The Better Business Bureau (BBB) issued a warning in May about unscrupulous contractors offering attractive deals on asphalt paving services. Recent complaints stated that victims were scammed out of over USD$8,000 for either low-quality or, worse, no work at all.
Business owners are just as prone to getting the wrong guy for paving a parking lot with hot asphalt mixes and finishing it with parking stripes. Asphalt pavement engineering should bring convenience to them and their customers, not cause them financial and reputational loss. Before signing a deal, take time to ensure you’ve done the following:
1. Say No to Door-to-Door
Many asphalt paving scam cases begin with the contractor introducing themselves at the victim’s doorstep. According to the BBB, they would often show up at the door or leave a pamphlet and wait for their victim to bite. A standard alibi used involves noticing the state of the driveway and offering to fix it with the excess paving supplies they carry.
They would also claim that they serve the immediate area, but the authorities say they’re most likely “gypsy” pavers. As the term implies, they roam a locality in search of unaware targets and usually don’t maintain local branches. Any contact information they provide, if any, tends to be fake to avoid being traced back.
A customer-preferred paving company for asphalt installation serving multiple cities or towns would want a local branch to visit or contact for questions and concerns. This is particularly important if their areas of operation span different states. Obviously, it can’t expect a customer from, say, Raleigh to drop by its main office in, say, Syracuse.
2. Don’t Rely on Just the Quote
Choosing the contractor with the lowest quote can be tempting, especially for businesses seeking to minimize costs while maximizing profits. However, it’s important to know that a quote is like that for a reason. A high offer may have the benefit of using high-quality paving equipment and materials, just as a low offer has a risk of using low-quality ones.
This is why you shouldn’t choose your paving contractor solely based on their quote. Instead, take other factors into account, such as:
- Project details: A new paving will be costlier than hot crack filling or pavement repair due to the prep work required before pouring fresh asphalt. Also, a larger work site that gets a high traffic volume needs more asphalt and a larger aggregate base, among others.
- Distance from site: Contractors with local offices benefit from streamlined logistics. It means that a local branch’s team can source liquid asphalt from a local asphalt batch mix plant and easily transport asphalt paving machines and other equipment.
- Client portfolio: Displaying an asphalt contractor’s list of clients is a common way to assure potential clients of their professional growth. However, it should come with a list of past projects to allow visitors to see how they work.
- Awards and honors: A contractor with multiple awards, especially from paving industry organizations, is nothing short of trustworthy. Some clients may be willing to pay large sums for award-winning asphalt pavement engineering.
Obtain quotes from as many candidates as possible, then weigh them against the factors above and more. You may be surprised to learn that the lowest quote isn’t always the best.
3. Get a Contract in Writing
Another red flag among “gypsy” pavers to be wary of is the lack of a written agreement. There’s barely any incentive for them to provide one, as it can put them in trouble if the victim decides to seek legal action. Also, a written contract is a key piece of evidence, so a lack thereof weakens the victim’s case.
An asphalt paving contract is a highly detailed document that outlines everything from the project timeline to the form of payment. It’s not like the contractor can dictate the terms in their favor, as contract law demands that a legally-binding contract must have:
- A clear offer that the other party willingly agrees to
- A fair exchange of obligations between the parties
- The mental capacity for parties to agree to the terms
- Terms that are in accordance with applicable laws
Even if you’ve already chosen your contractor, there’s still time to review the terms of the agreement. As long as you haven’t signed it on behalf of your business, you can dispute parts of it that raise eyebrows or back out of the offer entirely. This is one thing you don’t want to agree to in the same way software users agree to user agreements on a whim.
4. Ask for More Payment Options
Although legitimate contractors rarely ask for payment up front, it isn’t necessarily illegal. That said, it has limits, such as the contractor can’t ask for full payment this way, and only accepting cash can be another red flag.
These days, many contractors offer a mix of cash and credit-based payment options. While traditional and digital payments are viable for small-scale projects, large-scale ones often use third-party financing (with or without interest). Having multiple payment options allows you to be flexible about securing funding for the asphalt pavement project.
Choose Wisely
Nobody wants their first choice to be a waste of money, which is why due diligence is key when selecting an asphalt paving contractor. It’s better to take your time scrutinizing each prospect than to hire one out of the blue and regret it later.
