Tom O’Toole is a senior citizen from Milford, Nova Scotia who spent his career in the home renovation industry. He’s been called to many jobs where he had to repair work done by con-artist contractors.
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But when a paving company showed up at his door saying they got his name through people he knew, he didn’t hesitate to hire them to pave his driveway.
“They apparently got my name from somebody I know, but I checked it out after and she never heard of them,” O’Toole said.
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O’Toole said he wasn’t home much while the company was paving, but he started to get concerned when they took much longer to complete the job than they originally projected.
“I was suspicious when they were doing it in little sections and that they never appeared to have any equipment on site,” O’Toole said.
O’Toole doesn’t want to name the company that ripped him off, because he’s afraid of repercussions.
He said they left his driveway in a mess, with asphalt so thin and uneven that he was afraid of flooding.
“I could sit in my garage and look out and see that the driveway was much higher than the garage, so I knew water would run toward the garage and house,” he said. “In the wintertime it would cause flooding.”
He said he told the company to hit the road when they came back looking for a final payment.
He’s since called in a new company to redo the entire job.
“He had it paved a couple weeks ago and wasn’t happy with it, so we’re out to remove everything that’s here and regrade it and repave it for him properly,” general manager of East Coast Paving Ltd. David Jean said.
Jean said it’s not uncommon for his company to get calls from people who’ve been ripped off by con artists, especially from people in vulnerable demographics, like senior citizens.
“It does happen sometimes and it’s unfortunate, but we just need to make sure that people are aware of the best practices when you’re looking for a paving company,” Jean said.
He said there’s a checklist of things you should do before you hire a contractor.
“Look for companies that are registered with the Registry of Joint Stock Companies Nova Scotia, look for companies that are a member of the Better Business Bureau, look for companies that have been in business under operation under the same name for a long time,” he said.
“And that’s going to give you the tangibility and legitimacy of a good contractor that’s going to give you a good quality job.”
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