ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A local company turned a bad situation into a positive one by repairing the driveway of an elderly couple scammed out of thousands of dollars.
Bob Marvin, an 83-year-old veteran, and his wife, Barbara, paid $4,000 to a crew of four men, who were posing as repairman, to refinish the driveway of their southern St. Augustine home earlier this month, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office.
The finished product was wet, crumbling asphalt. On top of that, deputies said, one of the men went into their couple's bedroom and stole more than $4,000 inside a lock box.
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The couple didn't notice the money was gone until after they left. Bob told News4Jax he couldn't get the guilt out of his head.
"It breaks my heart," Bob said. "I have been around a long time. I've been all over the world. I've talked to people, been with people. But I've never been scammed, until this time."
The Marvins said they also felt embarrassed.
"I still won't let anybody in the door again. But I know what to ask for next time," Barbara said.
So when another crew showed up at their doorstep Wednesday morning, Barbara told them, "No. I don't want to do business."
But when the men explained Duval Asphalt wanted to smooth things out and give the couple the driveway they deserve, Bob had to stop himself from crying tears of joy.
Mitchell Gant, the vice president of Duval Asphalt, explained that he saw the couple's story on News4Jax earlier this week and it struck a cord with him.
"We have been a part of this community forever and we always look for ways to give back. And we saw the story on the news and we were, like, that looks like the right thing to do. And we jumped in to help," Gant said.
Duval Asphalt offered to give the couple a new driveway free of charge -- laying the groundwork for the Marvin's happy ending.
Crews had to start from scratch, but they were able to finish the job within just a few hours Wednesday.
Gant said the job should have cost about $1,500, but $4,000. But he didn't charge a penny.
"They are good people in a bad situation and we felt like we needed to do something," Gant said.
The Marvins said they were beyond grateful.
"My husband can't talk because he cries. This has truly upset him, he will be sitting there and all of a sudden he says I just can't believe that there are people like this. But it's really nice to know that we still have some good people in this world," Barbara said.