As the local weather starts to improve, the Better Business Bureau is warning homeowners to be on the lookout for a fly-by-night paving company that was active last summer. The concern is that it will resurface again.

Homeowners at the time complained about uneven paving, cracks in the new asphalt, less than half the three inch thickness promised, and poor grading that prevented pools of water from draining away from their house to the street.

Two weeks after her job was completed, even a light brushing with her hand could tear up the asphalt in front of Sandi Docherty's home. "It cost us $5,000 to get this done," she complained

The company, Roadstone Asphalt Paving, asked for cash as soon as the job was finished.

"He followed me to my bank while I got the $5,000 cash," she said.

In Abbotsford, Susan Ross had a similar experience with a Thompson Paving, a company that came knocking on her door. And her neighbour had weeds pushing through his asphalt less than two weeks after the job was done.

The work was supposed to have a five-year guarantee, but the pavers vanished. And when they called to complain, the phone was not in service.

The company name was different but both are described as consisting of men with strong Irish accents. Thompson Paving's Hastings Street address in Vancouver turns out to be an unrelated business in the Sinclair Centre. The Kamloops company address was the home of a person not related to the company.

The BBB had three complaints against Roadstone of Kamloops and even more against Thompson Paving from Pitt meadows to Langley to Abbottsford and Prince George.

"Our suspicions are that it's a fly-by-night operation," warned BBB president Lynda Pasacreta.

With the return of warm temperatures, the BBB is concerned that last summer's paving spree will start again.

Their advice? Beware of any contractor who just shows up at your door soliciting for work. If you've got a project that needs to be done, get two or three quotes. Ask for references and check them.

A fly-by-night operation won't be around long enough to have a rating with the BBB. So you need to choose a company which has been around long enough to have its work reviewed and rated.

With a report by CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen