well, this is interesting....

[gardenmom5]

when I got on fb this afternoon - this was posted to a local page.

the police are asking for information - as the truck pulling it, took off.  

yesterday morning, I had a guy ring my bell and give me some spiel about how the boss ordered too much tar and would I like to have my driveway done.  they normally charge __ per foot, but they don't want to pay the dump fees so they'll only charge me __ per foot.  I have a large drive way, with cracks - seemed like a good deal and said ok.  dh was out there watching them like hawks the entire time.  they did try to bait and switch, charge a lot more, and not finish "you're not getting paid until it's done, so if you don't want to be paid you can leave right now"...  dh can be a hard guy when he needs to be.  fairly decent thickness, and we didn't have to do it!  (it's been on my radar of we need to do this for months, if not a couple years.)    

I'm on a private road off a dead end - I have no idea how he found me.  he claims his navigation program brought him here.  which is possible if he turned a block early.

so - I called the non-emergency police line saying -I think I've got some info for you... they were sketchy, but the driveway got done.  and there were some seriously iffy things about them and how they did things.   and they were ALL from the UK.  (which begs the question, why are they here?)

Edited August 10, 2019 by gardenmom5

[gardenmom5]

4 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

Sound like they may be Travellers potentially. They’re here and in the UK. 

that was my thought, or at least similar.   and why dh watched them like a hawk.   and when they tried to change how much they charged him, he said this is what you quoted,  and that is what i'll pay - if you want to be paid...

I would be more surprised than not if these are *not* related.  (yes I know, bad grammar.)

I asked the guy where he was from - and he told me to guess (I guessed Manchester - I have a friend from there who lives here.)  so he said I was right.  then I overheard him talking to dh that he was from Ireland.  that was another flag they were sketchy.

and gypsies/travelers have been around the US for more than 100 years.  my grandmother told a story of the time she was a child and some came by their house in rural farm country Midwest.

[Carrie12345]

In my area, the scam isn’t quite that deep. They’ll be paving a driveway then knocking on neighbors’ doors (including mine) offering discount remainders.  They don’t tell people who don’t bother to check that permits are required in our township AND in our development. And if you don’t get those, good luck with any crappy work.
My next door neighbor currently has about half her driveway paved and, within that half, grass growing up the center.

[alisoncooks]

9 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

Heres a news article with a similar scam. 

https://www.courier-tribune.com/article/20150721/NEWS/307219971

This article is almost local to me, and I have never heard of such a scam. Even though that was a few years ago, I'll add them to my list of "people to watch out for" (along with the meat truck, which we do get once a year or so...)

[purpleowl]

9 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

Heres a news article with a similar scam. 

https://www.courier-tribune.com/article/20150721/NEWS/307219971

When I saw you mention Travelers, I thought about how there were a LOT of them in my hometown/metro area, and sure enough, the one in the article was traced back to there. We used to get huge groups of them at the movie theater where I worked in high school.

[ThisIsTheDay]

I'm curious why you agreed to let them do anything to your driveway. Did you think they were legit?

(It seems like just another version of the "meat truck" scam, which I first heard about here.)