Momax Builders - Fred Resnick
Lies, lies, and more lies, fraudulent business practices. We relied on useless information by the BBB awards

We contracted with Momax for a complete finished basement. We selected the company based on research (BBB awards, NARI membership, awards in national remodeling magazines) as well as the strong recommendation by our neighbors. We were told the company uses only employees, not subcontractors, and even its website states it has "over 100 employees". We were given a substantial discount (through the "MAPP" program) to make our first 2 payments at contract signing. We were not provided the Consumer Rights pamphlet at that time, nor a contractor's sworn statement.

Work began on September 14th, and unlike others' experiences, we were actually pleased with the quality of the work (we asked for the same crew, Stanley and Peter, that did our neighbors' basement). The work went quickly, and Fred Resnick personally called us at the end of the week to see if we were satisfied. At the end of the conversation he asked if he could come by to see the project and also pick up the check that was due at the end of framing. He came over, walked the project with us, told us all about how Stanley had been working for him for 14 years and was his best foreman. He then overstayed his welcome - wanting to show us albums of other projects that he'd done, etc. When we gave him the check (hoping he would leave), he looked at our contract and noted that we had chosen the MAPP discount. He told us he would give us another discount if we made the next 2 payments in advance as well, so we gave him a check for 3 payments rather than the one. Looking back, of course it seems stupid, but at the time, work was going well, and we thought we were dealing with a reputable company! We had done our homework (and none of the previous consumer complaintss had come up during multiple internet searches for Momax, I might add - wish to God they had!)

3 weeks into the job, our foremen arranged a meeting to tell us that they would not be continuing the work because they had not been paid by Fred Resnick, Momax's president, for either our job or the one prior to ours. They showed us a pile of bounced checks. Even more disturbing, they claimed to be subcontractors rather than employees of Momax. The whole reason we signed a contract with Momax was that we had wanted to use a big company that used all its own workers! We were panicked, because given the advance payments we had made, along with some credits we had elected to take, we had essentially already paid Momax everything we owed for the entire project - and it was less than half done. We were furious with Fred and also furious with Stanley and Peter, who had no business agreeing to work on our project if they hadn't even been paid for the previous one. Or continuing to work as additional checks bounced. Or pretending to be employees (which they did -up until they didn't get paid and got fed up.) The money for our project should have been paying for just that - OUR PROJECT - not several projects back!

We called Fred Resnick who assured us that there was no problem. He said there had been a problem with "a title transfer that didn't go through" that caused the checks to bounce and that he'd been out of the offic that week because both his mother and son had been in the hospital. He assured us that Stanley and Peter would be paid in 3 days and back to work by mid-week. Thus began a 5 week saga of lies, evasions, and more lies. We asked for him to provide us with all the materials that had been ordered and he said they weren't in yet. He promised daily for over a week to fax copies of paid invoices for our materials and he never did. He promised to fax us a copy of his contract with Stanley and Peter (since no one's stories matched up, Fred never provided the contractor's statements, and Stanley and Peter never gave any formal notification of subcontractor status, we wanted to see what the heck their relationship was/is with Momax.in fact, we still do not know the nature of their arrangement - nor do we have their addresses or last names). Not only did Fred fail to fulfill promises, but he lied daily about why ("I was sick and didn't go to the office", "my son was in the hospital", "I faxed it - you didn't get it?", "my mother is in the hospital" (twice), and last but not least - "my daughter's in the hospital" - she's almost dying but I just stepped out to call you").

At the end of October, Fred left us a message saying Stanley had been paid. The following week, he wanted to arrange a meeting between us, him, and Stanley "to go over the contract" before he would send them back to work. He said he would bring any appropriate lien waivers as well as the contractor's sworn statement. When we questioned the need to review the contract, we were told that they felt there were items we were expecting that were not included in the contract and that we probably owed an additional $6000. Stanley told another Momax customer that Fred had underbid our contract by $10000 and wanted to get more money from us. The whole thing was ridiculous as at that point they had all of our money and hadn't even done half of the project! It's not like we owed one penny.

We reluctantly met with Fred and Stanley on November 7th - they had the nerve to show up 45 minutes late! The meeting went far better than we expected in that 1) Fred said Stanley had been paid $25000 for our project and Stanley agreed. Since this was more than the value of the work that had been done, we were encouraged that he had paid Stanley ahead for some of the additional work; 2) when we reviewed the contract, the items that were in dispute were well-documented in notes, e-mails, and the contract itself and they didn't have a leg to stand on. He still didn't give us any lien waivers or a contractors statement.

Work started again on Nov 10th but in slow-motion.instead of 4 workers a day, we had one or two. They came for 6 days, then didn't for 2, then back for one more day (Stanley finally joined them on that last day). Then nothing... And when we called Stanley he said that again, he hadn't been paid and could not/would not continue our project. We then found out from another Momax customer that Stanley told him that he and Fred had agreed ahead of time to LIE about the $25000 that Stanley had supposedly been paid. Fred has returned no calls since the work stopped again.

So here we are, with a basement not even halfway complete and not usable even for storage because it's filled with drywall dust, garbage bags too heavy for us to move, and boxes of cabinetry. We have furniture being delivered and nowhere to put it. Our bedroom is filled with our exercise equipment and our dining room is filled with stuff that should be in the basement (ate Thanksgiving at the kitchen table). Court records show a lawsuit was just filed against Momax for what appears to be failure to pay its rent, so clearly it's on the verge of bankruptcy. We are furious with everyone involved with the company for the lies that led us to sign the contract and for coercing us into signing a contract that they knew the company did not have the funds to fulfill. I'd warn everyone to stay away from Momax but I doubt there will be a Momax much longer.

ONE FINAL NOTE: Fred named the company MoMax after his relatives (I believe it's his father and his son). I'm sure they'd be so very, very proud.

Jennifer
Chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.

Company: Momax Builders - Fred Resnick
Country: USA
State: Illinois
City: Northbrook
Address: 3605 Woodhead Drive
Phone: 8472916660

  <     >