An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
Two weeks ago, Markham resident Steve Park said a paving company told him it was doing jobs in the area and could pave his driveway the next day for $3,500.
“I think I was played by them. They knew what to say and how to say it. A handshake used to mean something, but now it does not seem to anymore,” said Park.
The crew showed up but said there were problems including paving over the watermain in his driveway so the driveway had to be ripped up.
“You can see where they ripped it up and the patches because when they couldn’t find the watermain they didn’t know where it was so they were just guessing,” Park said.
Park said his driveway was left uneven with highs and lows so when it rains there are huge pools of water and asphalt is splattered on his stonework.
Most frustrating, he said, there is now a huge pile of asphalt and debris on his lawn which they promised to come back and take away but they never did.
“I contacted them with messages, calls and they haven’t got back to me so I guess I’m stuck cleaning up this mess,” he said.
CTV News Toronto also phoned the company and they hung up on us and our emails were not returned.
When Park researched the company he found it was using a similar sounding name to reputable paving companies working in Toronto and New Jersey.
“At first, I felt good when I got a 15-year warranty, but it’s more like 15 minutes,” Park said.
We’ve done several stories with homeowners in the past who were also left with sub-par jobs and a mess on their property.
When choosing a driveway paving company, according to the Ontario Consumer Ministry, get three estimates, have a written contract, inspect prior paving jobs, ask friends and family for recommendations and never pay in advance.
Park said he now has to get rid of the rubble left on his lawn and said next time he’d rather pay a higher price to get a better job.
“You pay more, but you’ve always got coverage and someone you can contact if there is a problem,” he said.
You should also watch out for companies going door-to-door saying they’ll be in your area soon and they’re collecting deposits for paving jobs. There have been cases where after they get the money they don’t come back.