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Be on the watch for paving scams
Written by Press Release
Friday, 02 July 2010 13:25
With warmer weather comes the urge to tackle those home improvement projects. And while reputable contracting companies are the rule not the exception, the Missouri Department of Transportation is reminding residents to be on the lookout for traveling dealers pitching driveway paving offers that are too good to be true.

Specifically, the department says to be wary of paving companies that approach your home claiming to have extra asphalt left over from a job and offering to pave your driveway. Workmanship can be poor and the costs can be much higher than what was originally quoted.
The Better Business Bureau recommends the following steps to protect yourself against less than reputable paving companies:
• Ask for local references and verify that the contractor is in compliance with local licensing, bonding and insuring requirements.
• Ask for identification and make a note of the license plate number on the contractor’s vehicle.
• Solicit two or three bids for the work you are planning, but don't automatically accept the lowest.
• Make sure all bids are based on the same materials.
• Read all agreements and guarantees before signing.
• Make sure you understand all terms and conditions.
• Never sign a contract with sections left blank.
• Do not pay for work in advance. Pay by check when the work is completed to your satisfaction.
You can contact the Better Business Bureau with any complaints by visiting http://www.bbb.org/. Consumers can also verify the status of a contractor with the Department of Consumer Protection at 800-842-2649.
For additional information regarding this or other transportation-related topics, call MoDOT toll free at 1-888-ASK MoDOT (275-6636). Transportation information is also available online at www.modot.org.

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Driveway Deal or Summertime Scam?

June 27, 2010

Summertime scams hit snow-belt homeowners where they live.
Homeowners should look out for groups of traveling scam artists offering roof repair, driveway paving and sealing and other summertime home upkeep, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray warns.

"Known by law enforcement as 'travelers,' these professional thieves make their way through Ohio and other northern states in the summer months," Cordray said. "They offer to pave driveways or repair roofs for a very low price, but they intentionally deceive homeowners and do extremely shoddy work."

Travelers often target middle-class homeowners, especially those over 60. Travelers generally dress professionally, speak politely and drive well-maintained vehicles, giving homeowners the false impression that they are trustworthy.

In many cases, travelers lie to homeowners, telling them their driveway or roof needs to be repaired. They work quickly, paving a driveway in less than an hour. Later, the asphalt will crack or will fail to set properly, leaving the homeowner's driveway a gooey mess. Other times, travelers "seal" a driveway or roof with a useless mixture of diesel oil and paint that will wash off in the rain.

Weeks later, some travelers revisit their previous victims to offer phony follow-up repairs or more seal-coating. Again, the work is completely substandard, even if the victim does not realize it.

Homeowners can protect themselves by learning to recognize the signs of a traveler, including contractors who:

• Come to their door uninvited
• Notice a problem with their roof or driveway
• Say they have leftover materials
• Offer unbelievably low prices
• Accept cash or check only
• Promise an unconditional guarantee on the work
• Start work immediately
• Take only 30 minutes to an hour to finish the job

Consumers also should check a company's reputation with online review sites, their local consumer affairs office or their state's attorney general's office and the Better Business Bureau before paying any money.

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Police warn about possible driveway repair fraud

June 16, 2010

 

STAUNTON — Police are investigating possible fraudulent activities concerning two men claiming to be with a Strasburg driveway sealing company.

Officer Lisa Klein, a spokeswoman with the Staunton Police Department, said an elderly Staunton woman paid more than $10,000 within the past week to two men representing the “Repair-N-Seal" company.

Klein said work on the driveway was finished but the quality was “questionable” at best.
The men are reportedly using a white van. Klein said police could find no record of a “Repair-N-Seal” company in Strasburg.

Klein advised that if residents are approached about having their driveway sealed but are dubious, they should contact the Staunton Police Department at 332-3842.

“If you’re not sure they’re not 100 percent legit, call us,” Klein said.

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RI Woman 'Taken for a ride'

Scammers are looking to make a quick buck

Updated: Monday, 03 May 2010, 6:17 PM EDT
Published : Monday, 03 May 2010, 6:08 PM EDT

• Reported by: Susan Hogan

Beware of Paving Scams

05/03/10

Lynchburg, VA - A Campbell County woman says she was scammed out of 200 dollars by man who said he would pave her driveway. The homeowner says the contractor covered her driveway with hot tar, but it left a sticky mess. When she called to get a refund, the business owner was nowhere to be found.     

At the time she says she thought the business was legitimate because he had a contractor's vehicle and even handed her a bill. She says the worst part is there's little she can do about it now.

Oliver-"I called the better business bureau but he doesn't have a business so how do you file a claim. It's pretty much a robbery yah know." Police say if someone offers to do any contracting service you should do your research first. You can easily check up on contractors through the state board for contractors’ website.

Elderly Fall Prey to Driveway Scam

April 8, 2010

Jones County Sheriff's Department officials say there have been reports of several workers who are traveling throughout Jones County soliciting elderly homeowners to hire them for driveway repairs then hiking the charges once repairs are complete.
"The workers, believed to be from out of state, are charging inflated prices for poor quality work," Sheriff Alex Hodge said. "The 'soliciting workers' are offering to complete a sealing or resurfacing job for a low price then inflating the price several thousands of dollars when the job is allegedly complete, intimidating the elderly homeowners to pay for the job.

"If you do agree on a price and are then charged several thousands dollars more for the job without prior notice please get a vehicle description and contact the Sheriff's Department immediately before paying them."

To report suspected drug or criminal activities to the Jones County Sheriff's Department, call 425-3147 or leave tips online at www. jonesso.com. Crime tips also may be called in to Crime Stoppers at 428-7867.

Around the PINE BELT

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Boy run over, killed in driveway of Roy home

Police chief: 'This is a tragic event for this family and the community'

The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 04/09/2010 08:53:58 AM MDT

Roy » A 4-year-old boy died after he was accidentally run over in the driveway of his Roy home, police said.The accident happened about 11 a.m. Thursday as the parents were leaving the house near 5700 South and 2800 West, said Roy Police Chief Greg Whinham.

Unknown to his parents, the boy went out the front door of his house and got behind their 2004 Suzuki XL7. The boy's mother, Michelle Foote, 31, was driving as the vehicle backed out toward the street and over the child.

The boy's grandmother, who had been watching him and was searching for the boy, arrived outside just in time to witness the tragedy, Whinham said.The child, identified as Tyler Foote, was flown to Primary Children's Medical Center, but died of his injuries.

"Criminal charges in this accident are not anticipated," Whinham said Friday. "This is a tragic event for this family and the community.""We're just all heartbroken for them," said neighbor Eloise Gatherum. "This is just a terrible accident and we're all just grieving with them."

The family had moved into the home just before Christmas, she said.Neighbor Rosemarie Wylie said they are "beautiful, sweet people" and she shared in the heartbreak.The boy leaves behind an older brother and younger sibling.

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Driveway Salesman
Updated: Monday, 02 Nov 2009, 6:58 PM EST
Published : Monday, 02 Nov 2009, 6:58 PM EST

HAMPTON, Va. - Joy Hopkins says she was in her home like any other day when she got a knock at her door from a man she says was a real charmer.
"He talked about God, he was a Christian. All he needed was a bible in his hand, she said."

It wasn't a bible he had, but rather a bag of concrete. Richard Smith, the so-called smooth talker, told Hopkins he had extra concrete in his
truck from a previous job and could fix her driveway for $450. She thought it was a good deal and took him up on his offer.

"He took this bag of concrete off the truck and this white stuff and spread it all over the driveway and this girl put water all over it," she said.

He promised to come back days later to complete the job, but never showed.

10 On Your Side investigated a Richard Smith jut six months ago. Police arrested him for allegedly conning a woman out of more than 1000 dollars.
He was charged with obtaining money under false pretenses. The phone number we had for Smith months ago is the same phone number he gave to Joy.

What happened to Joy in her neighborhood could happen to you in yours. What seems to be a great deal could end up costing you a truckload.

Police tell 10 On Your Side:

* Never Pay for services up front
* Verify the Company has a business License
* Don't be pressured into signing a contract
* Obtain a license number

Use your instincts. If something doesn't seem right and a deal sounds too good to be true, It probably isn't.

It's advice Joy wishes she would have taken before she dished out the cash. When Smith didn't return, Joy tried repeatedly to track him down.
She told 10 On Your Side, that she tried all of the numbers and could never get in touch with him.

10 On Your Side also tried to contact the Paving company. We just got recordings too.

"I don't want him to get someone else like he got me", she said.

10 On Your Side checked and Richard Smith with C and R Paving doesn't have a business license in Hampton. And, the Board Of Contractors doesn't
have a license under C and R paving.

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By Kristin Davis
The Virginian-Pilot
© August 28, 2009

CHESAPEAKE

Police are looking for the man they say cheated a 70-year-old Chesapeake widow out of $1,500 by promising a new driveway but delivering only rocks.

They have secured warrants against Michael Brandon Newell, 21, of the 2600 block of Holland Road in Suffolk, charging him with two felony counts of obtaining money under false pretenses, said Chesapeake police spokeswoman Dorienne Boykin.

Police say he also agreed to fix a driveway for another Chesapeake woman, in the 4200 block of Nina Drive, on June 14. She paid $450 for the work.

The incident involving Chesapeake widow Frances Ousaklidis occurred Friday on Fontana Court. Living on Social Security with virtually no savings, Ousaklidis withdrew the money to pay the man for a new driveway on a credit account at her bank because the price sounded like a bargain, she said.

After a story about it in The Virginian-Pilot, at least half a dozen companies volunteered to fix Ousaklidis' driveway at no charge. Titan America in Norfolk began work at her home Wednesday, and Greco Concrete Construction in Virginia Beach gave her a check for $1,500.

Police had not arrested Newell as of Thursday night. He is scheduled for arraignment in Suffolk Circuit Court this morning on an unrelated charge of obtaining prescription by fraud, according to court records.

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Published: Thursday, July 23, 2009
Man, brother charged in paving scam
By ALBERT McKEON Staff Writer

Only nine days after Nashua police charged Joseph C. Stanley with swindling two elderly residents in a driveway paving scam, the 19-year-old was allegedly caught in Connecticut pulling the same ruse with his brother.

Earlier this month in Monroe, Conn., Stanley and his 20-year-old brother, Thomas A. Stanley, were charged with paving driveways without proper documentation and failing to follow business protocol.

An off-duty Stratford, Conn., police officer spotted the Stanleys and Merrimack resident Wallace J. Wilson driving a dump truck in Monroe on July 9, police charge. The officer noticed the Peterbilt truck matched the description of a vehicle at the center of an investigation by his department, police charge.

Monroe police officers later found the dump truck and a Ford pickup outside a home and caught the Stanleys and 46-year-old Wilson paving a driveway, police said. The officers also saw a freshly paved driveway next-door, police said.

Joseph C. Stanley gave Monroe police a Londonderry address of 2 Devonshire Lane, which differs from the Nashua address of 32 Yarmouth Drive he gave to Nashua police after his June 30 arrest.

Joseph C. Stanley and Thomas A. Stanley are no longer in custody after each posted $75,000 bail, Monroe police Lt. Brian McCauley said. Wilson, of 8 Gail Road in Merrimack, is still being held on $25,000 bail, he said.Joseph C. Stanley is slated to appear in Nashua District Court this morning on felony theft by deception charges.

Nashua police allege that last month, Stanley paved the driveway of a 94-year-old woman without her consent and drove her to the bank, where she withdrew $3,000 for the job because she felt pressured. And an 84-year-old man was pressured into giving Stanley $3,900 for a driveway job after they had agreed on a $300 payment, police said.

The Stanleys and Wilson allegedly used the same tactic in Connecticut that Joseph C. Stanley is charged with employing in Nashua: telling people he had spare asphalt from a paving job nearby and could tar their driveways for a low price.

The Stanleys and Wilson performed substandard jobs on driveways in Monroe or didn't finish some jobs, McCauley said. They accepted cash for these jobs and broke the law by lacking state home improvement licenses and trade name certificates and failing to provide customers with necessary cancellation notices and related paperwork, he said.

Police in the nearby Connecticut towns of Stratford, Manchester and Shelton are investigating similar scams by the Stanleys and Wilson, McCauley said. "Unfortunately, in this day and age it happens," McCauley said. "If it sounds too good to be true, it is."

Nashua police Capt. Scott Howe said his department is investigating residents' complaints of similar paving scams involving Joseph C. Stanley and individuals with the Stanley family name or company names used in other ruses.

Joseph C. Stanley is associated with at least one local paving firm, CVS Paving, court records show. But there are at least 20 paving companies in New Hampshire that carry the name Stanley or are owned by people of that name. Stanley listed Stanley Paving as his employer in a Nashua police booking report, even though court records show he is associated with CVS Paving.

If Stanley lives at Yarmouth Drive, as he told Nashua police, he shares a residence with Cornelius V. Stanley, owner of CVS Paving. He listed his father as "Neil Stanley" with police, but it's unclear whether he and Cornelius V. Stanley are related, or if "Neil" is short for "Cornelius."

Thomas A. Stanley gave Monroe police an address of 58 Route 125, in Kingston. Public records show that Cornelius V. Stanley once had that address.

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