Brother have been taken advtange of?

37chief

Well-known Member
Location
California
A couple years ago this guy pulls into my brothers yard. He says they were going to do a paving job in the area. When they got to the job a line busted and flooded the whole area into a muddy mess. Now they have this paving material and will give him a good price to have it spread on his driveway. A hour later the truck shows up and paves part of his road. I told my brother I think you were taken advantage of. I may be wrong, but I think the truck parks at the plant, and waits for a call, to fill the truck. The same thing happened to me today same flood story, and I will get a good price on the material. Not really a scam, because you will get something for the money. Same with the driveway sealer. We have some material left over from a job, and will give you a good price. I guess they are trying to find a little work, but don't lie to me. Does this happen in your area? Stan
 
Yup. Been around for decades.

They put a thin coat on top of unprepared roadbed, grab your money, and hightail out of there.

It's not a good deal and it won't last.

Paul
 
I've heard the gypsies are heavily into this con. One came to my house last year saying that they were doing a job in my area and had leftover asphalt. I said no, thank ye.
 

The scam is as old as time. Same theme, some reason they have some extra asphalt and will give you a deal. They want cash up front, sling some oil then leave to get more. Never to be seen.

Another scam here I saw firsthand. A friend and I came out of a grocery store, a guy came up pointed across the lot to an old car. Said my wife is going to the dr at baylor heart hospital and our car broke down. We gotta get to the Dr can you help?
My friend said you must have a short memory cause you stopped me a cpl weeks ago right here with the same story same car parked in same spot!
I dropped my tin on him and asked if he had any unpaid tickets? He left like his head was on fire and his a$$ was catchin!!
 
i run a asphalt plant in columbus ohio and yes we deal with them on a daily basis alot of them come from down southern states we sell to the public and they pay with one hundred dollar bills we cannot turn them down
RICK
 

The brothers who used to run the dairy farm just down the road from me used to get small lots of "a little left over" from legit pavers now and then. When the gypsies showed up with some that was left over they said sure. When the guy pulled out his measuring wheel the older brother got a little worked up, which would rarely happen, but he was dangerous when it did. The police were called to enable the gypsies to get away safely but without any money.
 
Just like the others said, this has been going on since bituminous asphaltic concrete (asphalt black top LOL) has been around. Always the same routine, "we just finished a big job, have leftover material, and we'll give you a good price to get rid of it by paving your driveway" no estimator would figure that much extra of this material. The price is usually a rip-off and there are many variations of this, some just blatantly taking advantage of senior citizens.

You can always spot these guys, some with brand new equipment they are in hock for, then take off to Florida for the winter, buy new again and or similar variations. Their trucks are often flashy, always single axles with tag axle (helper) and its ford or chevy medium class trucks with dump bodies that have large cab shields and sloping sidewalls on the box. They're a dime a dozen around here and have been for years.
 
Variation of this -neighbour got reject loads of cement to pour his basement from someone who had to dump it. About a dozen cold joints in the walls and floor as it was poured over several weeks!
 
I think my those guys paved my father-in-law's drive...

We see guys who paint grain bin roofs etc that seem to operate under the same business plan.
 
Yep got em AL too. But the price is not bad we ran em off after hearing the sales pitch but after some research it was close to normal price not a bad plan though couple jobs a week he was making a living.
 
Several years ago a guy stopped in with a story that he was doing a 1/4 mile drive just up the road and had some left over. He could do my drive for what they normally charge for labor only. I know the people up the road with a long drive so I called them and asked if it was legit. He said they were checked out very well before allowing them to do his drive. I negotiated a lower price from the paver because his load was getting cold and it was after 5 in the evening. Drive is still good shape after 11 years.

If you can get references and check them out, might get a good deal. No references, there is the road and I have the personal number for the police.
 
Maybe your local government should require contractors to have a business license and if they don't you can refuse to sell it.
 
Years ago I had a health problem & my neighbor friend is a chiropractor. She was here doing acupuncture on my arm & shoulder when the guy drives up and asked to pave my driveway. I said no, I have no money for that as I have the Doctor treating me now. His eyes got real big when he saw all those needles & he was gone!
 
[quot Does this happen in your area? Stan[/quote]

Happens here in NY state too.

Their gypsy cousins do the aluminum roof coating thing as well.
 
Where I live the garbage truck weighs 13 ton empty. We all know what this does to a 1 inch layer of asphalt.
 
I've read about lots of scams like this but I do know that there are some legit deals to be made. When I worked for the County inspecting chip sealing of the roads, the contractor would ask the various home owners if they wanted their driveway sealed for a relatively low cost. The equipment was already in the area and it took only a short time to seal a driveway. The County paid by the SF not by the truck load, so what they did after 5pm was up to them. Also, my mom had a good friend whose husband worked for a paving company and his job was to go into the area they had an upcominga job and try to line up additional projects - parking lots, etc. They could offer better prices and someone else was already paying for the mobe/demobe.

But like someone mentioned, it pays to check them out.
 
No haven't seen this type of stuff for a long time. If you wanted your driveway done roof painted and so on you would wait months!!!
 
When I worked in asphalt business we prepared the base, then measured the area figured 80 sq ft to the ton then got the required amount from the plant. If the dimensions were quite odd we'd get a 1/2 ton extra. Never had any left over as you can cast it on the last bit or flare it wider. If you wanted it thicker , you figure it in but normally 2"after compaction because the smaller rollers don't do well on heavier lifts. We have those guys here too. We call them Ontario gangsters. Ed Will oliver
 
Here's the other side of the deal. We had a big road improvement project going on near my house in CO. I was thinking of paving my driveway, and went to the job shack and asked for the foreman. I told him my plans, and asked if he would get a load and add 5 yards, then come do my little driveway job along the way. He was a nice guy, and said we could work something out, when they started bringing the trim concrete by tumbler rather than the big dumps. I went back and brought a case of beer next time, and gave him my cell phone. I showed him my forms and bar, and said I was ready for a load at anytime.

He called a week later and said 'be ready, I have six yards coming at 3PM'. I got my butt out there, and was ready. Truck shows up, dropped 6 yards of flatwork, and I went by that morning and paid the foreman $300. Fifty per yard delivered was a bargain! I got three more loads over the job time, and did a nice long section of my driveway for cheap. But - don't fall for the guy who shows up with a load and says it was overage. not likely.
 
Sounds like you and the foreman were running the scam on the company he worked for,if he ordered 5 or 6 yards extra on purpose then you two stole the concrete from the company.
 
I had one come to my door with that deal. I hadn't seen that paving company in the area before. Paving over gravel drive with no prep? I figured it would be a waste of money.
 
(quoted from post at 13:11:18 02/16/17) Sounds like you and the foreman were running the scam on the company he worked for,if he ordered 5 or 6 yards extra on purpose then you two stole the concrete from the company.

Don't forget the ~$24 for the beer. What he did with the money I paid him is between him and the concrete provider. I'm not in the biz, so I don't know, but if they buy > 1000 yards in a month, pretty sure they are getting it way, way, way cheaper than the going rate for retail delivery of 5 yards.

I didn't stuff the money in a brown valise, and slide it under a desk then utter the passcode; 'Elvis lives in a double wide in Roaneoak'. I walked in the foreman shack in full view on a busy day, asked for some concrete and offered to pay when they had a load coming. If he was dishonest and pocketed the money I paid him, you can make a case he was being dishonest, but I think it's a stretch to call me a thief when he and the driver have my home address, and phone number, name, and the money I paid. Pretty sure he took the beer home to drink, and didn't give it to the concrete co, but I could be wrong, maybe he left it in the fridge and shared.
 
when i was project engineer on some bridge building jobs the concrete crew would occasionally set up some home projects to do in the neighborhood--they would order the extra concrete for the end of the day and then the whole crew would go there and pour it.
since my county was not paying for that concrete and the concrete crew was top notch I felt that no harm was being done
 
As a concrete dispatcher in a past life that's been involved in the investigation of a couple similar situations your explanation won't hold water in court.Some companies just let things like that slide as a cost of doing business but some don't.No way I'd want to be involved in it.Customer ends up paying the bill and Heaven help you if you got caught doing something like that
on a state job.
 
Guy i know was working for the county driving bulldozer . he was also sent out on conservation work one place he was sent to was the road commissioner farm when he asked how he wanted billed he was told to bill it to some road. The commissioner also used the car the county provide him with to feed cattle trunk full of small squares and good to go.
 
My neighbor has been with the county road commission for a career. When I got them to drop off the stuff they scraped off the shoulders of nearby roads, he wanted to make darn sure he wasn't delivering any to my place, lest he be accused of taking some for himself.

He told the story of delivering a load of county gravel to an address, was told to dump it up by the house. He didn't question it, but knew something was fishy. By chance, it was time for his one and only accident in the county truck- he hooked the electric service line with the raised bed and pulled it off the house. Had to call it in and get help, or chance electrocution. Turned out it was a rental place owned by his boss. Stuff really hit the fan.
 
We used to do quite a bit of business with the local asphalt sealing company- the foreman told us that they never filled the gypsy tanks all the way full, just over half. Then they started looking for the sealer thinner (garden hose).
 
Just to be clear, I spoke with a PRIVATE construction contractor. Who bought the concrete from a PRIVATE outfit on the west side of Denver, for use on the county roads. The city, county, state, feds were never involved in any of the work I had done. I didn't mention it before, but I also gave the truck delivery guy a 12 pack for his trouble(about 20 minutes) driving the 6 blocks to my place, and dumping the mud.

Jeezalou - I wish some folks would get the stick taken out.
 
Happens every time the city has the pot holes filled. The contractor will show up in my yard wanting to give me a deal on the left over hot mix. I say No thanks and he moves to the neighbor's house.
 

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