Enrique Sotolongo Precision Marine Electronics percision Marine Electric Internet

THE TRUTH

I met Allen Charlap thru a friend of mine who has done work with Allen in the past.  Originally Allen hired me to install a two bank battery charging system, install a VHF, install a compass, install an AM/FM/CD player, replace twelve on/off switches, and clean up his wiring.  My usual rate is $75 an hour, however since Allen is a supposed yacht broker, I agreed to do the work at $55 an hour in exchange for recommendation to his clients.  This was to be paid once the above mentioned work was completed.  I arrived to do this job on a Tuesday morning per I had prior engagements that Monday. 

  When I arrived to location where Allen is keeping his vessel I came to the realization that he was keeping his boat at a foreclosed home.  As per the height of the grass it seemed to have been abandoned for a more than a few months.  It made me feel uneasy that Allen was steeling electricity in order to run his shore power and technically I was trespassing on the banks property to this job. Against my initial gut feeling I still went ahead and got on the boat only to find that there had been someone else working on this boat before me and for some reason this person decided not to work with Allen anymore.  The original job took me 11 hours to complete which began on Tuesday and ended on Thursday.  On Thursday I called Allen because although I had completed everything he had originally requested,

 I had come across some faulty wiring which could have resulted in a fire hazard. I advised Allen of this issue, he accepted that I do the additional job, and he insisted that he purchases the materials per he had connections. I advised him that I would need to bring my helper the following day in order to help me pull the long runs. I also advised him that I would need to be paid in full for the original job which was agreed upon in the amount of $850 for labor and materials.  On Friday morning my helper and I arrived at the boat to find that the materials where not there. I called Allen several times but he would not answer the phone.  As I waited for a reply from Allen, my helper and I began pulling out the faulty wiring.

Finally Allen sent me a text message; he stated that he could not make it and that his son would drop off the materials. We worked till 4pm and called it a day per we didnt have the materials needed to finish the job. Allen called me during the weekend to apologize and said he would have the materials for me on that Monday. I arrive on the boat Monday morning and still nothing. I began working in the consul when I see Allen walk up and drop a box of wire on the boat and walk off.  As soon as he got in his car I received a call from him asking me where I was, telling me that he was calling out my name.  I became so upset that this person was lying to me that I had to walk off the boat; later that day Allen called me saying that he had left the money under a rock in the backyard. 

The next morning I arrived to the boat and looked under every rock in the yard and did not find anything.  Allen shows up saying that it was his son who put the money under a rock and presumed to call his son and pretend he was looking for the cash.  He finally lifts up a rock that I had already flipped over twice and pretends to pull the cash out from under it.  At this point I felt this person was not creatable and had insulted my intelligence; this kind of behavior unacceptable.  After I had fulfilled my part of the deal and after being patient I was only paid $500 out of $850 from just the work I had completed, I decided I was better off taking the loss of the materials I had purchased, and paying an employee, than do business with a man that is not of his word.