A family in South Australia's Riverland says it has been left almost $10,000 out of pocket and with nothing to show but a patch of shoddy bitumen after falling victim to a resurfacing scam.
A week ago Thuc Vu and his wife said they were working at their grocery shop when they were approached by a man who introduced himself as "Warren".
Warren told the couple he was with a road resurfacing group that had bitumen left over from a nearby job and that they did not want to transport the material back to Melbourne.
He offered to do any work that they might need done at a reduced rate, saying he would only charge for the cost of the product — just under $10,000.
The workers played on Thuc Vu's emotions and then tried to extort him for double what he had agreed to pay. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
"I [felt] very sorry for them," Mr Vu said.
His son, Vinnie, said the workers had a good "sob story".
"My dad agreed to it only if they had enough product to cover the area," he said.
"They used high pressure to get my dad to pay them."
Mr Vu agreed to proceed but noticed part-way through the job that the tools and equipment the group had were not appropriate for the work.
When he quizzed the workers on it he was told that it was the correct way to resurface the road.
Less than two hours later, what was left was a small patch of uneven and unfinished bitumen sitting on top of their gravel driveway.
The work was not done properly and will require repairs. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
"Then I realised that is their plan," Mr Vu said.
He was told that if he wanted the job finished he would need to pay an additional $21,000.
"It was like a heart-drop moment," Vinnie said.
The family turned the group away and will now have to fork out more money to get the driveway fixed.
The family will now to pay money to fix a job they did not want. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
'Bitumen bandits' on the road
Reports of the "bitumen bandits" scam operating in the Riverland, Barossa, O'Halloran Hill and the Yorke Peninsula were made to Consumer Business Services (CBS) in July.
Commissioner Brett Humphrey said six complaints were being "actively investigated".
"It's hard to confirm that it is actually the same business, but the timing of it and the areas involved would indicate that at least they're involved with each other," he said.
"These consumers have all been left with a hefty bill to fix the mess that has been left by this company."
The scam has been known to occur in South Australia and Western Australia for a number of years.
In 2023 the WA government said the organised operation was linked to scammers from overseas.
Brett Humphrey says tracking down the scammers is no easy task. (ABC News)
On its website, CBS said the "conmen" were known to use threatening or intimidating behaviour to close deals and sometimes used legitimate business names on flyers to trick customers.
It said the offenders breached consumer laws, such as coercing customers for payment, failing to observe the required 10 business day cooling-off period, unsolicited consumer agreements, providing false representations and wrongly claiming to be affiliated with reputable entities.
Mr Humphrey said he was concerned that the scam was still being run and encouraged people to do their homework on businesses they engage.
"A lot of these have previously been hard to follow up," he said.
"Make sure you're not paying for work until you're satisfied with the quality that's been done."
CBS said the offenders would need to be brought before the court for the victims to receive compensation.
The scam has been reported a number of times over the years. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
Mr Vu's family reported the incident to CBS and hope no-one else will fall victim to the scam.
"The best thing is to get the local to do the job for you," Mr Vu said.
"We paid close to $10,000 for a lesson."
