Islander calls on delivery firm to pay upfront for repairs after vehicle leaked oil on driveway

A man from central P.E.I. says he is at his wits' end after a delivery vehicle leaked oil on his driveway in Darlington over a year ago. 

He wants someone to pay to repair the discoloured gravel, but despite his efforts, that hasn't happened.

"I'm just tired," said Thomas Keefe. "I'm tired of this back and forth — and then just very kind of upset that my property was damaged and I'm not getting it fixed."

It all started in September 2023, after Keefe had a package delivered to his home. When the delivery vehicle broke down leaving his driveway, Keefe helped push it to a better spot and agreed to let the driver park it there while he sorted out what to do. 

There it sat for two days, he said — full of packages and dripping oil. 

Keefe said the driver told him the company would cover the cost of cleanup. More than a year later, that still hasn't happened. 

"It's big spots of oil all over my gravel driveway and it's an eyesore," said Keefe. "I was pretty kind and caring at the time... so I thought maybe that I'd get some of that kindness in return. And I just didn't."

'I'd like to see it fixed'

When Keefe looks at his driveway now, three splotches catch his eye. One is further up by his home where the vehicle stopped initially; another is near the road where it broke down; and the final patch is off to the side where they pushed it to get it out of the way. They are slightly darker than the other gravel and look almost wet. 

Because the areas are so spread out, Keefe doesn't want to see a patch job done. He worries his property value will fall if just those individual spots are repaired and the areas don't match the rest of his driveway. He's gotten an estimate saying adding gravel to the whole driveway would cost $5,000.

"I'd like to see it fixed. I'd like to just see it get replaced," he said. 

The local delivery company is a contractor for a larger company called Intelcom. Keefe has been in contact with Intelcom ever since the incident, and a few months ago, the company agreed to reimburse him for cleanup and restoration.

Intelcom declined an interview but said in a statement that its offer "was made in accordance with our internal policies for such incidents, requiring the concerned individual to provide us with supporting documents, such as a paid invoice."

It adds that the company is "fully committed to providing compensation upon completion of the repairs and reception of the supporting documents."

'I don't have $5,000'

But Keefe said he can't afford to pay for that kind of project upfront. 

"I don't have $5,000. That's the quote I got… $5,000. So I don't have that money to just throw around willy-nilly," he said. 

"They've already said that they would reimburse me. So I don't understand why they can't just, you know, fix it."

In the meantime, Keefe is not sure what he's going to do. He is hoping the company comes around. If not, he said he doesn't really have another option.