Fred Resnick MoMax Builders - Mt. Prospect Ripoff additon amounts to only an expensive hole in the ground Northbrook Illinois

Early in 2004, my husband and I decided to add a kitchen addition, as well to replace the siding on our existing home and install a wood floor in our family room. We obtained numerous competitive bids, including a bid from Fred Resnick and his company MoMax Builders.

Most of the other bidding companies informed us that they were general contractors, essentially subcontracting the work to others. Resnick, on the other hand, told us he did not subcontract. Resnick told us that since he had a staff of over 100 employees, he would not subcontract the work to others. By working with his employees, Resnick stated that he could offer us three key advantages over his competitors:

1. He could assure quality workmanship by exerting quality control over his own employees.
2. We would not have to be concerned about liens from subcontractors who were not paid by the general contractor.
3. He could assure that work would be performed on a timely basis. He backed up this assertion by stating in the contract that the job would be completed 15 weeks from start, excluding bad weather and Sundays. Furthermore, it stated that we would be credited $50 for each day over the 15 weeks.

Resnick ultimately persuaded us to contract with him through his representation that he would utilize his own workers for our project, which was important as I work outside the home full time. We had also checked with the Better Business Bureau, our local village and several references. Over several months of working with Resnick, we mistakenly felt that we trusted' him. We entered into a contract with Resnick dated June 29, 2004.

After the initial down payment at signing, prior to starting my job with the installation of new siding, Resnick approached us with an offer for an additional discount if we increased our start of job' payment. Resnick referred to this as M.A.P.P. (MoMax Advance Payment Plan). Resnick said he didn't offer this to everyone, but we were nice people' and he wanted to help us out. He stated that if he could pay the material suppliers in advance, he would be entitled to a discounted rate. Due to his lower cost of materials, he could give us an additional discount of $1638.00. We agreed to the discount and paid him the additional amount, which brought our money paid to Resnick to just over 50% of our total quote, 15% more than what was initially written in the contract.

The initial work started smoothly. Resnick's workers installed our new siding on our existing structure on a timely basis at the end of July, with only a few minor glitches, and he agreed to start the work on the kitchen addition on August 20, 2004. He assured us that he had obtained architect's plans, and filed permits with our Village.

In early August, I followed up with Resnick on the start date for the kitchen addition portion of our project. Fred assured me that everything was on track to begin the work. As the days turned into weeks, in follow-up phone calls, I was consistently told things were on track' and it would be any day'. When our start date came and went, I discovered through a phone call to the Village, that Resnick never even filed for the Village permit until August 24th, 4 days after the scheduled start date of 20th. This is when I began to loose confidence in Resnick.

After numerous unreturned phone calls, we finally heard from Resnick. I was given the excuse' that the permit application was assigned to an employee, and due to miscommunication it wasn't applied for through the village in the promised timeframe. He also explained that due to this mishap as well as others, he had terminated the employee. In regards to not receiving calls back, Resnick said he was quite busy and we should work through his general manager Jean. I had one conversation with her and exchanged messages twice only to be told when calling the next time that Jean had quit. Fred denied this.

Our kitchen addition project finally began with the removal of my existing patio in the beginning of October, but quickly came to a halt. For several weeks, no work was done and our phone calls were once again not returned. Finally, late in October,
Resnick's workers excavated a 16x20 hole in our backyard, and the work again stopped. In the beginning of November, Resnick responded to our many calls with one last visit, per my demand, to our home. During that visit, he addressed the failed inspection we had received as well as the delay in our job. Resnick once again provided excuses' as to why there had been so many problems with our job, which included that his mother and son had both been hospitalized. He committed to us that the Forman would be on the job the very next day and that in 2 weeks(by Thanksgiving), the structure, including the roof would be in place. Resnick stated to me that he would earn my trust back'. Resnick, nor his Forman ever arrived the next day, but after several additional phone calls, workers arrived nearly a week later. Minimal work was done, as the forms for the footings were installed. That is when we were informed by the Village that a stop work order was being placed on our project, as Resnick's check for less than $900 for our permit, had bounced for the second time. Moreover, the Village inspector cited improper excavation workmanship with our second failed inspection notice.

To this day, we are left with a 16x20 hole in our backyard and mounds of dirt. This is not only unsightly; it is potentially hazardous to our children and the other children in the neighborhood as well as to our home structure. Despite numerous phone calls to his office, Resnick simply will not complete the work.

After our patience ran out, we retained an attorney and also filed a complaint with the Attorney General. Our lawyer notified Resnick via certified mail on November 30th that he had until December 15th to return our money.

Incredibly, instead of receiving a refund, our attorney received a fax from Resnick on December 18 stating that once the concrete is poured, Resnick will have used up our 50% down payment. According to the follow-up work I've been conducting, the work done too date (permit, architectural drawings, siding and excavation), comes no were even close to the amount of money we have paid Resnick. Truly; how can 50% be spent when no walls or a roof let alone cabinets and countertops have even been installed?

Since Resnick has never taken a phone call from our attorney, he sent Resnick a return fax demanding a statement from Resnick for the actual value of the completed work. In view of the statements made by others at this website, our attorney further requested a statement from Resnick as to whether any of the completed work had been performed by subcontractors and whether such subcontractors had been paid.

Instead of a response to his fax, our attorney received a fax from Kristina of Resnick's company on 12/20/04 stating that he would be out of the office until 12/27/04. To date, my attorney has not received a response from Resnick to his fax. We are proceeding with a lawsuit against him and his company.

In addition to the Attorney General, we are filing reports with the State's Attorney and the Village Police Department. Further, I have contacted all of the local media, including the news channels and newspapers. I am currently working with the newspaper on the story.

It was our lawyer who discovered this website and learned that others are in similar situations. I have spoke to several of you as well as exchanged emails.

Although I may never recover my investment, I intend to fully prosecute a civil lawsuit against Resnick. My attorney believes that Resnick may have violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, which would allow us to recoup our attorney's fees from Resnick. For those of us suing Resnick, I believe that it's important that each of us would be willing to testify at each other's trials. I hope each of you will join me in my pledge to testify if asked by any of the other victims.

Karyn
Mount Prospect, Illinois
U.S.A.