Sybarite: Company personnel typically knocked on consumers' doors, stating the company was doing paving work in the neighborhood and could offer a good deal because it had leftover asphalt available

Wow, in this day of nearly unlimited access to information it's amazing that people are still falling for these old grifts.

About 4 houses in my neighborhood bought asphalt from them this summer.

They'll probably just declare bankruptcy and change their name to Xe Driveway Services.

I just happen to have a bunch of steaks in the trunk, we need to sell them today ...

You can just not pay those kind of things?

brigid_fitch: cgraves67: Sybarite: Company personnel typically knocked on consumers' doors, stating the company was doing paving work in the neighborhood and could offer a good deal because it had leftover asphalt available

Wow, in this day of nearly unlimited access to information it's amazing that people are still falling for these old grifts.

About 4 houses in my neighborhood bought asphalt from them this summer.

I feel like such a rube. I almost got scammed by them until my neighbor (who's a contractor) interceded. I thought I knew all the home improvement grifts--chimney repair, duct cleaning, driveway sealant, home security...the "we've got leftover materials from a job" was a new one to me. When I Googled it after talking to my neighbor, I felt like an idiot.

Accessibility to information is great--if you know what to look for.


Heh, some of my neighbors actually did get their driveways paved by a road crew with leftover materials. However, they were paving the street right out front. I'm not quite sure how legal and all it is, I'm sure the workers on city contract just pocketed the cash. Road compactors can make you a nice driveway.

Have you ever crossed the road, and looked the wrong way? A car's nearly on you? So what do you do? Something very silly. You freeze. Your life doesn't flash before you, 'cause you're too farkin' scared to think - you just freeze and pull a stupid face. But the pikey didn't. Why? Because he had plans of running the car over.

pikey thread? pikey thread.

If that many people have fallen for the scam, it makes me think there's a decent market for door-to-door asphalt sales. Hmm

They farked up for shore.

HELLO.

This is the type of stuff PRISONS were made for. Not the typical pot smokers you dumb Jersey Jerk-Offs.

I've never dealt with this scam before.

But there was one time that I bought a trailer full of dead hookers from a guy going door to door.

every last one of them was alive and biting. What a ripoff.

Had one of these chowderheads park his truck on my lawn, then proceeded to walk through the neighborhood making his pitch door to door this past summer. I wasn't too happy to come out and find some 20 year old 1-ton beater bleeding anti-freeze onto the grass.

Was the first time I have had to use the phrase "Off my lawn" on an adult.

I still like the paint scam where they offer to paint your garage and will only charge you for the paint they use. The may use 10 buckets but they will show you 20 empty buckets. Or they use 5 but put half into another 5 then water it all down with something, and it wont even last a season.

Who's fault?

Iceberg659: When I used to work from home they would come to my house almost every month.

I get land sharks.

Sticky Hands: I've never dealt with this scam before.

But there was one time that I bought a trailer full of dead hookers from a guy going door to door.

every last one of them was alive and biting. What a ripoff.

You probably just opened it too soon

So the Victims get to divy up just under $300,000 (probably didn't even break even) while 17 million bucks go into the State's and lawyer's coffers? Yeah,, that sounds like our brand of justice.

FTA: "Williams Asphalt Materials LLC and its associates must pay $285,744 to consumers, as well as $16.8 million in civil penalties to the state and $134,707 to cover the state's legal expenses..."

It seems to me that the state is the one running the scam.

Gordian Cipher: Is this some new form of Cop Math? I can't even imagine how you could get to that many legitimate regulations, let alone violate 1,600 of them in one type of grift.

There were most likely 1,590 tax violations. The other 10 were regulatory in nature.

Ain't No Party Like A Tea Party: It seems to me that the state is the one running the scam.

Oh shoot, I missed that. Here I was blaming the lawyers as well.

Were they driving a white van and selling speakers too?

/you know, because they "ordered too many"
//sounds legit to me

Ain't No Party Like A Tea Party: It seems to me that the state is the one running the scam.

By the way,, THIS!

Gordian Cipher: FTFA: The company and its associates allegedly violated 1,600 state regulations

Is this some new form of Cop Math? I can't even imagine how you could get to that many legitimate regulations, let alone violate 1,600 of them in one type of grift.

Well each house they visited may have racked up multiple violations, whether or not the people paid them for the work. They may not have had the necessary permits, it's possible that visiting houses in that manner to try and get work was illegal, lying about the materials, providing false information regarding their work, each of those could have been a violation. Then if they got the job using the wrong materials and techniques, and then the specifics of their contracts, all those things could have, not paying taxes, and so on, all could have worked into the number of violations.

I imagine that they just took a big book of regulations and raped it.

I worked for a legitimate sealer company, one season as a laborer, another season as an office manager. We got to know who all the 'pikeys' were in the state. Bastards stole a lot of jobs from us, and you'd be surprised at how often the customer ended up calling to see if we can fix it.

Fix this, farkwad, you should have gone with us in the first place. Do it yourself, or get what you paid for.

Then you get people bellyaching "oh, it is just black paint, they're all crooks".

Our regional pikey champs were recently indicted in numerous cases here, they are also facing heat in about 7 other states. When it gets too cold here, they get in their campers and go south and west. Their name is the same as a famous tool company whose logo is yellow and black. No, not dewalt, the other one.

One of their cousins tried the left over paving thing on me this summer, when I was outside mowing my lawn. I totally knew what they were doing, and just smiled and shook my head, looking them dead in the eye. They had no clue at all whom they were talking to, and kept laying it on thick. I didn't say a thing to them, just "well, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to finish mowing my lawn."

Useful tip: legitimate home improvement business don't go door-to-door offering same-day service. Politely decline, lock the door, call the police before they rip off your neighbor.

Just a typical case of big government bureaucrats punishing job creators.

Crushing regulations, fines and now criminal persecution.

Thanks Obama! How's that unemployment rate?

poot_rootbeer: Useful tip: legitimate home improvement business don't go door-to-door offering same-day service.

Neither do gynecologists.

oh_please: Were they driving a white van and selling speakers too?

/you know, because they "ordered too many"
//sounds legit to me

I was so close to getting burned by that one when I was a teenager

Ain't No Party Like A Tea Party: FTA: "Williams Asphalt Materials LLC and its associates must pay $285,744 to consumers, as well as $16.8 million in civil penalties to the state and $134,707 to cover the state's legal expenses..."

It seems to me that the state is the one running the scam.

Assuming the $285k covers the expenses to repair the shoddy work, then that is fair. If the people want extra money for their time in getting the driveway fixed, they have to sue the company themselves. The state is fining the company for violating the law. Due to the fact that there were a lo of violations, and the law probably stipulates that there are fines in a specified range for each kind of violation, then it could add up real quick with 1600 violations. This is a corporation that committed a crime, and the punishment for that is usually paying a fine.

Gordian Cipher: FTFA: The company and its associates allegedly violated 1,600 state regulations

Is this some new form of Cop Math? I can't even imagine how you could get to that many legitimate regulations, let alone violate 1,600 of them in one type of grift.

Came here to say that. Unless TFA meant "over 1600 counts of violating state regulations", that company must be run by Lex Luthor.

This sounds as legitimate as the dude trying to offer me a free roof inspection the other day.

poot_rootbeer: Useful tip: legitimate home improvement business don't go door-to-door offering same-day service.

Yes,,, yes we do. In this economic climate it happens. Check the references is the key. Then when they don't jive? Call the cops. That's the first thing I tell any potential customer and it's right in my proposal.

danno_to_infinity: I worked for a legitimate sealer company, one season as a laborer, another season as an office manager. We got to know who all the 'pikeys' were in the state. Bastards stole a lot of jobs from us, and you'd be surprised at how often the customer ended up calling to see if we can fix it.

Fix this, farkwad, you should have gone with us in the first place. Do it yourself, or get what you paid for.

So because they didn't come to you first you refuse their business? That's stupid. If you had half a brain you'd realize you could probably charge them more because first you have to undo what the pikeys did. Plus a customer that has been screwed by the pikeys once and then had to find a legitimate company to do the work will hopefully have learned their lesson and return to the legitimate business again in the future, but obviously that won't happen if their business was rejected the first time.

KeithLM: Ain't No Party Like A Tea Party: FTA: "Williams Asphalt Materials LLC and its associates must pay $285,744 to consumers, as well as $16.8 million in civil penalties to the state and $134,707 to cover the state's legal expenses..."

It seems to me that the state is the one running the scam.

Assuming the $285k covers the expenses to repair the shoddy work, then that is fair. If the people want extra money for their time in getting the driveway fixed, they have to sue the company themselves. The state is fining the company for violating the law. Due to the fact that there were a lo of violations, and the law probably stipulates that there are fines in a specified range for each kind of violation, then it could add up real quick with 1600 violations. This is a corporation that committed a crime, and the punishment for that is usually paying a fine.

~$10,500 per violation seems fair. Definitely not a money grab. Way to white knight a greedy system.

BuckTurgidson: Gordian Cipher: FTFA: The company and its associates allegedly violated 1,600 state regulations

Is this some new form of Cop Math? I can't even imagine how you could get to that many legitimate regulations, let alone violate 1,600 of them in one type of grift.

Came here to say that. Unless TFA meant "over 1600 counts of violating state regulations", that company must be run by Lex Luthor.

And that's terrible.

KeithLM: So because they didn't come to you first you refuse their business? That's stupid. If you had half a brain you'd realize you could probably charge them more because first you have to undo what the pikeys did. Plus a customer that has been screwed by the pikeys once and then had to find a legitimate company to do the work will hopefully have learned their lesson and return to the legitimate business again in the future, but obviously that won't happen if their business was rejected the first time.

Yeah,, I agree. I'm a painter and I love helping a home owner who's been screwed over. For one, It's more work for me, and secondly, once the job's completed the recommendation and referrals are much better then some one who's not been screwed in the past.

i once bought speakers out of the back of a van, but you know what? I was quite pleased with them for many years... didn't feel scammed. I just traded them a bunch of junk out of the garage.

"Hello friend - we were just doing an execution-style slaying for your neighbor 2 doors down and we have almost a whole box of bullets leftover... oh, not interested. Well is the lady of the house in?"

/jersey

"Williams Asphalt Materials LLC and its associates must pay $285,744 to consumers, as well as $16.8 million in civil penalties to the state and $134,707 to cover the state's legal expenses, the office said in a news release."

It's great that the state stepped up and prosecuted the company rather than leaving it to the consumers to deal with.

These numbers show one of the biggest problems: the legal cost of going after these people yourself is substantial. How many home owners are willing to spend $1,000 to try to recover $2,000 for shoddy workmanship (and have no guarantee that they'll be successful)?

I've had a lot of work done on my house and it's depressing how many construction companies try to scam you. There's simply not enough incentive for anybody to bother fighting them, and even if you do they'll just move along and scam somebody else.

I have a friend who was telling me about these awesome speakers he bought from this guy in a white van that had ordered too many for a job. It took about all I had not to bust out laughing. He still doesn't understand they are cheap speakers and thinks they are amazing. He'd probably buy more if given the opportunity.