Complaint Review: Momax - Northbrook Illinois

How to avoid the rip-off. Always look at the size of the company and how they are operated. Who are you initially dealing with, ask to meet the foreman the salesman brags about. When the salesman comes to your home find out then and there what projects they have recently completed and what projects are on-going. If they do not provide the info readily, watch out!!! If they do, make the time to call and visit the job sites. If the company is large or very small you as a customer are taking a chance. The very small two man shop may not be able to handle the big job, and the large company, with the huge overhead won't pay attention to detail because it costs a lot of money and they don't figure that in their costs, or it is overlooked because your dealing with a salesman or someone who doesn't care. Look at the company, how big or small, look at very recent or ongoing jobs, request names of suppliers and talk to them, call local building departments and ask if there are any problems. Check with local home centers and ask about the company. Is the company local to the area? How did you hear about the company. Add all this up and if your feelings say no then don't go!!!!

My wife and I had a similar experience with Fred, Tom and Momax. We provided a lot of the finishing material on our 2nd floor addition. Tom and his crew consistently butchered nice hardwood trim and doors as well as marble and slate tiles. Tom was definitely learning the art of double talk from Fred and allowed the project to drag on and on while making excuses for ill-trained subs. Since we bought the material, it was always the fault of the material. Fred told me my doors were warped. He picked up a 2 x4 and put it against the door to show me how it was bowed. Per Fred, that was the reason they kept shutting by themselves. I went out that night and bought a 6 foot level. It turns out the doors were fine, but the walls were out of plumb by over 3 inches from floor to ceiling. I won't go on and on here, but please let me know how I can help put nails in the MoMax coffin. NBC5 came out with an investigative report last night exposing Fred and Momax for the frauds they are. I will do anything I can to make sure Fred does not take advantage of consumers ever again.

We found your phone number and by the time this message posts, we will have hopefully spoken to you. I cannot belive that this man is not in jail and just think as all of us are posting messages on this web site he's probably out taking other people's money.

We found your phone number and by the time this message posts, we will have hopefully spoken to you. I cannot belive that this man is not in jail and just think as all of us are posting messages on this web site he's probably out taking other people's money.

We found your phone number and by the time this message posts, we will have hopefully spoken to you. I cannot belive that this man is not in jail and just think as all of us are posting messages on this web site he's probably out taking other people's money.

We found your phone number and by the time this message posts, we will have hopefully spoken to you. I cannot belive that this man is not in jail and just think as all of us are posting messages on this web site he's probably out taking other people's money.

I will follow with an update in the next week or two. Any of you may contact me. My last name is mentioned in Mr. Rosseland's report. I live in Elgin. I had the same experiences that some of you have had. Fred postponed a meeting once because he was in the hospital recovering from surgery. I guess you can only use that excuse so many times and then you have to switch to your mother, son, daughter or whoever. Another time he couldn't meet because he had to go to school for his son's parent/teacher conference. I also found out that the foreman on my job, Tom Blonski, was a sub-contractor. I was led to believe he was a foreman for Momax Builders. His company name is Xtreme Builders and he lives in Streamwood. The name Xtreme Builders appeared on the dumpster ticket which I requested from the dumpster company to prove to Fred and Tom that there were not three dumpsters, the number they were charging me for. I don't think Tom really knows much about construction. I have nicknamed his company "Extremely Bad Builders". Blonski in turn hired other sub-contractors and he rarely showed up to act as a foreman. I would have to explain things over and over again to these subs who did not give enough information to the Polish only speaking workers, who were not skilled tradesman. And I couldn't communicate with them except with a lot of hand signals. I was paying for a general contractor, but not getting one. The office workers lied when I called to talk with Fred. One time I had just gotten off the phone with him. I had forgotten to ask him something. Called back and was told he wasn't in. When I told the person answering the phone that I just got off the phone with him, they put me through. I lived without a bathroom in my house for 6 or 7 months until I finally got some of my money back from Momax Builders and could get someone in to take over the bathroom mess. It wasn't easy finding somebody to do it either. I had to take drywall off myself and spent hours getting the tub unstuck so it could be positioned correctly. If any of your lawyers are interested, I do have some names, addresses, and phone numbers. Also, I think Luke Rosseland lives in the Portage Park area of Chicago. He mentioned to me that he bought a house there last year (2003). He was a good salesman, but nothing he told me proved to be true. Well, that is more than I thought I had time for. I will follow with another update. I also will be meeting with my lawyer to proceed with a lawsuit. I still haven't written the Attorney General but I plan to. It just takes time, something I don't have a lot of, which was the reason I hired a general contractor in the first place. I will never do that again! All the people I hired after Momax to finish my bathroom were professionals and they did a great job.

My reason for suggesting that you contact The Home Improvement Network was so that they would become aware of the problems people have been having with Momax Builders in the hope of saving others from the same fate. Your voices have been heard and The Home Improvement Network no longer gives referrals out for Momax Builders.

At this time I would like to ask you to stop calling Pete Thomas, the president of The Home Improvement Network, with your Momax problems. The Home Improvement Network is not a liaison between Momax Builders and its customers. They may try to help you resolve your issues if you used Momax as a result of a referral you received from them, but otherwise you should not expect them to intercede for you.

Pete Thomas is no longer offering arbitration service for consumers that are having problems with Momax Builders. He will no longer take or field any phone calls regarding Momax Builders. He really has little if any leverage with this company especially since he no longer refers them, so he cannot help you. But your calls to date have let him know that there are many others out there who have had problems with Momax.

In behalf of The Home Improvement Network and Pete Thomas, I would like to state that Mr. Thomas did help me to get at least a partial refund from Momax Builders some months ago and is trying at this time to arbitrate in my behalf for what is still owed to me from Momax. This is much appreciated.

I was the sales rep on this project. I only relayed information to Mrs. Ruhland that was told to me as an employee of Momax. I am very sorry that Momax treated her this way. I feel badly about this situation. Due to blatant disregard for customer service and injustices done to me I no longer work for this company.

JUST SO YOU (THE READER WHO HAS BEEN RIPPED OFF BY MOMAX BUILDERS) KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTACTING PETE THOMAS OF "THE HOME IMPROVMENT NETWORK (THIN)" WITH YOUR COMPLAINTS, BELOW IS A COPY OF A LETTER THE PRESIDENT OF MOMAX BUILDERS SENT TO THIN. MOMAX MAKES A LOT OF MONEY OFF OF THE REFERRALS THEY GET FROM THIS COMPANY.

ONE VERY IMPORTANT LESSON THAT I HAVE LEARNED FROM MY HOME REMODELING EXPERIENCE IS THAT REALLY GOOD CONTRACTORS DO NOT NEED A REFERRAL SERVICE. THEY GET ALL THE WORK THEY CAN HANDLE AND MORE BY WORD OF MOUTH. NEVER AGAIN WILL I TAKE A REFERRAL FROM THE HOME IMPROVEMENT NETWORK NOR ANY OTHER COMPANY LIKE THIS.


Dear Mr. Pete Thomas & The Home Improvement Network, December 11th, 2003

I have now been with The Home Improvement Network for 5 years and have been very pleased with your outstanding service. I am running one of the bigger home remodeling businesses in the Chicagoland area, which requires me to consistently find new ways to generate homeowner leads. The Home Improvement Network has been able to provide me with a very high volume of leads over the years and we are always asking for more. There has also been very good lead flow consistency for my type of projects throughout the year. The lead quality has been very good which has allowed my sales staff and I to run productive estimates and sell jobs regularly and consistently. The Home Improvement Network has even displayed my pitch books at home improvement shows they have attended to better qualify my homeowner leads. I have used other contractor referral services in the past and feel that the over all relationship, service and results my business has received from The Home Improvement Network has convinced me that they are the best and most productive contractor referral service in the industry. Finally, one of the best things about their service is that it is one of the most cost effective marketing tactics I do for my business.

Yours truly,



Fred Resnick

President

Momax Builders Inc.

Northbrook, IL

The company that recommended Momax Builders to me is THE HOME IMPROVEMENT NETWORK, President Pete Thomas.

If you have been ripped off by Momax Builders as I was and you don't wish to file a rip-off report at this time, I suggest that you e-mail or call the above company and let them know. The link to their web-site is:
http://www.thehomeimprovement.com/contact_info.htm

You should address your comments attention Pete Thomas. It is the very least that can be done and may prevent someone else from going through what we did. Also, I would like to add that Momax Builders was not inexpensive. I thought I was getting a good company. But just the opposite proved true.

Fred Resnick sent a partial refund only after months of negotiations and only after I complained to Pete Thomas of The Home Improvement Network. In his letter he indicated that any further refund, part of which was already agreed to, would not be sent until I removed my comments from this web-site.

Since our last meeting, I have found further defects with the work performed by Momax Builders. They closed up the attic ceiling leaving bare spots with no insulation. I have pictures of this. And there is absolutely no insulation between the roof ties. The attic ceiling is open to the air coming in from the ridge vent. To correct this, the drywall will have to be removed. This defect was noticed by my new electrician when he checked the wiring for the recessed lighting in the ceiling.

MOMAX BUILDERS CANNOT BE TRUSTED TO DO THE JOB RIGHT!!!! THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT QUALITY AND THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING! MOMAX BUILDERS--A HORRIBLE COMPANY!!

No attention to detail whatsoever. Their web-site is nothing but a sales gimmick. Momax Builders---MAKING NIGHTMARES COME TRUE!!