"Ignoramus6369" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 12 May 2007 20:29:58 GMT, Mike Dobony
wrote:

"Ignoramus6369" wrote in message
...
It happened yesterday. A truck cruised in our neighborhood and I saw
them stop by our neighbor's house (we have a concrete driveway, his is
asphalt) and they talked. Then I went to do something else, the next
thing I know is that my neighbor's asphalt driveway was sprayed with
some tar like substance. So I went to talk to see what happened.

He said that he was scammed: they first agreed on a certain price
($175), they took the money, sprayed half of his driveway, then acted
all surprised and said that "it takes a lot more coating than they
expected" and demanded $50 more for finishing the work. I guess with
the implication that if he did not pay, they would drive off with his
driveway half sprayed looking really stupid. So, he said he paid extra
$50 and they finished the work.

So. I am aware that the general wisdom says do not give work to any
"drive by" people. But I would like to know, let's say that due to
poor judgment, it happened to me and these artists demand extra $50 to
finish. What would be a sensible thing to do in these lousy
circumstances?

i

Poor judgment in the first place. Second, having work done without a
signed
contract. Third, not taking their license number and calling the police.



Would you think that the police would have any interest?

i

It depends on the jurisdiction. In some places, they might consider it
grounds for fraud. In others, they would refer you to the proper civil
channel to connect to. And then lots of time, these guys are just "casing"
and return later to pick up loose items at houses where they know what kind
of car is parked in the driveway when someone is home, whether or not you
have a dog, etc. It really all depends on the local authorities, and you'd
have a better chance in a small town where the police are less busy than in
a big city.

HTH

Steve