Driveway paved without permission needs to be ripped up, says Puslinch, Ont. homeowner
Less than a month after a Puslinch, Ont. woman came home to find strangers repaving her driveway without her prior consent, she told CTV News the work will have to be redone.
"We had a couple of days of rain," Tammie Corrigan explained on Sunday. "Our driveway is graded towards [our neighbour's] house and graded toward the back of our garage where it will flood. We can't put a waste container on it. It sinks inside of the asphalt that's poorly laid. The weeds are coming up and are ripping up the asphalt as we speak."
Corrigan said a man named "Peter" from "Unique Paving & Masonry" came to her door on June 10. He offered to repave her driveway at a discounted rate, but she declined his offer.
Corrigan called him a "pushy kind of guy, very nice, very manipulative."
The next morning she arrived home to find a crew working on her driveway.
"We pulled up the road and saw a number of workers wheelbarrowing asphalt onto our driveway," she said.
Since the work was already half-done, she said "Peter" told her he would take $500 off the $7,500 bill.
Corrigan told CTV News in June she didn't intend to pay for work she never wanted.
She also said the company promised to repair her driveway at no cost but Corrigan has been unable to contact anyone.
CTV News reached out to Unique Paving & Masonry after speaking with Corrigan in June. An unnamed employee said it was a "misunderstanding" and they had a verbal agreement, adding "we don't just turn up and do this randomly." The company did not respond to further requests for an interview or statement on the matter.
Ontario Provincial Police are also trying to speak with "Peter."
On Friday they posted his photo on Twitter in the hopes that someone could help identify him.
"We do believe that this may be a targeted fraud and we are investigating it as a criminal matter at this time," said Const. Jacob Unger.
OPP have also been unable to reach anyone at Unique Paving & Masonry.
They said, if convicted, it would be a very unique form of fraud due to the amount of work that goes into it, how it can impact a home, and the price tag.
"This isn't a $500 or even $1,000 fraud," said Const. Unger. "They were asking for $7,500."
"I'm feeling more angry than I was originally," said Corrigan. "I've been hearing from a number of people that this has been happening to them too."
Now she'll have to pay out of pocket to repair her driveway.
"[At] the end of it all, this is costing us money," Corrigan said. "I can guarantee we won't be able to find this crew in order to lay criminal charges."
Anyone who can identify "Peter," or had a similar experience, is asked to contact Wellington County OPP.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
B.C. theatre to pay $55K to neurodivergent actor in discrimination case
British Columbia's human rights tribunal has awarded a neurodigergent actor, who was diagnosed with sensory and learning disorders, more than $55,000 after finding that a Kelowna theatre company discriminated against him because of his disabilities.
Who's responsible for regulating cannabis stores operating under the sovereignty banner?
It's not quite clear who is supposed to be regulating so-called sovereign cannabis stores or even ensure they're benefiting Indigenous communities.