Complaints filed against driveway paving company working in CT; company appears to be from GA

HARTFORD, Conn. (WFSB) - Imagine paying thousands of dollars to have your driveway paved, only to find within months it’s falling apart, and the paving company is nowhere to be found. That’s what several people across Connecticut say happened to them.

Mary Vona showed us the driveway she just had paved last July. A driveway she says is now crumbling.

“You can just pick it up and grab a piece. I don’t think you should be able to do that,” says Vona, as she broke off a piece of her driveway.

Vona hired Dougherty Asphalt LLC to do the work she says, after a man who said his name was Peter Gorman approached her in her driveway.

She says he told her Dougherty Asphalt LLC was paving her whole neighborhood in Mystic, offering her a military and senior discount, $14,000 for the whole thing.

“That’s how I got interested,” says Vona.

She says problems began almost immediately. “I complained to them when they were doing it. It’s not smooth, it’s not a blacktop, it’s rocky. He said this is highway asphalt,” says Vona.

By that point Mary had already paid thousands, with PayPal and checks made out to cash so she says she just took their word that they were doing the right things. But Vona says the company didn’t put on a topcoat or sealant to protect the driveway, saying they’d be back.

The receipt given to Vona by the company says the company will “stop by twice a year to check on the driveway and repair any rough or holes forming in the driveway, as well as cover any repairs necessary or needed at no extra cost.” The receipt is signed by a man named Samuel Dougherty.

“They never came back,” says Vona. “Every month I’ve been texting and calling. What does it look like now? It’s worse in some areas.”

THE JANESKYS: “We feel we were taken advantage of.”

Carl Janesky is dealing with similar frustrations with the same company in Guilford. Janesky showed us his driveway as well, “it’s rough, it’s kind of pitted, it’s not smooth. They were going to do a topcoat on this driveway and they never did.”

Carl and his wife Rosemarie say they hired Dougherty Asphalt in November, after a man who said his name was Patrick Dougherty knocked on their door.

The couple recognized the name, his father had done their driveway decades ago.

“He introduced himself and he was with Dougherty Asphalt. He said he had just finished a job nearby and he had some extra asphalt and he saw my driveway was eroded,” says Carl. He said, “I got some patch in my car, and I can patch your holes on the driveway. We said alright fine and he said it’s going to be $7,000,” says Rosemarie.

But during the patchwork, the couple says they had to go to a doctor’s appointment.

“When we came home I said, they did the whole driveway,” says Rosemarie. “I said, I told you to just do the bottom of the driveway. He said oh we had extra material. When all was said and done, they came into the house and they presented me with a bill for $20,000,” says Carl.

The couple had never signed a contract. The only paperwork they say they ever received was this bill for $19,800 after the job was done. The crew wanted checks made out to “cash.”

“I didn’t want to go to court. Figured I’d get sued or something and pay them,” says Carl.

His receipt also says all work will “be maintained for 36 months at no extra cost.” The contract is signed by Peter Gorman, the same man who visited Vona.

CONTACTING THE COMPANY:

The I-Team had questions for Dougherty Asphalt LLC and the two men who said they represented the company. We called the number on their business card. Though the phone rang, there was no way to leave a message. We texted the number several times. Those texts went through, but we never received a reply. We also emailed them.

The address on the company’s receipts and business cards belongs to a UPS store in Wethersfield. But UPS workers tell us the business doesn’t have a mailbox here.

The company did file business records with the state, using an address out of Georgia. The company itself never registered as a contractor with Connecticut, only the name Patrick Dougherty is registered. That registration expired at the end of March. Peter Gorman did not have a registration.

The I-Team also searched Georgia business records through the GA Secretary of State’s website, but could not find any company registered with that name, despite a Facebook page showing the company does work in both Georgia and Connecticut. We called the phone number on the Facebook page, and left a message.

“In the case you’re talking about, they claim to be in Wethersfield and all their trucks had GA license plates. If there’s no contract signed by that point, I would turn them around and say, you’re not who you said you were, I’m going to find someone else to do business with,” says Kristen Johnson, with the BBB.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF:

Johnson says Dougherty Asphalt LLC has a BBB rating of D plus, meaning the business has a number of complaints and has not addressed them.

The BBB started looking into the company after Mary and another customer filed complaints. That second BBB complaint claimed the company charged a woman thousands more than she agreed to. That woman told the BBB the company has failed to respond to her calls or emails asking for a refund.

The Attorney General has received similar complaints from a third CT resident. We’ve learned the Department of Consumer Protection is investigating.

It’s unclear if any of the customers will get their money back, because they never signed contracts before the work started.

“One thing that we always recommend with any type of contractor is to put everything in writing. That means a start date, a completion date, the price of materials and a payment plan,” says Johnson.

Johnson says never make a decision on the spot, even if they’re right at your door.

“Any reputable company will want you to take the time to look them up and find out what their reputation is, if they have any complaints on bbb.org, what their reviews are," says Johnson.

You also want to check that their address is real, and the phone numbers they give you are connected.

“And if they’re asking for payment via a peer to peer app or a check paid out to cash, or simply cash, you know that once that money’s gone, it’s gone,” says Johnson.

“For now, I would only contract with people, companies in the BBB,” says Vona. Mary Vona and the Janeskys are sharing their stories, as a warning to all of us.“I felt cheated. I felt cheated and used,” says Vona.

“We’re angry over it because you know we’re not used to being taken advantage of, but he took advantage of us,” says Rosemarie.

We called, texted and emailed Dougherty Asphalt LLC several times over the week. We have not heard back.