West Orange Resident Warns Others About Driveway Paving Scam

WEST ORANGE, NJ — A township resident who asked to remain anonymous told TAP that her mother was recently the victim of a driveway paving scam, and they wanted to alert other West Orange neighbors about it.

The daughter explained that her mom was outside gardening when two men approached her. The daughter believes they chose her because she's older. “The scam involved two men telling homeowners ‘we have extra asphalt from a nearby job’ and asking if they’d like their driveway paved for a discounted price. My mother lives near the cross-section of Watchung Avenue and Chestnut Street,” recounted the daughter.

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She continued, "The men asked to enter the house to use the bathroom and pressured my mother to give them a $700 deposit to repave her driveway. The scammers moved a few bins out of her driveway and used her own tools to weed whack and said they were prepping to pave. They never returned.”

Fortunately, the homeowner didn't have cash and wrote them a check. When the daughter called the company, they said the $700 was used for landscaping services.

She reported the incident to the West Orange Police, but the police said it was a civil matter and her mother’s only recourse options are to go to small claims court and to file a restraining order against them —which they plan to do.

Her mother’s house has security cameras that captured the men, their car and their vehicle’s license plate. They also gave her a business card. See photos above.

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“They intentionally misled her, peddled at her door (I'm sure without a permit since that's illegal in West Orange apparently), demanded cash only for a deposit, didn't give her a real contract  and ghosted her,” reported the daughter.

Here's a link from the Better Business Bureau about this common scam.

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