KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — Everything gets a little worn out or damaged with age.
After more than 40 years of being run over, snowed on, and rained on the old apron to the driveway at Jean Whitaker’s house had seen better days.
“It’s beginning to crumble. The concrete is separating,” her daughter Jill Whitaker said.
The family hired a local contractor that was doing some work at a nearby home to fix the concrete portion and the cement around the drainage pipe which started to crack. The drainage ditch also needed some minor repairs.
“We first noticed the water wasn’t draining properly,” Whitaker said.
The concrete apron that connects the driveway with the road is about eight inches thick in some parts. It runs over the drainage pipe along the road.
When the section right above the pipe started cracking and crumbling, they decided to have it fixed before it collapsed.
The contractor told the family he could do the job for around $3,200. After talking with him, Jean Whitaker agreed to pay a $1,600 deposit.
“(He) seemed good. Very professional-looking. Seemed great,” Whitaker said.
Unfortunately, there were several delays that pushed the job back almost three months. Eventually, Whitaker called the contractor who she said promised but failed to do the work the next month. Whitaker tells News 2 the family reached out to him on several occasions about doing the job, but he always had an excuse.
“A lot of promises and nothing kept,” Whitaker said.
By now, it had been almost nine months and they reached out asking for a refund. This apparently went on for a few weeks before Whitaker reached out to us.
“I told mother we should call 2 Wants to Know because they take action,” Whitaker said.
After we received the email, we contacted the contractor who eventually agreed to pay the money back.
“I was a little optimistic. My mom was like he’s not going to pay,” Whitaker said. “We are so grateful thank you.”
The family hired a new contractor to make the repairs and just recently sold the house.