(CHICAGO) The Cook County state’s attorney’s office filed three lawsuits Tuesday against home repair companies, claiming they misled consumers or took payments for work that was never performed.
“There is nothing more frustrating for a homeowner than to invest in a home improvement or repair project only to be bilked out of your hard earned money by an unscrupulous contractor or a deceptive contract,” state’s attorney Anita Alvarez said in a statement announcing the lawsuits.
All three suits were filed in Cook County Circuit Court on behalf of consumers. The state’s attorney’s office said the victims in the three cases lost a total of $15,000.
One suit was filed against Rolling Meadows-based Rinnovo Exteriors, owner Juan Hurtado and employee Michael Sanchez. The lawsuit claims Sanchez met a Round Lake couple home in July 2014 while he was soliciting customers after a hail storm.
The couple signed over an insurance check for more than $7,400 as a down payment, but no work ever began despite their repeated demands, the statement said. The suit also accuses Rinnovo of failing to disclose the consumer’s right to cancel the contract, as required by consumer protection laws.
The defendants also offered to perform public insurance adjusting and roofing services without a license, the suit claims.
Another suit claims Fino Creative Enterprises in Chicago and owner Jeffrey Wixon took payment from customers for window refinishing or replacement, but did not perform the contracted work.
In one case, Wixon allegedly failed to return a $3,500 payment for new windows that were never delivered or installed, the state’s attorney’s office said. The suit also claims he did not possess mandatory insurance coverage, or notify customers about their rights to cancel their contracts.
The third suit was filed against Chicago-based Beverly Fence Co. and owner Dan Simmons. It accuses him of advertising the business as having existed since 1929, when it was actually involuntarily dissolved in 2012.
Simmons advertised that the company was licensed and insured, but the company actually did not maintain a home repair license and the city has ordered it to cease and desist installing fences, the statement said.
The suit also accuses the company of taking substantial deposits from two customers and failing to begin work. It also caused a power outage during the improper installation of a fence during a separate job, and Simmons has ignored consumers’ requests for refunds.
All of the lawsuits seek restitution for the victims, and a court-ordered prohibition against the defendants that would prevent them from engaging in similar business practices, the statement said. They also seek reimbursements for the state’s attorney’s office for investigating and litigating the suits.
“As the summer home repair and remodeling season kicks into high gear, the state’s attorney’s Consumer Fraud Unit continues to investigate violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Home Repair and Remodeling Acts and we encourage homeowners to contact our office if they have been the victim of home repair fraud,” Alvarez said in the release.
Any Cook County resident with a home repair fraud complaint can call the office’s hotline at (312) 603-8700.
