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Company slips through the cracks after faulty driveway repair job

Posted at 6:24 PM, Aug 02, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-02 18:24:26-04

LOWELL, Mich. – It was a typical summer day for Ruth Jones and her husband, Bob, when a man they didn’t recognize came strolling up their driveway. The Jones’, both retired, had lived at their Lowell home for almost 30 years by that point and interestingly enough, the driveway was exactly what that man was there to talk to them about.

They had resurfaced and sealed cracks in their driveway some years back, but weather and use had taken its toll and it was getting time to seal it again.

“We said ‘yeah, give us a price, we’ll think about it,’” said Ruth, “and he said $900 and we said, ‘yeah, go for it.’”

The man identified himself as Raymond Bates with Old Pros Construction Company. The Jones’ were wary, but after signing a contract complete with a five-year warranty, they decided the deal was too good to pass up.

The couple departed for a Labor Day holiday weekend and when they came back, the job had been done to perfection.

“When it was done it looked shiny and new again and the cracks were filled in,” said Ruth. “We thought it was going to last for a long time.”

Winter came and went and as spring made its entrance, the Jones’ noticed something concerning.

“I looked and I said, the cracks were re-cracked, and it was supposed to seal,” said Ruth.

The sealant hadn’t hold up for even a year. So, Ruth called Old Pros to schedule a redo for the project under the guaranteed warranty. Ruth says when she made that call, Old Pros told her and Bob that they had received a bad batch of sealant from their supplier.

“He said they’d been having all kinds of issues,” said Ruth. “A number of people had called them and said that they were having the same problem.”

Several days after finding that out, still nothing from Old Pros. When the Jones’ called to make an appointment, they experienced every consumer's worst nightmare – a dead line.

“It’s kind of just disheartening I guess that, you think you’re all set for five more years and then you call the number and you get ‘this number is no longer in service,’” said Ruth. “Then it’s like, okay this isn’t good…”

Now, the Jones’ are out hundreds with no way to contact the company that allegedly took it from them. FOX 17 reached out to Old Pros as well, to no avail.

Because they do not list an address, the Better Business Bureau cannot investigate, either.

If you had bad dealings with Old Pros Construction Company and know how to contact them, please email the Problem Solvers at problemsolvers@fox17online.com