Warning issued over phony British and Irish pavers

For Anglophone expats in Switzerland the sound of an English voice can be reassuring, particularly when language poses a hurdle for those engaging personal services or doing business with a company.

Cantonal justice authorities in Neuchâtel are warning, however, that those seemingly friendly voices cannot always be trusted, especially when it comes to certain services.

The authorities are telling residents in particular to be on the look-out for fraudulent British or Irish pavers who offer their services for seemingly bargain prices.

Neuchâtel police received numerous complaints of the “goudronneurs anglais et irlandais”, who offer to pave parking lots and gravel driveways in return for cash.

The workers turn up on the spot and pressure individuals to accept their services, offered at costs well below the competition, claiming to have excess tarmac that they have to dispose of.

“Farmers are frequent victims of this fraud,” Nicolas Feuz, investigating magistrate in La Chaux-de-Fonds, told Swisster.

This kind of illegal activity has been going on in France for several years but last year the perpetrators expanded their activities to several cantons in Switzerland, Feuz said.

With warmer weather heralding the beginning of the paving season, his office issued a bulletin last week reminding the public to beware of such seemingly attractive offers.

The fact the warning was issued on St. Patrick’s Day was “entirely coincidental”, Feuz said.

But many of the perpetrators are Irish, he said.

They use large trucks, with British or Irish licence plates, and they have equipment that looks convincing, Feuz.

“They could be readily mistaken for legitimate pavers,” he said.

One give-away is that they speak French poorly, though they have been known to enlist the aid of neighbours - even children - to get their sales pitch across to unsuspecting customers, Feuz said.

Last year, complaints were received over jobs that cost individuals between 4,000 and 20,000 francs, he said.

In all cases, the work done proved to be severely defective and without any kind of guarantee, he said.

The paving was “poorly done and useless after several days.”

The phony pavers typically demand cash for payment, charge between 10 and 20 francs per square metre for the asphalted surface, and they flee the region immediately after doing the work often slipping over the border into France, Feuz said.

In that country, there have been reports of similar fraud for several years in all regions from Brittany to Provence.

In Switzerland, such culprits are violating several laws, including working without a required permit and operating a business without a licence.

Feuz said those caught can face stiff fines and a possible prison sentence.

There is no apparent record of any convictions of the Anglophone fraudsters in Switzerland, however, despite complaints having been registered in several cantons.