A South Florida man has worked hard to grow his small business. Starting with a single truck, he’s now up to nine. But when he couldn’t collect after delivering on a big job, he called Help Me Howard with Brandon Beyer.
Alain Aragon got into the restoration business after a career in real estate.
Alain Aragon: “We felt it helps the community a lot better and there’s a lot of people in need that we get to serve so we’re very proud of that.”
From fires to floods, when disaster strikes Alain shows up. He says helping people navigate those first few hours keeps him going.
Alain Aragon: “When you go to a person’s fire after their house just caught on fire and you see that they’re completely lost and you can actually help and guide them in the way, gives you a lot of satisfaction.”
It wasn’t a fire that led to Alain’s problem. It was a flood and it wasn’t at a home. It was a hotel, where Alain says a water valve ruptured damaging several rooms.
Alain Aragon: “One room had a loss which damaged the neighboring room and the offices under that floor and the office under that floor.”
Alain and his crew spent two weeks at the hotel drying it up.
Their fees climbing into the tens of thousands of dollars.
Brandon Beyer: “Total job you said was how much?”
Alain Aragon: “$39,000 and change.”
The flood was over a year ago and Alain says he still hasn’t been paid for the job.
Alain Aragon: “Very important because it helps us pay our bills helps us pay our employees and feed their families.”
And now he says he can’t get ahold of them.
Alain Aragon: “I requested multiple times for them to give updates and we never received any responses.”
And that’s when he thought of Help Me Howard.
Alain Aragon: “I figured before I get into a legal battle with these people, I wanted to explore all my options and I thought of you guys.”
Howard, Alain runs a small business. And nearly $40,000, he says, is a lot of money.
Howard Finkelstein: “Alain says he did not have the hotel sign a contract. But with an itemized receipt, an oral agreement is binding.”
We are not naming the hotel because it is unclear who is responsible for paying the bill.
The hotel is owned by one company and managed by another.
And although we’ve been calling and emailing for several months, we’ve heard nothing.
If Alain is to get paid, it seems he might have to take them to court.
Howard Finkelstein: “He will have to prove the work was done and at a reasonable price. If he can show with photos the progress of the work, he stands a good chance of recovering the money.”
Something he says is worth it, because of how much money is involved.
Alain Aragon: “I still consider us a small business, so $10,000 is a lot of money.”
We will keep an eye on this one and let you know what happens.
Got a problem? Need a hand? Here’s how to find us below. It’s Help Me Howard; I’m Brandon Beyer, 7News.
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