Ron DeGroodt Paving Inc.

Review: On October **, 2011 [redacted] Paving Inc. paved my driveway. [redacted] called the evening before to say he would be there the next day to pave my driveway. I was skeptical and questioned the time due to the fact we just had a hurricane and the ground was saturated. He assured me it would be ok. He stated he would dig out any wet spots before laying down 3 inches of stone and 3 inches of blacktop. he assured me his 20 ton roller would pack everything down. My nervousness was put to ease by his fast talking, his confidence and the fact he made sure to tell me he warrantied his work and knew what he was doing. Not knowing much about paving I trusted [redacted] and relied on his word and advertised reputation. Within a few weeks, I noticed a few areas of my driveway had sunk in some. When it rained, these areas filled with water. One area in particular had gotten deeper and concerned me greatly. I contacted [redacted] who said he would come and look at the area. He did arrive and look at the area while paving a neighbors driveway. He advised he would take care of the area in the Spring as the season had come to and end. I figured this was ok plus thought the winter and early spring would be enough time to show any other issues for him to fix if needed. Come Spring, I heard nothing from [redacted]. I called numerous times with numerous phone numbers. Numbers were out of service and or I would get a woman who assured me [redacted] would call back. I tried everything except driving to his house on [redacted] in the [redacted] where he lives. I finally made contact with [redacted] in late summer early Fall of 2012. He had returned my call and ensured he would come out and look at the area. Again he failed to show when he said he would so I continued to call him. I tried calling from a different phone which seemed to work. [redacted] answered and stated he had gone to my house and looked at the driveway. During the conversation, he advised me I should seal the driveway which had already been done by his son. $200 cash. He assured me he would come out and fix the areas when he had a job in New Paltz. Fall came and gone with calls not answered and no show. Spring came and I continued to call. Again the phone number games continued. I had called [redacted] more times than I can remember. I have spoken to him, his wife (believed to be) and some other unknown people who I left messages with. I even had my mother call and speak with his wife who assured [redacted] would be out to inspect the problem. At some point I was given [redacted]'s cell phone number (believed from his wife). In the spring/summer of 2013 I was able to contact him and he apologized for the phone problem. He made up some story about phone issues and made another false promise. He also admitted he thought I was another customer down the road from me who was complaining about a problem who had been annoying him. He thought I was that customer. He told me he could cut out the bad areas and repave them. I even offered to pay for the material to lay a skim coat over everything after so there would be no unevenness. My driveway is a complete mess with cracks on the edges, weeds growing through the pavement in areas, large sink holes and areas where even the weight off me moves the ground beneath me. Before long 2014 came and I again called his cell phone number and caught him off guard when he answered. He must not have recognized my number. He said he would be out to look at the driveway again. A few weeks later [redacted] showed up one evening and it so happened I was home with company (4 witnesses). [redacted] inspected the driveway and stated "I feel bad. You got me a lot of business in this neighborhood and you got the worst driveway." At this point I told him straight out I wanted the driveway redone. I told him to look around and tell me this is the kind of work he does. He stated "no its not." He then proceeded to tell me I had water trapped under the pavement. I didn't understand so I let him explain. He said the water was trapped. I told him I have no water problems now or prior. I reminded him of the unusual heavy rain we had the week prior to him doing the job. He said that should not have mattered because he removed the wet areas. He told me the whole driveway should have been dug 2 feet down and filled with stone to provide a better base. He could not give me an answer when I asked him why he did not tell me that when he quoted the job. I know the base was fine considering this driveway was paved prior for 54 years. [redacted] declined to repave the entire driveway due to the fact it would cost him too much. I again suggested to pay for the material to pave over everything. [redacted] told me he could not guarantee the pavement would not fall apart again. He stated the water was trapped underneath and that no matter what he does he could not guarantee the job again. When I mentioned rolling it 1st with the 20 ton roller he told me that would only move the water around and cause more problems?????? I argued with [redacted] for about an hour. I questioned his work, his work ethic, his warranty and his word. He told me he would be out my way in a week and would fix the problem. He also stated "He needed to think about it." and would get back to me. He promised me he would keep his word and was not going to "I'm not going to screw you over. When I say I'm going to do something I do it." Well, it's now November **, 2014. No [redacted] and no repair. This is my last attempt prior to filing a civil suit. Anyone is welcome to come and see my driveway. When I say it's horrible I mean it. Funny how his Warranty says except high heels or kickstands. I wish that was my only problem. I park my cars on the lawn not to disturb and make more sinkholes. My complaint is that [redacted] has failed to Warranty his work as agreed upon per contract. Has lied to me more times than I can count and is not a man of his word. Not to mention he will not respond to any of my calls at this point. The last time I spoke to him he told me to text him my cell number so he had it to call me back. I believe his intent was to block my number.Desired Settlement: I would like to have

1) In writing [redacted]'s acknowledgement of the Warranty he sold me and the intention of replacing the driveway with 3 inches of stone and 3 inches of pavement (full 3 inches of both).

or

2) Full Refund.

I do not want anymore phone calls or promises. I might add I have not used my driveway commercially or have had commercial vehicles drive or park on it other than the oil truck making a delivery.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have not been contacted by [redacted] Paving Inc. regarding complaint ID [redacted].Sincerely,[redacted]

Review: [redacted] was hired to pave our driveway. He came recommended and when he came by to write up our job he quoted us $8100.00 for grading, stone (3") and asphalt (3"). We agreed on a date as I was not to be home until that agreed to date. When I arrived home before the job was to begin, I found that the job had been completed without my being present.

I did not find out until this past year that the driveway was completed with less than 1" of stone and blacktop. The driveway began crumbling. I had an inkling that something was wrong when Hurricane Sandy did some damage to trees on the property. One tree punched a hole in the driveway. I was then I was aware that there was something not right about the job that was done. I called [redacted] on more than one instance. I called him the year after the job was done to have him sealcoat the drive. He never returned calls. I had the drive sealcoated by someone else after attempting to contact [redacted] for over 6 months. A hole was punched into the drive during Hurricane Irene. When the hole was punched into the drive, I again called [redacted] to repair the hole. Again I could not get a return call after emails and phone calls. It wasn't until the degrading of the entire base of the drive began 'alligatoring' that I was aware of the improper installation of the entire driveway. I saw [redacted] doing another driveway on my road. He came by to see what my complaint was. That was this April. He promised to fix the drive. He asked what I wanted to have him do. I told him the thickness of the material contracted for was not what was delivered. He told me 'there is no way to actually know how thick the application is'. I am not stupid. He stated he would replace the area that was crumbling. I have not heard from him after many phone calls, texts, etc. It is time I seek a remedy outside of the contractor. - I have tried to correct the name of the Hurricane. It was Hurricane Irene.Desired Settlement: I want my drive done so that the deteriorating parts are repaired. I don't think I can legally ask him for a complete repaving but that is truly what I believe I deserve.

Business

Response:

we did repair her driveway just a couple days ago so I beleive she has also been repaired. Please note though that since installation of her new driveway she forgot to mention that she had very heavy construction vehicles on her driveway for the installation of her new garage which would have contributed to damage of her driveway. please feel free to contact me if there are anymore concerns to these matters. thank you . [redacted].

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

I have read the response by [redacted]. I have a U-shaped driveway. Although I did have a garage built after the driveway was completed the area shown in the photos was not even used by the vehicles [redacted] claims was the issue.

My complaint remains that [redacted] NEVER put down the contracted amount of material, both stone and asphalt. He did the job the day before the day scheduled because I wasn't home. He paved the driveway with less than 1" of material and that is why the drive is completely crumbling.

I was pleased that he did cut out the totally deteriorated part, however the entire drive is cracking and will crumble as did this part due to his lack of compliance with the original document. I know it says 'approximately' 3" however, the material used is not even close to what was contracted for. I believe there is a material that can be used to fill the 'alligatoring'. If not, I believe there should be some remediation that will prevent me from having to have repairs to the rest of the drive piece by piece.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Review: Since May I have been contacting Ron DeGroodt Paving, Inc. no less than 7 times via phone. I have left a message each and every time I have called. Every time I have received a promise that my call will be returned. The only person ever to respond was [redacted] and she said one of the guys would contact me that day or the following day ([redacted]); to date this has still not occurred. The reason I am calling is that our driveway has started to crack in one area after being paved a year ago. We have supplied Ron DeGroodt Paving, Inc. with our receipt number which is [redacted] After six weeks of my phone calls not being returned I feel as if I am being completely blown off. I am not being unreasonable -- I simply want DeGroodt Paving to come assess the situation and discuss it with me as I believe this is under warranty. I appreciate your assistance and DeGroodt Paving's attention to this matter.Desired Settlement: Crack in driveway fixed per the terms and conditions of the warranty that were explained when the initial paving was performed.

Business

Response:

As far as I know ,[redacted] was taken care of in the spring time<if was not to his satisfaction please have him contact our office.

Review: After saving for quite a while my wife an I decided to have our driveway paved. We chose DeGroodt paving after seeing 2 jobs he had already completed on our road. [redacted] came gave us a price that we agreed on and he proceeded to go over the details of the job from the application of commercial ground control to the grading and thickness of the material to be applied. 9 months after job was done we noticed cracking in the rear portion of the driveway along with volcano like forms coming from the ground. I called and spoke with [redacted] or [redacted] and she said they would investigate. [redacted] came spoke with my wife and told her we needed to wait until spring and also have the driveway sealed and not worry. Called in spring they sent their son to seal the driveway and he couldn't understand what was happening with the lump formations. Problem was still persistent after seal coat. Mind you their was 30 years of base gravel in the driveway prior to paving and next to no vegetation. I still have these recurring formation and the rear section is crumbling and cracking. I left multiple messages with and for [redacted] or [redacted] and not one call was returned. I would like my driveway properly repaired or replaced if need be.

Thanks