RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – A Richmond homeowner is warning the public to be on the lookout for a paving scam hitting the area.
When Michael Pierce arrived at his Pinebrook Drive home on November 6, he got an unwelcome surprise.
“It’s like a home invasion,” he said of the incident.
Uninvited, a man had just finished paving Pierce’s driveway when no one was home, waiting for someone to pay for the job.
“I never requested it, I never signed a contract; and he wanted $3,500 for doing it,” Pierce told 8News.
Pierce said he told the stranger he refused to pay that amount, threatening to call police.
The man reportedly then lowered his asking price to $500, then $250 before Pierce ran him off and filed a police report.
“He was trespassing on my property,” said Pierce.
A quick-thinking neighbor took several photos of the asphalt truck before it took off.
“I think they’re going after people that are vulnerable, people that appear to them as easy targets,” said Helen Tansey, who lives next door.
The smell of asphalt still in the air, Pierce wants to get the word out to surrounding neighborhoods.
“It’s not something I asked for, not something I wanted and nothing I’d pay $3,500 for,” Pierce said.
Police confirmed that they had looked into the matter, but were not investigating it as a crime because Pierce did not lose any money.
“They couldn’t do anything, the police, because (the paver) didn’t hurt my property,” explained Pierce.
Nonetheless, he says his home was violated. Now he’s warning others not to pay for services they didn’t ask for.
“I really feel sorry for the old man or woman who ends up writing a check for them because they think it’s something they needed.”
If you suspect a paving scam, call police and alert the Better Business Bureau.
