Builders smash up concrete driveway after homeowner refuses to pay them for their work

A homeowner in Australia saw her brand-new driveway smashed to pieces after she allegedly 'refused' to pay the builders for their work.

The drastic action was taken by tradesman Jesse Crowe, of Logan, Queensland, and his team after they'd worked to lay a new driveway for a customer.

Crowe had previously spoken with the homeowner, Viola, to negotiate a price of $6000 AUD ($4,012 USD) for the job, which involved creating a new surface for the large driveway attached to the side of the home.

Viola paid $2,500 AUD ($1,670) but allegedly refused to pay the remaining $3,500 AUD ($2,340) when she reportedly got into a dispute with Crowe about the quality of the job and rubbish removal.

In an interview with 7News, Viola alleged that she had been threatened by Crowe after she complained about the driveway.

"[They said] 'you pay now, now or we will smash the concrete'," she said.

Viola also claimed she would have paid the workers, but they 'refused to finish the job'.

"They did what they wanted, not what I wanted," she said.

7News

After Crowe realized he wouldn't be getting the remainder of the money he was owed, he created a video showing 'what happens when you don't pay for works carried out at your place'.

Along with a co-worker, Crowe then lifted a pick-axe above his head and swung it into the concrete, causing a large hole in the freshly-laid drive.

The two workers then repeated the move all the way up the driveway, leaving it patchy, uneven and full of dents.

Behind the camera, the person filming the video could be heard saying: "You should have paid. And it's going to cost more to get it all dug up, taken away and poured again.

"Didn't want to pay? This is what happened."

7News

Crowe told 7News that he'd been in the trade for a 'long time' and had been 'doing the right thing by people', before asking: "They don't want to pay, at the end of the day, what are you going to do?"

The small business owner, who was 'tired of being ripped off', added that he didn't 'like' destroying his work'.

"I take pride in my work and I love concrete, I love doing it," he said.

The family living at the home expressed plans to fix the hole-covered driveway themselves after Crowe took his tools to the stone.

Meanwhile, Crowe added: "I just want to get paid."

The dispute happened late last year, but both sides are still standing firm after the clip was posted online a few days ago.

Topics: Australia, Money, Life, Viral

Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.