Raleigh Asphalt Driveway Contractors Raleigh, NC

Worst Raleigh Contractors of 2009

Eugene Granelle, Window Pros of Hickory | Mooresville, N.C.

A 2008 lawsuit against Window Pros of Hickory for allegedly scamming customers all over the state remains in court-ordered mediation.

The company, named one of the state’s Worst Contractors in 2008, ignored 27 customers’ rights to cancel contracts within three days and forced them to pay money they didn’t owe, according to the attorney general’s office.

The company, which is now operating as Conservation Windows, is accused of taking aggressive measures to deter cancellations.

The attorney general has asked the court to order the company to cancel contracts and pay civil penalties of $5,000 for Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices and $2,000 for violations of the Debt Collectors Act.

Company owner Eugene Granelle, who is illegally unlicensed in North Carolina, did not return calls.

Tommy Edward Clack | Greensboro, N.C.

Paving contractor Tommy Edward Clack was arraigned in October on four felony counts of obtaining signatures under false pretenses after South Carolina police say he scammed several victims there.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper says Clack also victimized residents in that state.

In 2007, Clack pleaded guilty in New Hanover County to 26 civil misdemeanor charges and received three years probation.

In November 2008, a judge ordered Clack to give customers four days to cancel contracts before doing any paving jobs.

One of his North Carolina victims, George Jenkins, 85, of Liberty, allowed Clack, an illegally unlicensed contractor in North Carolina, to pave his driveway after he showed up with “extra” materials.

Three weeks later, Clack tried to bill Jenkins $180,000 for the job.

Clack’s attorney, Hank Anderson, says his client did not break any laws. His South Carolina customers “agreed to the price and could’ve changed their minds if they wanted to,” Anderson says. At press time, no trial date had been set.

— reporting by Kristen Rojowski