On December 5, 2023, we contacted Cesar Abarca for an emergency plumbing repair due to a broken pipe at our property. After conducting an initial inspection, he requested a $9,750 deposit to obtain necessary permits for a more extensive assessment. We paid this deposit on December 6th.
By December 11th, after an inspection by a City of Chicago official, Cesar updated us that the project would be more complex and costly, with an estimate of over $25,000! When Cesar confirmed that he hadn't filed any permits yet, despite taking the deposit under this pretense, I thanked him and kindly asked him to pause any work as we would have to reevaluate this unexpected estimate and requested a refund of our deposit. Another reason we asked him to pause was because we observed an unethical interaction on behalf of Cesar trying to bribe a city inspector.
Cesar initially agreed to reimburse us over a phone conversation on 12/11. For sake of caution, I summarized our conversation over text, to which he replied, "your welcome" and "sounds good".
Despite initially agreeing to the refund, Cesar delayed returning the funds and offered various excuses from December 11th to 20th, ranging from banking issues to personal emergencies. Our calls went unanswered for days and multiple attempts to resolve the matter went ignored.
On 12/27, I called him multiple times until he finally answered stating that he wasn't able to answer because he was in class. Then, he said his business partner (which he refused to name) had spent our deposit and claimed they were having issues as a result.
At this point, I had had enough of the excuses and I asked him again to refund our deposit via check or I would be forced to pursue legal action against him and his company. Cesar still refused to return the deposit, falsely claiming my mom had signed a contract (not true), that our deposit was tied up in permit fees - despite him confirming earlier that no permits had been filed. We also looked into the permits he allegedly filed and confirmed none were ever placed.
By the way, emergency permits take 2-3 business days to process! We were WAY beyond this timeframe by then. And, of course, he refused to provide proof of the permits and fees he filed.
It gets worse! When my mom attempted to try to resolve this amicably and requested a copy of the contract she allegedly signed, he not only refused to provide a copy (because it is non-existent), but he also THREATENED to go after her business (which he isn't a customer of) and make false accusations against it if I reported his business against this issue. Thankfully, I have this recorded. He's unbelievable!
Fast forward to this day, he has yet to refund our deposit. Also, the addresses on Google and business license, take you to a home address where his sister claims he doesn't live at.
Save yourself the headache and avoid this shady man. Find a real plumbing company that will do quality work for a reasonable price.
I've reported this business to The BBB, the city and state too. Don't give this company your money and DO NOT do business with Cesar Abarca!!!! read more