If your driveway is looking a little worn, beware of the asphalt contractor scam, according to the North Dakota Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. Victims may not just be out thousands of dollars on the scammers’ inferior work but could face additional costly problems.

One Minot pastor can attest to how slippery the fraudsters can be. Due to a recent incident, his church is out $4,000 and has been left with a shoddy piece of workmanship that already had to be removed and damage that will cost tens of thousands of dollars to fix.

Pastor Scott Mehlhoff shared his church’s story to alert the community to the dangers of such scams and potentially prevent others from becoming victims.

He said he was preparing for a funeral gathering at the Southside Church of the Nazarene when he was approached by an individual wanting to do asphalt patching on the church’s parking lot. The individual left after Mehlhoff told him a funeral was scheduled that day and he wasn’t interested. Later, a second individual came and Mehlhoff told that individual a decision would need to be made by the church board. Because the person was persistent but vague in the scope of work proposed, Mehlhoff asked further questions to get more detail and find out what might be done for $4,000.

Also facing pressing funeral duties, Mehlhoff left without giving the asphalt crew a decision. After the family and pastor left for the cemetery. women cleaning up after the lunch in the church noticed the crew tearing up pavement in the parking lot and approached the workers, who responded they had spoken to the pastor. Returning from the cemetery later, Mehlhoff also saw the crew grinding pavement in the parking lot. He demanded answers regarding the unauthorized work and they said they could complete the job for $8,000-$9,000.

Mehlhoff had another individual with some understanding of contracting also talk to the crew. That individual, after learning the crew had no state contractor’s license, ordered the mess cleaned up or legal charges would be pursued.

Because the parking lot couldn’t be left in its condition at that point, Mehlhoff said, $4,000 was paid to make repairs. However, the crew did not follow orders to clean up afterward or fill in all the pavement that was ground down. Mehlhoff sought to cancel the check but it had been immediately cashed. License plates indicated the crew’s vehicles were out-of-state rentals, with no way to track the fraudsters.

The church was left with a poor asphalting job, which had to be taken up again because it funnels water into the front door of the church and will lead to water damage from rain if not fixed, Mehlhoff said.

His advice to other residents if approached by individuals offering to perform unsolicited contract services is to first ask if they have a contractor’s license with the State of North Dakota.

“If they want to do it that day, they are not in a rush for you. They are in a rush for them. They are probably hiding something,” he said. “Don’t talk to them.”

Elin Alm, interim director of the state Consumer Protection Division, agrees with that advice.

Because people can get caught up in the moment, it can be difficult to recall precautions, Alm said. Instead, people should have a standard policy not to hire anyone who approaches them to perform work, she said.

“People should really be in charge of who they hire. They should be in control of it and hire based on reputation, references and if the people are local and that they can find them,” she said.

The Attorney General’s Office suggests making sure a company and its crew have all the licenses required by state law.

Contractors who do a job valued at $4,000 or more must be licensed by the Secretary of State and are listed online in the Licensed Contractor list. Any contractor or service provider not originally from the local area also must have a Transient Merchant License, issued by the Attorney General and also listed online.

After checking for the required licenses, get a written contract that details the specific repairs being done and cost estimates, according to the Attorney General’s Office. Although there may be a small percentage to be paid up front for materials, full payment should not be paid until after all work has been satisfactorily completed.

With asphalt scams, the Attorney General’s Office reports, a typical scenario is a traveling asphalt paving crew claims to have leftover materials from a completed job nearby and offers a low-priced deal. The quality of the material used and application method is inferior, but the paving crew will be long gone by the time the victim discovers a problem.

The crews often operate near major highway systems and insist on cash payments. If checks are accepted at all, they are cashed immediately at the nearest bank, the Attorney General’s Office states.

Alm said these contractor scams often appear in the summer as crews move up from southern states.

“We see that a lot,” she said, “and a lot of times it’s just bad work, too, that people are going to have to hire somebody to fix.”

Alm said victims can contact law enforcement if a crew is found to be tearing up property without a written agreement, but these situations might be viewed as a civil dispute. It is more important that property owners don’t allow that work to continue, she said.

“You’re probably better off just telling them to leave,” she said.