Richland County Sheriff’ Darrell Berglin is alerting local citizens that his department is again receiving calls regarding driveway pavement scams. The sheriff said that to avoid problems he suggests that any paving or roofing jobs include a written contract that includes all costs of the project up front. Another good rule of thumb is to do business with local contractors not individuals who knock on your door and tell you that they have a deal for you.
In the latest wave of complaints received by the sheriff’s department a man driving a white pickup truck stops at the residence saying that there is extra blacktop from a job near the residence. The man tells the home owner the blacktop is free since it is extra from another job. There is no mention of any costs to the property owner.
The blacktop is then laid out in the driveway and the property owner is presented with a substantial bill for the cost of labor and machinery used on the job. Since there was no prior discussion about labor or machinery the property owner is now in a bind when presented with the bill.
In one of the cases this past Wednesday (August 11) the property owner advised that they were going to call the sheriff to see about the situation and the man and the white truck quickly left the residence prior to a sheriff’s deputy arriving.
Berglin said that while the spring brings out the door to door roofing complaints early fall brings out the blacktop disputes. He is asking all citizens to use caution and due care when dealing with door to door high pressure sales tactics and asks local citizens to make sure that all possible costs are discussed with the sales person prior to any job being started.
He reminds citizens that any inappropriate behavior related to door-to-door sales people should be reported to local law enforcement officials for evaluation.
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