Asphalt Paving Scams : Rip Off Driveway Repair.
Watch out for asphalt paving scams – don’t do deals on your doorstep.
by Bob Goldsmith.
I
hate it when good honest folks are victims of criminals, that not only
applies to burglars, muggers, thugs, pickpockets or identity thieves,
but criminals of every description.
Doorstep scammers are also criminals that make victims of honest folks, I hate that too.
This article is not about your home security, your personal security or things in that vein.
It is however about your financial well-being so I hope you see the relevance.
Driveway repair scams are nothing new, but sadly folks are still getting caught out by the promise of a nicely repaired drive at an unbelievably cheap price.
How do the asphalt paving scams work?
There are several ways in which the fraudsters operate but basically
they either go from door to door, or cruise around until they find
someone out the front of their house.
They will claim the home owner’s
blacktop drive needs repair and as luck has it, they happen to have left
over material from a job they have just completed a couple of blocks
away.
Think of this, if they are claiming they have enough asphalt
to do your drive that is left over from another contract, then they
must be pretty crummy estimators, not a good sign. But of course the
left over materials story is highly unlikely to be true.
They will offer to repair the driveway for just the cost of labor, at
such a bargain price.
Blacktop need repairing? Employ a registered and bonded contractor.
After doing a shoddy job they will demand payment that is way over the amount they estimated.
Often they will be intimidating and even threatening in their demands.
Sometimes
they will time their work to complete just after dusk, so when they
ask for payment, the home owner can’t clearly see what a pig’s ear they
have made of it.
You will not be surprised to learn that these rip off artists love neighborhoods that are heavily populated by senior citizens.
Maybe the guy who turns up on the doorstep looks like a paving
contractor and may have a pleasant manner, (that will change when he
demands payment.)
There may even be a truck parked at the curb with a paving
company name on it, (in all probability fictitious,) and carrying the
equipment that you would expect.
These tricksters are not professional contractors, they are often
itinerant, or travelers if you like.
They often move from state to state
following the sun. If things get too ‘hot’ for them in one area, they
move off to carry out their asphalt paving scams someplace else.
Sometimes these vile villains will demand a large deposit up front,
or even payment in full, cash of course! They will tell you they can not
do the job at the bargain price they quoted without it.
They tell
anyone fooled into handing over cash that they will be back in an hour
or two with the rest of the paving crew, the tools and the materials.
Well,
you don’t need me to tell you that in an hour or two they will be far
out of the area with yet another sucker’s hard earned cash. Disgusting.
Phoney blacktop sealer scam.
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A variation is that the caller tells you that your drive badly needs One They will not prepare The fraudsters may make a pretense at As you may guess, the asphalt sealant is likely to be anything but quality stuff. Perhaps it is sealer but so thinned as to be useless, or maybe it’s used motor oil or just blackened water! When |
You will not get caught by asphalt paving scams if you don’t do business on your doorstep.
Doing business with someone who just turns up on your doorstep is
rarely a good idea, it doesn’t matter how good a deal they say you will
get.
Don’t just take a strangers word that your blacktop needs
resealing or your drive needs repaving. If you think that you have work
that needs doing, employ a registered and bonded contractor.
Get
estimates from several contractors and see examples of their work, talk
to their previous customers if possible, it could save you an awful lot
of grief.
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Of course it is not only asphalt paving scams that these door step When someone turns up on your doorstep unsolicited with an unbeatable offer, that is one big red flag. |
Blacktop driveway scams and similar con tricks are nothing new of
course, but I think we all can benefit fit from a reminder about the
dangers now and then, so that we do not drop our guard and get caught
out.
Even if you are too savvy to get caught, maybe there are
folks you know who are more vulnerable. You could save them a lot of
heartache and financial distress by warning them about asphalt paving
scams. Watching who calls at their door, and what those callers are up
to, will also help.
.
The Staged Accident Scam.
You are not hurt, you were not going any speed. But drat, your clean
driving record has gone. You pride yourself on your careful considerate
driving and you are kicking yourself for not leaving just a little more
room. Don’t feel too bad about your driving, you have unknowingly been
caught in a staged accident scam.