CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — Ron Baker reports the price tag for a new asphalt driveway at his Cleveland Heights home went from a great deal to a nightmare after a contractor knocked on his front door two weeks ago.
Baker told News 5 the contractor offered to do the job for $7 a linear foot, but after the paving crew started the job, the price was suddenly changed to $7 a square foot, hiking the finished cost to nearly $10,000.
“Once I heard the price, I’m in the driveway telling them stop, stop, stop where you are, stop what you’re doing right now,” Baker said.
“There was no way I was going to have somebody knocking on my door and spend $10,000 dollars without any kind of paperwork.”
Baker showed News 5 the incomplete job on his driveway. The asphalt pavement wasn't rolled and was loose in a number of areas. Baker admits he should not have made a quick decision on the job, should have had a written contract and noticed some red flags with the company while they were on his property.
“There were no logos, and U-Haul trucks and out-of-state car tags, the warning signs were there,” Baker said. "Get an estimate beforehand on paper, get the scope of work, what they’re going to do, when they’re going to do it and how long is it going to take.”
It was the same story for Katie Rivera last October when News 5 reportedshe paid thousands to an asphalt contractor who came to her Avon Lake home to install a new driveway but was left with sub-par work that continues to crumble.
“They put some little heat thing over it for a half hour and then they left, but it didn’t fix the problem," Rivera said. "It got to the point that every time they came out, they were making it look worse than the time before.”
Frank Cilona, President of the Canton Region & Greater West Virginia BBB, warned consumers to do their homework and check on the background of a company before signing a contract. Cilona said consumers should make sure the company is licensed to do paving work in their municipality.
“In this case, the individual misunderstood. It was priced per square foot, they understood linear foot, which is a big difference, so when they got halfway done, they realized they misunderstood the pricing structure," Cilona said. “If you have someone who knocks on your door and says, 'We were just down the street. We were doing some work for your neighbor.' Go and check it out. Make sure they were happy with it. We always tell people they should get three references.”
Cilona said residents should also use the Scam Tracker platformon the Better Business Bureau website to report consumer issues.
“It’s just good business practice to get three quotes and to make sure you understand that contract,” Cilona said. “We tell people to report these things to our BBB Scam Tracker. It allows you to tell your story. It allows you to research other scams that might be happening in your area.”
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