Worst Chicago Contractors of 2011
3 pros!
Angie's List names the worst Chicago contractors of 2011.
Concrete Charlie | La Grange, Ill.
After homeowners complained that lifetime guarantees offered by three La Grange concrete companies in Chicago were essentially useless because the companies never responded to calls to repair shoddy work, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed civil charges in February against Frank Edelmann and Lee Sobczak - the two men she says owned or operated the firms.
The suit seeks restitution for seven homeowners, financial penalties, cancellation of all existing contracts and a ban from working in home repair.
The lawsuit alleges the duo - doing business as Concrete Charlie, Concrete Repair Center and Ostarr Corp. - made verbal and written lifetime guarantees, but performed shoddy work and avoided customers who tried to contact them. Homeowners reported nearly $28,000 in losses. A notice on the company's Angie's List profile alerts members.
While court records list Edelmann as president and Sobczak as principal and/or owner of all three companies, attorneys for Edelmann filed a response to the AG lawsuit in May denying he had anything to do with work done by Sobczak or Concrete Charlie, as he retired after dissolving the companies prior to 2005.
Neither Edelmann's attorneys, nor Sobczak, who's listed as representing himself in court documents, responded to requests for comment, and the case remains pending.
Angie's List member Matthew Speer of Oak Park says his basement continued to leak after he paid Sobczak $2,500 to install a drain tile and sump pump. "They offer a 100 percent lifetime guarantee, but they wouldn't return phone calls," says Speer, whose negative report was the first on Angie's List for Concrete Charlie.
Blue Rose Restorations | Roselle, Ill.
Following an investigation by the Des Plaines- based National Insurance Crime Bureau into suspicious insurance claims involving hail damage, Kane County officials in August filed felony charges against three Blue Rose Restorations employees for intentionally damaging at least two homes and attempting to collect insurance money for repairs.
Heather Stebelton pleaded guilty to felony insurance fraud in September and received 24 months of probation and an order to pay $13,150 restitution. Authorities say warrants are issued for Christopher Skedd and Michael Svetanoff, both charged with felony property damage. Neither were arrested as of press time.
National Insurance special agent Jerome Dolan says video surveillance shows Stebelton, Svetanoff and Skedd intentionally damaging homes. He warns homeowners to be extremely cautious with door-to-door repair companies.
"If someone comes to your door unannounced and uninvited to tell you that you have damage you knew nothing about, it's a scam," he says. "Don't sign anything and don't give them money."
While Angie's List member Mary Wright doesn't believe Blue Rose intentionally damaged her roof, the Hoffman Estates homeowner says the company ran off with her $8,000 insurance check after she trusted them to replace her roof and siding. They did a quick patch job and promised to come back with materials to complete the project, then never returned.
"We've had to put a tarp over the roof to keep the rain from coming in. Water [has been] pouring into my home," she says.
Wright filed a police report, but says she doesn't expect to recover her money. Afterward, she joined the List and submitted a negative report on the company in October, landing it in the Penalty Box. A notice on Blue Rose's AL profile alerts members.
Blue Rose did not respond to phone and email messages. State records list Dominique Villarreal as president and Todd Haugen as principal agent of Blue Rose, but Dolan says both men left the state and Blue Rose's Roselle offices are abandoned.
Air Duct Cleaning Pros | Schaumburg
In June, owner Moshe Kesem agreed to a consent order that permanently bans him from operating a home repair business in Illinois after the attorney general accused him of consumer fraud and deceptive business practices. Kesem also paid $32,413.53 in restitution to 42 homeowners.
The AG says Kesem fraudulently charged customers to mitigate extensive mold and mildew that didn't exist or used fake photographs of mold.
Angie's List member Kim Pasch of Plainfield says the company showed her a fake photo of moldy buildup from her furnace. "They were supposed to clean 15 feet into the air return, but they went in 4 inches and stopped," says Pasch, who joined AL as a result.
The company landed in the Penalty Box twice in 2010, based on member reports. A notice on their AL profile alerts members. The company's phone is disconnected.
Eveready Flood Control | Roselle, Ill
Angie's List member Kathy Kohl of Mount Prospect says she paid the company, which had one report at the time, a $2,000 deposit to waterproof her basement, but they never did the work and refused her requests for a refund. "They said I needed to give them a signed contract," Kohl says.
In October, owner Patrick Regan signed a consent order with the Illinois attorney general to pay $13,000 in restitution to six homeowners in response to a Cook County lawsuit filed in April accusing Eveready of taking money from them but doing little to no work. The AG's office says the company has paid the restitution. A notice on the company's profile alerts members.
Eveready service manager Kathy Young told Angie's List Magazine the company got behind in 2010 after Regan suffered a stroke, and work stalled due to harsh winter weather conditions. "We've been around since 1955," she says. "We're not the kind of company that takes people's money and doesn't do work." She says any customer who believes they're due a refund should contact the company.
- by Paul Pogue
