KOTV In Your Corner

A follow up to a recent "In your corner" report about a local family's bad experience with an asphalt company. <br><br>KOTV's Consumer reporter Diane White says this story involves some senior

Monday, July 19th 1999, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A follow up to a recent "In your corner" report about a local family's bad experience with an asphalt company.

KOTV's Consumer reporter Diane White says this story involves some senior citizens who believe an asphalt crew tricked them out of money, much of which the owner promised to refund, after KOTV ran our story about their driveway dilemma. "It's not even an inch thick right there. I can't believe you've got grass coming up already." Grass in the driveway, cracks in the asphalt. Russell Allshouse says last month, several men from a company called Stanley Asphalt showed up at their home in Kellyville offering to pave his mother-in-law's driveway for a few hundred dollars. But when they finished, owner Timothy Stanley gave them a contract and told them they owed $4,800. "I grabbed my chest. I was mad and I looked at my mother-in-law and she was just shaking. She only had 4,000 in her savings account." He went ahead and accepted the $4,000, but she drained her bank account. They also charged Russell $1,700 for his driveway. He says he never saw any contract until after they finished the job. "What do you look for when you check?"

KOTV asked the owner of Affordable Asphalt in Tulsa, a member of the Better Business Bureau for a professional opinion. "Look on the edges here. It's not even an inch thick here. And there's grass growing up through it right here already. In my opinion it's not worth anything." But Rick Brinkley with the Better Business Bureau says it's a common summertime complaint. "The average company does not travel around with an extra truckload of asphalt. It just doesn't happen. If someone shows up on your doorstep and says they've got some asphalt, tell them that you just need to call the police and the Better Business Bureau and check them out." The Allshouse tried to call Timothy Stanley, but the phone number had been disconnected. KOTV did track them down. He wouldn't talk on camera but told us quote "No one's misled nobody. Whatever it takes to make them happy, I'll do it."

The Allshouses wanted some of their money back, their son called Timothy Stanley last Wednesday and said Stanley promised to send them a $3,000 cashiers check. The deadline was 5 p.m. Thursday and the Allshouses say they did not get the money. They did talk to Timothy Stanley once and he promised to get it to them by Thursday. But they never received any money, and Stanley hasn't returned any of their calls, and he never returned our calls.

Again, the advice from the Better Business Bureau, if someone shows up offering to do any kind of work on your property, tell them you want to check first with the police and the Better Business Bureau, and read those contracts