Advanced Asphalt Paving Advanced Concrete Paving, did not complete work according to written agreement. Owner took money and abandoned job. Tioga, Louisiana

On August 19, 2010, Jack Cooper arrived to begin work preparing the ground for the concrete.  In agreement with the contract I signed with Mr. Cooper, I paid him the first installment of 4,000 dollars at this point.

On August 20, while I was away at work, he sent his workers out to quickly frame and pour the concrete without leveling the ground for the parking area.   While the workers were smoothing the concrete, one of the workers passed out from heat stroke and had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance.  I raced home to check on the worker and discovered the concrete truck driving away.  I did not have the time or ability to inspect the work since I had to return to my job in a hurry and it began to rain heavily, but I did express my concerns with Mr. Cooper about the concrete parking area not appearing to be a slab as the written agreement signed by him and me states.   He said not to worry because it is level.  I did not have time to examine the concrete in the rain and asked my wife to pay him the rest of the money in full to complete my end of the work agreement. 

As soon as I arrived back at work, I called Mr. Cooper on the phone and told him I am very concerned about the concrete parking area not appearing level.  He said not to worry because the slab at the most had a 4 inch drop from one end of the parking area to another.  I told him I wanted to clearly verify if I were to stand at one end of the parking area, look towards the far end 51 feet away it would only drop 4 inches at the most.  Jack Cooper said most certainly 3 to 4 inches is the most the slab drops in 51 feet.  He also said if I were to place a marble anywhere on the slab it would not move.  He then said on the phone after I left in a hurry, he told my wife as a favor to us he would accept a final payment of $4,000 dollars balance rather than $4,500 as written in the agreement as a discount to us since he wants us to hire him to complete other paving needs at our house.

I did not return from work until after dark.  The next morning I awoke to inspect the work he completed and discovered a 41 inch differential in height from one end of the parking area to the other which renders the parking area useless.  To add insult to injury, the unlevel surface that was supposed to be 16 x 51 feet is actually 14'11 inches x 51 feet.  It became apparent he did not place a tape measure across the forms before pouring, much less a level.  It also should be noted to this day, Jack Cooper never sent anyone to my address to remove the concrete forms after the concrete set.

The sidewalk area described in the work proposal signed by Mr. Cooper was framed and never poured.  The reason he gave for not pouring the concrete in the sidewalk was the fact he did not have enough concrete left over when pouring the drive and unlevel parking area.  In an effort to be accommodating, I told him in spite of the contract I would accept a crushed limestone drive in place of the concrete. He arrived two days later with 6 bags of marble chips which he scattered in the form.

 First of all, marble chips are not appropriate for a sidewalk since they are hard and sharp and used for decoration around sidewalks and in rock beds or flower beds, not for walking upon.  Secondly, the amount of marble chips was ridiculously insufficient.  The concrete form was still in place and the ground was exposed throughout the area formed as a sidewalk.  It is a complete joke what he tried to pass off as a sidewalk.

When I spoke with Mr. Cooper about how he did not complete the work he wrote in the contract, he asked what it would take to be sure I am satisfied.  My response was the addition of a 16 X 50 foot slab attached to the end of the unlevel concrete he poured.  

On September 10, 2010, Mr. Cooper visited my house to have me show him in person exactly what I want to be sure I am satisfied with his work.  He expressed great interest in completing this project to the best of his ability and promised to return and complete the work for an additional 500 dollars to help with expenses.  After an earlier discussion with my lawyer regarding this situation, I was advised to accept an offer to pay up to 500 dollars if there would be a promise to salvage this situation. I agreed to Mr. Coopers offer and he said he would start work on September 17, 2010.    

On September 15, 2010, I received a call from Jack Cooper asking if I would accept one thousand dollars cash and the addition of 6 inches of concrete to widen the narrow area in exchange for the addition of a 16 X 50 foot slab.  I told him that is not acceptable since widening an unlevel surface will not make it level or useable.  Mr. Cooper became angry and hung up on me.  He has not contacted me since. 

In response to his unacceptable offer prior to hanging up the phone with me, I mailed two certified letters to Mr. Cooper offering two options for a settlement to resolve this matter.  The first option was to refund $3,000 of the money I paid him.   The second option was to pour a 16 X 50 foot slab of concrete at the end of the unlevel concrete he poured.  The first letter was sent certified on September 20, 2010 to his home address, a second carbon copy was sent to his work address on September 23, 2010.  Both letters were sent back to me without being accepted by Mr. Cooper or anyone at these addresses.

It is apparent Mr. Jack Cooper of Advanced Asphalt Paving has no interest in performing the work as written in his written agreement, has taken my money and abandoned the job.    

I have several pictures that support the statements in this letter.  I tried to upload the pictures but received an error message.  The pictures are available upon request.