Ontario woman says botched driveway sealing job makes house look like 'bomb exploded'
An Ontario woman whose home was left a mess after a botched driveway sealing job said "it looked a bomb exploded" on her property.
Oakville woman Anne Farrell said she hired a company to seal a driveway at her vacation property in Niagara Falls and was shocked to find tar was sprayed on her garage doors and the front of her home.
"When we pulled up to the house it looked like a bomb exploded and we were stunned," Farrell told CTV News Toronto.
Farrell said a company that seals driveways left a business card in her door and when she called them they said they could spray the driveway at her Niagara Falls address.
Farrell said it was agreed they would fill the cracks and seal the driveway for $255 and she would pay the company by e-transfer when the job was done and photos were sent to show it had been completed.
Once the agreed upon time came and went, Farrell said no photos had been sent to her and the company didn't seek payment, which made her worried.
That's when she decided to check on their property.
"There was tar all over the garage door on the front stoop of the house, on the stones on the house, all along the grass on the sides of the driveway, there was hardly anything on the driveway at all," said Farrell. "Immediately we phoned them and said what did you do to our home?"
O'Farrell said the company refused to respond to her calls and blocked her number.
When CTV News Toronto contacted the company, a spokesperson said while it did provide a quote for the sealing job, it did not actually do the work.
The company said it was not responsible, hung up and did not reply to e-mails from CTV News Toronto.
O'Farrell said she is looking for answers and said if the company she was dealing with didn't make the mess, she wants to know who did.
"My message to them is please contact us to let us know what happened and make it right and fix what you have done. This is very wrong and borders on vandalism," O’Farrell said.
It's not clear if the tar can be removed and O’Farrell is concerned that the garage doors may need to be replaced.
O'Farrell is also considering going to small claims court and is currently speaking with her home insurance company about a possible claim for vandalism.
When choosing a contractor to do a job for your home, it's important to check references and get referrals from family and friends and try to be present when the work is being done.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
BREAKING Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, claims he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women in Winnipeg, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Trudeau Liberals to unveil new bill Monday aimed at countering foreign interference
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be tabling legislation on Monday aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada. Federal officials have scheduled a technical briefing on the incoming bill for Monday afternoon.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Human remains were found at a former Hitler base, but decay prevents determining the cause of death
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Ontario MPP asked again to leave Ontario legislature over keffiyeh, Speaker loosens ban
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial fined him US$1,000 on Monday for violating his gag order once again and sternly warned the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.