People living in Edmonton’s Gold Bar neighbourhood are warning the public about door-to-door paving companies, as some owners say they’ve lost thousands of dollars to poor workmanship.
Olivia Lee said on Aug. 6., a worker from Roadstone Paving knocked on her door and told they were in the area paving some driveways with asphalt.
She says she was approached with a sweet deal to get their driveway fixed. But that sweet deal turned sour.
Lee agreed to the company’s verbal offer to pave her driveway for $5,000.
While work was being done, another worker pointed out concerns with her garage floor and offered to pave it for an additional $5,000.
She hesitated, but was convinced to get that job done, too.
“Because we have all the equipment here, it’s discounted to $5000 versus the $9,000 if you had just called us to come out and do your driveway,” Lee said, explaining what she was told by the workers.
The company had asked for payment to be made by cash or e-transfer.
Lee said she asked for the payment to be done by credit card, but the workers say they don’t take that method of payment. Instead, Lee said she was being convinced to go to the bank.
“You can just go to the bank. It closes at 5 p.m. You can go to the bank and withdraw it,” Lee said, describing what she was told by the workers.
Lee ended up paying for the driveway work via e-transfer.
While work began on the garage, she said she noticed the asphalt beginning to crumble. She also had concerns about rainwater pooling on the driveway and in her home.
When she brought up her concerns, she says the workers demanded the remaining total for the garage work and threatened to rip up her driveway.
“They refuse to take any accountability for any of the damages done to my property,” Lee said.
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A similar encounter took place a few houses down at Bruce McAlear’s residence.
McAlear said the same company offered him the same deal, for the same price.
“If we wanted that type of deal, we had to get it done right away,” McAlear told Global News, explaining the offer he was given.
He said work on the driveway was not complete, but Roadstone Paving said they would return the following week and had asked for their payment in full.
McAlear’s wife paid $2,500 through e-transfer because she had a limit on her banking, and said they’d pay the rest once the full work is complete.
He also noticed ant holes forming through the asphalt, as well as weeds sprouting through it.
McAlear says he lucked out, otherwise, he would have paid the full $5,000.
“What happened down the alleyway with other neighbours that had the same problem, I bet we’re not going to see these guys again. They’re gone,” McAlear said.
Global News contacted Roadstone Paving. A company representative responded to our e-mail, but that person would not comment before our deadline.
RCMP have been warning Albertans about door-to-door paving sales.
Cpl. Matthew Howell says they see an uptick in cases every year beginning in the spring and ending in the fall.
“We have had these issues all across Alberta and they are unfortunately quite common. They are also difficult to investigate as the companies often do not stay in one area for a long time and often use fake information,” Cpl. Howell said in a statement.
Julie Matthews, a consumer protection advocate, says this type of activity has been going on for decades.
“People will often approach small towns, communities, farms, acreages and say they are in the neighbourhood doing some paving and they have some leftover asphalt or paving material and they can give you a really great deal,” Matthews said.
Matthews says when it comes to paving deals, people are often convinced because of how expensive paving can be.
She advises people to check if the business has a licence, double-check for any questionable details on their website, and always solidify any deals in writing.
“The fly-by-night companies that are showing up at your door, you need to ask yourself why they are doing that,” she said.
Both McAlear and Lee say they want others to be prepared if they are approached by this company.
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