere to live, we had to pay up - so I paid the £200 holding deposit. As we went through referencing, my partner failed on the grounds of an undisclosed CCJ - something neither of us knew about. I tried tirelessly to work with Oliver to find a way to work with this information and keep the house, but he was more interested in flash side of the job, rather than doing any actual work. I submitted a SAR to find out more information of the supposed judgement and even ask to be referenced alone - but was told I didn’t reach the threshold salary. I then started to research the referencing guidelines for tenants, where I found that I could have been referenced alone as I had a guarantor - something which, again, Oliver knew I had. Eventually, Oliver said the only way to be able to move into the property was to pay a shortfall of £2000 upfront, which just wasn’t feasible. We lost the property and was told I would not get my holding deposit back on the grounds of an undisclosed CCJ, to which I asked how can I do anything with something I don’t know about - Oliver’s predictable response was ‘I don’t know how to answer that’. I still have not had my holding deposit back, despite not being the ones to pull out of the situation - Oliver made that decision for us. Absolutely fuming, will never recommend and have avoided all properties to let by Martin & CO since.NegativeQuality