Complaint Review: Howard Harrison Paving

   Howard Harrison Jr never returned my phone calls or messages.  So I contacted the BBB for the MHIC number that was listed.  I received a call a few days ago.  It was Howard Harrison Sr. Very nice, and knowledgeable gentleman.  We discussed the issue and came to an agreement.  Turns out, Mr. Harrison is going to settle this for his son who is not man enough to take responsibility.  Senior is well into his 70's if I'm correct and his son is in his late 40's.  I do appreciate his father resolving the issue, but as far as I'm concerned, Howard Harrison JUNIOR is still a slimy little scumbag and it's not over between us.  When your own father is fixing your mistakes at 40 years old, it's time you accept the consequences.  Your father is not the one cheating people.  Your father does not owe me a dime.  You take advantage of him, his company, his name, and he still looks out for you.  You should be ashamed.

I contracted the company to rebuild my residential driveway. The final contract was to clean the entire existing driveway area with power blower, grade existing driveway area with stone/dirt to a uniform flatness and construct for proper drainage, install 8 inches of CR6 compacting stone to a level of 8 inches and compress it with a roller,then clean and edge the finished driveway. The only work preformed was to power blow some leaves from the area, dump a small amount of CR6, spread it out to cover a path down the existing old driveway and quickly roll over it. The issues are that the area was never leveled or graded. A small amount of CR6 was spread down the old driveway leaving a thin sparse cover which stopped several feet from the edges of the marked and visable sides of the old driveway. The small amount of stone is not over 1 inch thick in any part of the driveway and there are many bare spots and patches with no stone on it at all. It is very unlevel since it was not graded before stone was poured. This is not allowing proper drainage and causing surrounding properity damage. The driveway is deterioating rapidly with use. I have called the company many times and they said they would fix it, but  never come back for any of the appointments made. Now they will not answer or return any of my phone calls. The contract also carries a 1 year warranty. The bottom line is that the terms of the contract were never preformed or met, the workmanship, and customer service was bad and it appears this job never will be finished or the resulting problems resolved by the company. I believe this may be the same person and company that is also being reported running his scams in the Texas, Oklahoma and Georgia areas. The sales pitch and methods of operation are basically identical. He starts out with" I have material left over from a previous job". Along with not responding to my calls Harrison would not respond to calls and letters from the BBB. The BBB has downgraded his rating from an A+ to D-. This will remain on public record for the next 3 years. The BBB can take no other actions against Harrison. Several consumers (victims) in the area are working to have him held accountable for his actions. If anyone can provide information that may help connect this company or Mr. Harrison to the H. Harrison Paving scams in states outside of Maryland would help in expediting actions to stop him. Those in the area, beware. Thank You. 

   Thanks for not telling me anything I didn't already know.  I am going to pursue my options as I have already stated, and you probably don't have the education to understand, I have supporting evidence that is going to settle this for me.  Please re-read previous comment.  I am merely posting my course of action as it continues to give others the ability to know the truth and what is involved in settling a scam like this.
   I know he does not care for the BBB, but it is in good practice to contact them in regards to the dispute.  When you walk into that courtroom, you do not want to have left any option unexplored. And do not go by the BBB either.  You can offer to pay them $250.00 and they will increase your rating to A+.  So before YOU open your mouth to try and reprimand someone, make sure you actually have some sound advice.  And another thing, NEVER tell or even hint at ILLEGAL options, what is wrong with you?

This business is D- rated by the BBB. He obviously couldn't care less if anyone complains to them. His business model succeeds for him; he cold calls and gets suckers to pay in advance. As someone in the business, who must know his industry is plagued with these kinds of scammers, I'd expect you would be more careful about who YOU hire. The fact that he unloaded all that crap on your driveway should have been the red flag of red flags, since merely cold calling you didn't serve as an adequate one. Instead of paying you should have told him where he could stick his labor and his rocks. Good luck getting your money back. A more effective course of action is probably illegal, but if you know someone...

   Sarah, if I had got what I paid for, then I would have the driveway promised.  As I did not go into a written agreement with this individual, I was taking his word.  He did a satisfactory job on my first driveway.  I've been working as a contractor and with contractors for years.  There are some bad eggs, but most of us are honest.  This guy is downright horrible. 
   The only problem with his side of the story that he might try to tell is that I have audio recordings of our conversations and the video surveillance from my security system that proves he didn't do what he said he would.  I am just waiting for him to contact me so we can settle this as soon as possible.  I am a very busy man and don't feel like dragging this through court as he already has other pending legal matters for the same scams.
   Pictures and other data have been submitted to the BBB and MHIC.

You said "he offered to lay a driveway from my front yard to my garage with extra material he had from a job. "

You took an off the books deal and got what you paid for.  Good question, if required, did you or this guy get a building permit?