During New Hampshire’s short paving season, Attorney General Kelly Ayotte warns consumers to be extremely cautious when selecting a contractor to pave a driveway or parking lot. Every year, transient pavers enter our state in order to scam unsuspecting homeowners and business people.

The ability to hit and run is the key to a successful asphalt paving scam. Crews usually wander from one community to another offering driveway paving service. The scam artists typically approach consumers in their yards, promising low estimates because of leftover materials from a completed job a few houses away or on a nearby highway project. Some of the asphalt paving scams warning signs are:

•Selling door-to-door.
•Claiming they have leftover asphalt from another job.
•Push consumers to make a quick decision.
•No contract offered.
•Cash only sales.
•Deals that seem to be good to be true.
•Unmarked trucks.

•Obtain several estimates from different pavers.
•Obtain a list of references.
•Get everything in writing.
•Do not be pressured into agreeing to anything you do not understand or do not want.
•Check with the Better Business Bureau and the Consumer Protection Bureau at the Attorney General's Office to see if these agencies have received complaints about the business.

For more information, please call the Consumer Protection Hotline at 271-3641.