As a former driveway sealer I know about some of the scams that these con artists like to pull. I got to hear all about them when I went door to door asking people if they would like their driveways sealed.
Most slammed the door in my face while others took the time to tell me how the last person that came around offering to seal their driveway took their money and never finished the job. As you can imagine I had to work extra hard to win their business.

There are essentially 2 kinds of scams that the fraudulent driveway sealers would use.

Up Front Payment Scam

When someone offers to seal your driveway they usually don’t have the equipment with them at that moment. Some of the material required is heavy and not that easy to bring to every house on a street. So if you agree to have your driveway sealed, they are going to make an appointment with you. At that time they will ask for the money right away, usually cash is requested and they might offer a cash discount if you do. (Most professional sealers will not offer cash discounts, only mulitple driveway discounts or something like that)

Just as you might suspect, the “Driveway Sealer” doesn’t show up and you are out the cash.

Motor Oil Sealant

This one is less common but is used in a lot of residential areas. Basically the person or company sealing your driveway uses used motor oil instead of the proper professional grade sealant. This is applied either using a sprayer or rolled on and looks pretty good at first. Until it rains at least, then most of it washes away. Leaving your driveway in a mess with patchy areas and oil stains everywhere. It can even stain your sidewalk and curbs.

Protecting Against Driveway Scams

Your best defense against these types of scams is to stick with a repuitable company that is well trusted. In my area The Driveway Guys are one such company that has earned a great reputation by doing a quality job at a resonable price. You can visit them at Drivewayguys.ca

If you insist on having your driveway sealed by a smaller or lesser known sealer make sure that you do not pay until the job is complete and always pay by cheque. It is at least somewhat traceable if you do get ripped off.