Abstrax Design Group - Cave Creek Arizona - Architect rip-off
Architect rip-off
In March 1998 my wife and I decided to build a house. We knew the type of house and someone with plans. We went to what we thought was an architect, the man Anthony who originally drew the plan, for Abstrax Designs.
In about three months Anthony came to my house and had a contract for me to sign. He wanted to charge us $7000.00 upfront to get the plans through the city. He also wanted to be the General Contractor, (which he was borrowing a contractors lisense), and charge us 6% of the cost of the finished home to do so. We signed but the same day canceled--since we wanted to be "Owner Builders". This caused Anthony to become very obstructive, He has dragged this out so long that we had to buy a home to sustain us, we live in a 880 sq. f.t home and with 2 teenagers at home it gets quite stuffy at times.
It has almost been 2 years, I still do not have a set of plans through the city, I have done all the footwork I paid Anthony to do as Anthony laughed, knowing he had omitted and changed certain things in order to raise the hurdles and make it more difficult for me.
Now he is forwarding the bills he should have paid out of the $7000.00 to my residense.
Please Help me get my money back
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Anthony Olivieri
Cave Creek,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Abstrax Designs
#3REBUTTAL Owner of company
Sun, February 24, 2008
After defending myself for 9 years with each and every potential client since this posting it has finally hit me who created this untruth. It is very alarming how an indivdual can fabricate the truth and blame my company for their very own faults. I will not mention any names because this would only lower me to their level.
However the truth of the matter is this individual who thought they could build a manison in North Phoenix/Scottsdale was so far out of their means but too embarrassed to admit the truth. The true story is this husband and wife came to Abstrax Design Group with a set of plans for us to draft and submit for plan review. Our firm was young and growing quickly in the design build custom home market. Never did I ever claim to be an architect or builder/contractor.
Our group contained an architect, general contractor, real estate agent, interior designer, and drafter. I compiled all these individuals in one company called Abstrax Design Group, LLC. We designed, drafted, and built homes as a group. When Mr. and Mrs. Bigshot realized they were over their heads they tried everything to back out of our contract.
Instead of walking away we redesigned the home to reduce the square footage to help get closer to their budget. After 3 redesigns we could not get to their price point so they thought they could build the home themselves. Our contract was to design, draft, and submit the plans for $7,000. If they were to use our contracting services the $7,000 was to be deducted from the construction cost.
Why is it they never filed a claim with ripoff or hire an attorney and file a lawsuit? I will tell you why, because they are cowards, liars, and never had a claim against my company. They put themselves and their family in a bad situation and have only themselves to blame. This false claim should be removed from your website. After 9 years my comany is stronger than ever and I am very proud to be serving my community. My parents raised an honest son and I will pass those same qualities on to my children.
I plan on contacting my attorney on Monday to see what options I have against Mr. and Mrs. Bigshot and the Ripoff Report for reporting a false claim.
Anthony
Phoenix,Arizona,
U.S.A.
I am unaware of this situation.
#3REBUTTAL Individual responds
Fri, November 12, 2004
It is hard for me to respond not knowing who the client is. I did have a client who could not secure their funding from the bank to build their home and was seeking a 100% refund for the plans after the plans were already completed. If the client reads this he or she should contact me. I will do some additional research to determine the contract details and pricing to narrow down the client. I have never had a complaint against my company. I will provide all documentation to prove this complaint untrue. My wife was surfing and found this today 11/12/04. Looking from the outside, if the complaint is true why was there no legal action mentioned in the complaint or taken by the client? Sounds fishy but time will tell.