At least four residents who had their roads paved say the result has left them worse off. Tom Somerville said what he received is the opposite of what the paving company said it was going to do. Sommerville said one Saturday in late May, a gentleman with an Irish accent offered to get his way again. “They seemed very friendly and I was convinced they looked legit, and everything was going to be fine, and they knew what they were doing,” Sommerville said. Somerville said when the crew was finished the quality of the work was subpar. “I’ll probably have to tear it up,” he said. Nolan Babb also made his way and says the results were pretty much the same. “Some parts look good, others look a little ragged,” Babb said. The phone number provided by the paving company was disconnected and emails were not returned. The Kitchener address the paving company gave turns out to be a real business, but the people who work there said there is no paving company at the address. Some residents also say they went along with the project – just so no one would show up. “He said he’d come back tonight, and he didn’t [come back],” said Dennis Bitschy, who also lives on Carleton Street. “So we were sitting there waiting and we waited until 7:00 p.m. I said, even if he comes, I’ll tell him where to go, huh” Bitschy said he feels like he dodged a bullet. Those who had taken jobs say they could end up being out tens of thousands. “It’s going to cost about $23,000 for the two roads because they have to dig it up,” Babb said.
THE BEST BUSINESS OFFICE WEIGHS IN
The Better Business Bureau says they’ve heard many complaints about this type of activity. Better Business Bureau CEO Angela Dennis said to avoid paying in cash or wire transfers. The best option is to pay using a credit card because the user has the option to report payments as fraudulent. “Research takes time, do a Google search, check BBB.org, check our scam tracker – if they ask for cash, we suggest not paying cash or wire transfer because you can’t get it back,” Dennis said. The BBB has several tips that residents should know when hiring a contractor.
