The Kendall County Sheriff’s Office warns residents about a paving scam involving unlicensed contractors from outside areas.
KENDALL COUNTY, Texas — The Kendall County Sheriff’s Office is warning about a “gypsy paver scam.” Investigators are alerting people about the scam they said has been reported around that area.
Jason Meza with the Better Business Bureau said this is a simple imposter scam. Meza said what makes them a so called “gypsy paver,” they come unannounced and are typically from other areas.
“They are coming from other areas where they don’t have licensing,” he said. “They are not registered to do business in the state, or the county they are in.”
Investigators said these scammers are convincing by saying they will do the work, of driveways and other things, at a discounted rate by using leftover materials.
Meza said in a recent case, not in our area, a consumer was a victim of this very scam and lost $5,000.
“They came they put gravel down, I made a payment of more than $5,000, it was a good faith estimate but at the same time, they never came back,” Meza said.
Kendall County shared four things to watch out for:
- Unmarked trucks or out-of-sate license plates
- High-pressure sales tactics
- No written contracts or documentation
- Requests for immediate payment, often in cash
Meza said the number one thing you should do before anything else, call the company they claim to be representing. He said essentially do your research.
“Just double and triple check that is the company that shows up is the person that works for them,” he said.
He said the average loss in a paving scam is about $3,000 to $4,000. He also added that during the summer scams tend to go up. Meza stresses to get everything in writing.
The Kendall County Sheriff’s Office said report any suspicious activity immediately.