August of 2017 my family and I were playing in the front yard of our home when a truck came up the driveway (We live in a rural community and have a sizeable 200' driveway.). A man got out (Jimmy Young) and approached us about doing some asphalt paving around the house. He said he was from a company called Surface Solutions, which is an entirely made up company based out of Dallas, Texas (I later found that out). He told my wife and I he had leftover material from a large job they were doing down the street and that they could come do a portion of the driveway for near material cost. Of course I was excited since we currently had crushed concrete leading up to the garage. I set a price and he told me how much he could do.
When they initially put the material down it looked good, but within a couple weeks, it quickly started to deteriorate. Small stones began to break lose and some cracks formed near the edges. I called Surface Solutions and left them a V-mail to come out and fix it. They never called me back so I decided to contact them in the spring when I could see how it held up over winter. About a week ago (Feb 2018), when the snow melted, the asphalt they put down completely turned into rubble. Not only were there lose stones, the material almost reverted back into gravel. We now track stones in the house and garage, our car tires put ruts in the drive, and above all, we were hoping this could be an area where our young kids could play in the summer, but is now an area I dont even want them near.
Luckily my wife wrote down the DOT number on the trucks they were using, so we were able to look up Jimmy Youngs phone number. When I called him, he told me that he had been let go by Surface Solutions and no longer had any affiliation with them. Funny how I had to write the check out to him, I should've known something was up. I called Surface Solutions back and yet again, no answer... One of the phone numbers on the website was actually assigned to the local airport near Dallas, Texas. No callback... Strange phone number... shotty website... we were scammed!
I started searching the web on Jimmy Young and found several incidents in and near New York under Youngs Asphalt. Not sure if this is the same guy or not, but I'm willing to be my last dollar. I also found that Jimmy's cell phone was from Lousiana, but the DOT registrations were out of Midland, MI. My guess is that this is some sort of nationwide scam. Lesson learned: If it's too good to be true, walk away. Save you a headache and money in the long run. I'm now out $2k and still need a nice driveway apron for my kids to play... $2k may not sounds like a lot, but when you're young and have two kids, it makes a difference.
Eric
Howell,#2Author of original report
Mon, March 12, 2018
Update 03/12/2018
Jimmy Young has refused to compensate me for the poor workmanship done at my residence. He explained that he will not refund me the money due to his name being posted on this website. I proceeded to tell him that this was ripoffreports policy (no report editing), but that I would submit a rebuttal and an email to customer support updating them and anyone reading this about the discussion him and I had about refunding at least a portion of what I paid him (see my earlier rebuttal). While I understand it's not pleasent to have your name attached to a rip off report, Jimmy did perform work under Surface Solutions, who has all but disappeared. The report I originally submitted was an accurate account of what had happened.
When I confront Jimmy about the company, he has no information on them; he couldnt provide names, a number, work location... Not sure how you work for someone and not have any contact information, or, at a minimum, someones name. Sounds to me as if the work was done under the table, which again, is another no, no... I still cannot contact anyone from Surface Solutions either...
From my point of view, if Mr. Young had followed through on his committment (or 'word' as he put it) to a partial refund, anyone reviewing this document would have seen that he tried to make things right. At the end of the day, Jimmy was the guy who did the work, cashed the check, and failed to reimburse me for the shotty work. The receipt I received from Jimmy was from Surface Solutions, so I'm still unclear if he acted alone or in conjunction with Surface Solutions (if there is such a company). Based on everything that has happened, I have to hold both Jimmy and Surface Solutions accountable, regardless of the explanation Jimmy has tried to give me. I hope everyone reading this goes through a well-known and reputable paving service for any work they do at their residence or place of business. Do not EVER think you're getting deal from a contractor who randomly pulls up to your house (especially without taking the time to research them). Will cost you more in the long run. Cheers!
Eric
Howell,#3Author of original report
Wed, March 07, 2018
Was contacted by Jimmy Young one of the contracting crew who offered to partially reimburse me. I would like his name and phone number stricken from this webpage. He apparently didnt know the company he was working for. Thank you