Is the western service-based economy failing us? From my experience with Martins and Co, I would say that it very much does. On day 1, I arrive in the office loaded with suitcases that I cannot carry alone. They tell me that I have to wait outside for them to prepare my check-in package. No problem about that, the weather is nice and the birds are singing. A few minutes later they let me in to give the keys and documents and rudely tell me to leave. The flat being located nearby I ask what is the best way of getting there. They are unable to answer my first question (really?). This is the start of a long and painful series of events that will forever change my perspective on letting agencies. I, then ask whether I can leave one bag in their office while I drop my first load. They tell me that I cannot because they don't want to take responsibility. Is your office so criminal that you don't trust your own staff with customer's goods for a few minutes? Anyway, I move into the flat which has very obviously been cleaned by no one else than the previous tenants. And from what I've seen, they were not the cleanest people in town (wink). Worst, there is no hot water. I go back to the office and they tell me that an engineer will come soon to fix it. One week later I surprise myself realising that going to the gym to take a shower is now part of my daily routine. They eventually fix it, or at least we thought so. From this point, we realise that the electricity bills are rising like Kurt Cobain's cocaine consumption accross his twenties. The reason is that they simply locked the boiler's booster on and disconnected the light that indicates so. Clever. 4 winter months and 800 pounds in bills later we decide to complain and the landlord kindly reimburses us 250 pounds (read further as this is too good to be true). The rest of the tenancy happens without too many problems and we were naively thinking that those cold days were behind us. When the checkout happens we make sure that leave the flat nice and tidy. Apparently, our job was not up to the standards of the most glorious real estate agency on earth, I'm sure you guessed it, Martins and Co which claims 250 out of our deposit. We obviously contest this via the Deposit Protection Scheme and from this point onwards the landlord stops responding similarly to a child that did not receive the Christmas present he so dearly wanted. Since both parties have to accept litigation, we are forced to see and pay a solicitor to get the process started. Today, 7 months after leaving the property, we finally received our deposit back. I might have a pint to celebrate, but not an expensive one. For the simple reason that I've lost more than I have won in this story. In money, time and most importantly trust in what seems to be a religion for students and renters in general, letting agencies. I use the term religion because it is mostly based on beliefs and miracles rarely happen if they happen at all. Oh also! They never fully fixed the boiler issue and we strongly suspect that the next tenants are now dealing with the same problem. BTW, the environment is also thanking you (wink wink). Long story short, if you're getting involved with Martins and co, buckle up, you're in for a bumpy ride. Or even worse, if you're moving into 100 Empress Court, the only thing you can now do is pray because you're going to hell