Area man says he fell victim to a scam, costing him thousands

Stanley (WQOW) - A Stanley man has a warning for you. After he said he was recently taken by a scam, a quick sales pitch cost him a $30,000 car and his peace of mind.

Scott Bokath, who says he fell victim to a scam, said, "When they were doing it, my gut was telling me, 'This isn't right.'"

Looking at his poorly paved driveway Bokath knows now, he was swindled. The offer came after a knock on the door.

Bokath said, "They asked if they could do a test panel, I said, 'Ok'. Within five minutes, they had all their equipment here, which I thought was kind of strange, but in the same hedge, they just finished up another job in the area. I then asked them, 'Where was the job? Who's place was it at?' 'Oh, around town.' They wouldn't give me any names."

When the test strip was complete Bokath told the crew from A&S Asphalt Paving Company he didn't like the work and wouldn't be hiring them for the job. They insisted he'd have to pay for the labor that had already been done, $500 worth.

Bokath said that's when A&S made him a deal. They'd repave and seal his driveway, a job they claimed was worth $20,000 in return for a street rod car parked outside. Bokath said he wasn't thinking clearly and agreed.

"Every vehicle that has been in the driveway since, you can see the impression of the tire tracks in the driveway because they put the asphalt right over mud, water puddles, they did no preparation beforehand, they just started pouring."

The Better Business Bureau said scams, like the one Bokath was involved with, come and go like clock work.

Kimberly Hazen, Madisons regional director at the Better Business Bureau, said, "Door to door asphalt pavers are typically a perennial concern for us at the BBB. It's a way of selling that puts the consumer, you know, off balance and you're not ready to talk to somebody at your door, you're not ready for that high pressure sales pitch,"

Bokath said, "As they were doing the work, I was questioning them, on the way they were doing it, and I was not getting any answers, and the only answers I was getting was, 'This is the way we do it.'"

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Area man says he fell victim to a scam, costing him thousands