SMART CHOICE

Smart Choice/Sergio Roman failed to complete the work agreed upon in our signed contract. They also damaged my property but refused to make reparations. As of 4/07, Mr. Roman had failed to seal slate floor; failed to finish plastering, sanding, and painting microwave soffit; failed to install microwave; dripped plaster and paint onto unsealed slate and failed to clean it; damaged new range and failed to order/install replacement part; scuffed, scratched, gouged my hardwood floors; failed to order/install new cabinetry; failed to install new range; removed a light fixture but failed to install metal plate to cover exposed wiring; failed to fully repair ceiling damage; damaged new refrigerator and failed to repair it; installed base-molding so poorly it ultimately had to be removed; failed to install dishwasher; failed to acquire/install new countertops; and dripped paint upon my new curtains. Despite my attempts to get Mr. Roman to complete his work, he refused to send employees to my site. He stopped answering my calls and refused to return my messages. I threatened legal action, so he agreed to finish the project and repair my property. However, he refused to recommence until/unless I paid an additional $600.00. As of 5/07, Mr. Roman still had yet to install dishwasher; repair/refinish hardwood floor; reimburse me for the curtains; clean paint/plaster from windows and screens; repair microwave soffit; repair refrigerator; replace bar base-molding. As of 8/07, Mr. Roman had accomplished some tasks but had yet to install dishwasher; repair/refinish hardwood floor; reimburse me for the curtains. He broke appointments and again blocked my calls. Ultimately, I had to hire other companies to do these tasks. On 9/15/07, I wrote Mr. Roman a letter asking for reimbursement of some of the costs ($3200.00); he refused to pay. As mentioned, I have filed suit against Mr. Roman/Smart Choice/A-Floor. I filed in Small Claims to recoup the costs of the unfinished tasks and repairs and in Chancery to charge them with fraud under the Home Repair and Remodeling Act and to recoup legal costs. None of Mr. Roman?s businesses (Smart Choice/A-Floor/A Smart Choice/A Smart Choice Carpet Cleaning) appear to be licensed or registered as Mr. Roman claims. The official listed address of the companies is actually a mail-drop (illegal in IL). The lawsuit is public record: go to the website for Cook County Circuit Court, then ?online case info?, then ?full electronic docket search?. Search for ?Smart Choice? under ?Defendant?. Mr. Roman was rude, insulting, and disrespectful. He?d claim it was MY fault that his work was unfinished, and he?d interrupt me mid-sentence. After he started blocking my calls, I could only get ahold of him when I called from a phone whose number he didn't recognize. When I DID get ahold of him, he?d hang up on me when he realized I was on the other end. This man is a horrible person to work with; steer clear of him and all his ?companies.?

The biggest complaint is, in the basement bathroom , there was no trap installed between the toilet and the shower plumbing so that smell and debris would come up the wrong drain. When confronted he said he put a trap and that he wouldn't do anything. I had to call a plumber to come out with a camera who determined there was no trap and had to pay him to tear up the floor and install a trap. When installed the toilet was not flat, the tile was not flat and he did not use plumbers putty but wax, causing it to overflow and creating other problems. He did not use a plan when building the bathroom, only after building the walls did he think to plan where everything would go which provided for awkward spacing. He bought a lightweight door for an outside door location. You could see light all the way around the door, so I had to call to have someone else install a new heavy door and frame. When they were refinishing the floors the workers did not pay attention, tracking the finish they were applying on floors onto other floors in the house making a mes. Sanded part of a floor that was not to be sanded. He made promises and never came back to fix. He claims to have a warranty but refuses to fix any of these things. This was a very bad experience that I had to pay for someone else to fix. I would not use them again.

Awful. Horrible. Terrible. I have never in my life been treated with such little respect. Mr. Roman ignores my phone calls, voicemails, and emails, hangs up on me and on my boyfriend mid-sentence, and has broken several appointments. I have tried pleading politely and demanding angrily with him, but nothing works. Mr. Roman refuses to finish the work for which I have paid and refuses to repair my damaged property. When I DO manage to get a hold of him, he insults me, insisting I must have misremembered our appointment dates/times (his exact words: "Jen needs to get her numbers straight."). He appears to have no conscience; his business model seems to be one where he feels content to screw over the homeowner just to make a buck. I genuinely hope that my complaints make it so that he never works in this business again. I am taking him to Pro-Se court later this week in attempt to recoup at least some of my money.