Possible Paving Scam? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Possible Paving Scam?

Jampy00

Jampy00

Well-known member
Site Supporter
Over the weekend while we were out a gentleman stopped by our house and dropped off a business card.
When we arrived I glanced at it, put it on the counter and went outside to work on some projects.
About an hour later a white pick up truck with two occupants, rolled in my driveway and I was pleasantly greeted by a guy with a heavy Irish accent.
He stated his company was doing work in the area and he was wondering if we require any. With my front entrance all ripped up it is obvious there is work to be done. So we chatted for a bit he gave me a price and explained in detail what he could do for me. He was polite, knowledgeable and very eager to do the job. "You don't pay until the job is done"...
So I said, I'll think about it and I'll contact him if I'm interested. He left and I continued my projects.

Went in the house and told my wife. We decided to check out reviews on Google. We could not find a single one, but their website showed Google reviews, first red flag. Then we see no name on the card, the business is a virtual address and only a 1-800 number, having his cell number we checked that and it is from the Ottawa area, then we checked out the website creation date, November 2023. More red flags...

Lastly we Google paving scams, Irish accent, white pick up truck and boy that seals the deal. Looks like these two have been doing this for years and even arrested for it. Found articles, forum posts etc.

While I could be wrong, I'll stay sceptical and cautious and keep my money....
 
There was a company on our street last summer doing "same day new driverways". Anyone who knows anything about asphalt knows that this is a recipe for disaster, but at least one person on the street went for it. They literally ran a roller over the existing asphalt which was trashed, blew it off, and put about 1" of new asphalt right on top of it.

I can't wait to see what that's going to look like in a year or three. I haven't walked past yet this spring to see how it fared the winter.

Hope they didnt' pay much.
 
There's also the "we're-doing-a-neighbour's-driveway-and-have-extra-asphalt-we'll-let-go-cheap" ploy. And yes, it's always a white pickup with no commercial signage (infraction).
 
PrivatePilot said:
There was a company on our street last summer doing "same day new driverways". Anyone who knows anything about asphalt knows that this is a recipe for disaster, but at least one person on the street went for it. They literally ran a roller over the existing asphalt which was trashed, blew it off, and put about 1" of new asphalt right on top of it.

I can't wait to see what that's going to look like in a year or three. I haven't walked past yet this spring to see how it fared the winter.

Hope they didnt' pay much.
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There was a show on TLC many years ago called Gypsy Sisters based in the states.

It was exactly what you described.
They showed up. Quoted a low number but before the job was complete they price would jump.

They usually took advantage of older people that fell for their good sales pitch.

@Jampy00
Glad you saw the writing on the wall and did you research before handing any money over.
 
Ugh...my driveway is looking like garbage with cracks, depressions, and the like. I'm not looking forward to paying for a 9 car driveway to be re-paved. I expect 10-15k :(

Good on you @Jampy00 for not falling for it. Plenty of scammers out there. And if anyone offers to do a project for you off the bat...typically a scam (as I hand out flyers for my business!). LoL
 
mimico_polak said:
Ugh...my driveway is looking like garbage with cracks, depressions, and the like. I'm not looking forward to paying for a 9 car driveway to be re-paved. I expect 10-15k :(

Good on you @Jampy00 for not falling for it. Plenty of scammers out there. And if anyone offers to do a project for you off the bat...typically a scam (as I hand out flyers for my business!). LoL
Click to expand...
Concrete would look very Nice

Sent from the future
 
Scuba Steve said:
Concrete would look very Nice

Sent from the future
Click to expand...
I also prefer the look of concrete over asphalt. Not the stamped kind. Just plain but nicely finished.
 
PrivatePilot said:
There was a company on our street last summer doing "same day new driverways". Anyone who knows anything about asphalt knows that this is a recipe for disaster, but at least one person on the street went for it. They literally ran a roller over the existing asphalt which was trashed, blew it off, and put about 1" of new asphalt right on top of it.

I can't wait to see what that's going to look like in a year or three. I haven't walked past yet this spring to see how it fared the winter.

Hope they didnt' pay much.
Click to expand...
The people that bought our old house put down a "new" driveway that way and then sold the house with a new driveway. BS. Hopefully the buyers realized the stink but who knows.
 
The scam works in different ways but either way it’s not good for you. One of them is that they leave the old asphalt behind and you end up having to pay to get tons of the stuff removed. The main issue is that if anything goes wrong, and it will, then they aren’t around to be contacted for anything.
 
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oioioi said:
@Jampy00
Glad you saw the writing on the wall and did you research before handing any money over.
Click to expand...
Sadly there is nothing I can do to prevent this from happening to someone else as nothing "illegal" took place.
But, it literally took 5-7 minutes on Google to fine way to many red flags for this so-called business.

Luckily, we're not ready for any more expenses, so not planning to go for this deal, but I wanted to check them out for future referecne.

From what I read thee guys pull two different "scams".
1. The job is started but at the half-way point they ask for more money.
2. They start the job get some money, and never come back.

It is a shame as the guy was very knowledgeable which could either be from actual experience or just another par of the "act"

When I work with contractors now, I never provide a deposit. (You have credit, use it).
I get everything in writing and research the company prior to any work being done.
If asked to pay for materials, They can go get it and bring me the invoice, I then call the supplier to confirm amount prior to payment.
I silently supervise the entire job being done, and only ask questions when required.

A good contractor should expect some level of mis-trust now with the sheer amount of scams happening.
They should also easily be able to provide good service and easily gain the trust and support of their customers.
 
Some big ticket home repairs aren't that complex but pros have equipment to do it faster and in some cases better.

Anyone can do a roof with a ladder, knife and hammer if they have the time and back strength to lug 80 pound bundles up a ladder.

Driveways in interlock can be done a bit at a time by an amateur but an experienced local installer might have knowledge of local soil conditions that need special attention.

Concrete is grey mud that gets hard. A bunch of good old boys can flatten out an area as fast as the truck can dump it. Then it gets tricky with timing the finish, especially if the weather changes. If the base wasn't prepared right expect the slab to crack the first year and develop a bigger ridge each following year.

Asphalt is cheap to buy but needs lots of heavy equipment. It pays to know the different grades of material. The city screwed us on a small repair necessitated by sidewalk replacements. They probably used some material that surplus to a different job nearby and the coarser stone made it difficult to shovel in winter. Numbers and letters matter.

HL3 or HL3A Hot Mix Asphalt - Northland Paving Toronto

HL3 or HL3A Hot Mix Asphalt. What does it mean and which one is more suitable for the driveway. Northland Paving builds a stronger driveway by using HL3 asphalt.
northlandpaving.com

In our neighbourhood I would estimate $1000 per car parking spot and it lasting 20 years.
 
nobbie48 said:
Some big ticket home repairs aren't that complex but pros have equipment to do it faster and in some cases better.

Anyone can do a roof with a ladder, knife and hammer if they have the time and back strength to lug 80 pound bundles up a ladder.

Driveways in interlock can be done a bit at a time by an amateur but an experienced local installer might have knowledge of local soil conditions that need special attention.

Concrete is grey mud that gets hard. A bunch of good old boys can flatten out an area as fast as the truck can dump it. Then it gets tricky with timing the finish, especially if the weather changes. If the base wasn't prepared right expect the slab to crack the first year and develop a bigger ridge each following year.

Asphalt is cheap to buy but needs lots of heavy equipment. It pays to know the different grades of material.

HL3 or HL3A Hot Mix Asphalt - Northland Paving Toronto

HL3 or HL3A Hot Mix Asphalt. What does it mean and which one is more suitable for the driveway. Northland Paving builds a stronger driveway by using HL3 asphalt.
northlandpaving.com

In our neighbourhood I would estimate $1000 per car parking spot and it lasting 20 years.
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Sounds like a bit of the Dunning-Kruger Effect to me...

As long as you have the tools, knowledge, and experience anything is easy!

I've seen lots of "homeowner specials" in my line of work...

One too many episodes of This Old House, Holmes on Homes, and YouTube videos makes them experts.

Sad part is when they botch up their own homes, then pass it off to the next unsuspecting buyer. Mold in the walls, foundation issues, electrical nightmares, un-vented/ leaking plumbing pipes, hacking out structural supports... you name it.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk
 
Jampy00 said:
Sadly there is nothing I can do to prevent this from happening to someone else as nothing "illegal" took place.
But, it literally took 5-7 minutes on Google to fine way to many red flags for this so-called business.

Luckily, we're not ready for any more expenses, so not planning to go for this deal, but I wanted to check them out for future referecne.

From what I read thee guys pull two different "scams".
1. The job is started but at the half-way point they ask for more money.
2. They start the job get some money, and never come back.

It is a shame as the guy was very knowledgeable which could either be from actual experience or just another par of the "act"

When I work with contractors now, I never provide a deposit. (You have credit, use it).
I get everything in writing and research the company prior to any work being done.
If asked to pay for materials, They can go get it and bring me the invoice, I then call the supplier to confirm amount prior to payment.
I silently supervise the entire job being done, and only ask questions when required.

A good contractor should expect some level of mis-trust now with the sheer amount of scams happening.
They should also easily be able to provide good service and easily gain the trust and support of their customers.
Click to expand...
That's a good checklist.

There are good guys out there. We had our roof done this summer and after a half dozen cash upfront and no WSIB or guarantee prices a good guy came along. He had WSIB, working at heights training and he was thousands cheaper then the others. He gave us an invoice upon completion. No give me cash up front and we'll be back sometime.

Paving is a bit different but still subject to financial problems. I'm not sure how liens work if the contractors don't or can't pay. A lien could be put on the house by the material supplier up to 45 days after delivery.

If the contractor is worried about getting paid, not an unheard of thing, I don't know if banks will issue irrevocable letters of credit to guarantee payment upon invoicing.

Google can be your friend. Reverse look up the phone number. Land lines can often be traced indicating stability. Any one can get a burner phone. Google map the address. I got stung once. The address looked like brick and mortar but was a mailbox at UPS.
 
matt365 said:
Sounds like a bit of the Dunning-Kruger Effect to me...

As long as you have the tools, knowledge, and experience anything is easy!

I've seen lots of "homeowner specials" in my line of work...

One too many episodes of This Old House, Holmes on Homes, and YouTube videos makes them experts.

Sad part is when they botch up their own homes, then pass it off to the next unsuspecting buyer. Mold in the walls, foundation issues, electrical nightmares, un-vented/ leaking plumbing pipes, hacking out structural supports... you name it.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk
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You're talking about my late friend Jim. Every job started with "Alza ya gotta do is....." Every job ended with "&%&%$%% the **%^&#@."
 
nobbie48 said:
You're talking about my late friend Jim. Every job started with "Alza ya gotta do is....." Every job ended with "&%&%$%% the **%^&#@."
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Over the years I have gained enough experience to know what I should NOT be doing around my house.

If it is something that requires repeat work. Grass cutting, property maintenance, snow removal. I'll do it.
If it comes in a box with instructions. I'll do it.
If it is job that requires specialized training, tools and or paperwork. I'll call the proper company.
 
nobbie48 said:
You're talking about my late friend Jim. Every job started with "Alza ya gotta do is....." Every job ended with "&%&%$%% the **%^&#@."
Click to expand...
We’ve got a familiar one in Polish….

‘Don’t worry we’ll just do a thingimabob and you’ll be happy’

I don’t like it. But it makes for a good meme.

1709569290137.jpeg

@oioioi will understand.
 
Good that you caught that one. Any decent paving company will be booked up for 6 months before you get a spot. The fact that they often prey on the elderly really annoys me.
 
Hardwrkr13 said:
Good that you caught that one. Any decent paving company will be booked up for 6 months before you get a spot. The fact that they often prey on the elderly really annoys me.
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Yes, that is exactly what we were discussing as well.
We have a small local guy coming out to roll some gutters for us, even he is booked until the end of May.
 
I had the pleasure of meeting @Jampy00 at his new compound recently. His place isn't located on the main road. You sort of have to be going there with purpose and not just driving by. Not sure what they meant by "working in the area". Unless their idea of work is driving around trying to scam people.
 
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