LONGMONT, Colo. — Denver7 has been flooded with messages from Eight Black Airport Shuttle customers who say they were left in the lurch after the company's sudden closure.
Felipe Reyes and his family travel often, and until recently, the family of five had pretty reliable airport transportation.
"It's a necessity, you know? My oldest daughter is wheelchair bound and we need something bigger," he said.
Like many families in the Longmont area, Eight Black was their go-to airport shuttle service.
"It was great. Good service, good people, good drivers," Reyes described the last two years as a customer.
Reyes stocked up on pre-paid vouchers to use on future rides, including one for a family trip scheduled for Tuesday. However, Eight Black suddenly closed its doors earlier this month.
"I was in shock. I tried to call them, contact by phone, text, email several times and got no answers," said Reyes.
Several fellow customers reached out to Denver7, saying they had recently bought vouchers during a sale that was promoted not long before the company shut down.
Denver7 dug into the background of the business owner, Simon Chen.
In 2024, a judge determined that Chen and Eight Black owed $109,984.76 to a small business funding company in New York. Then, on May 5, a judge in Boulder ordered him to pay back $153,947.73 to a different lender.
The following week, on May 17, Eight Black posted a voucher sale online, encouraging customers to pay ahead for future rides. The sale was extended on May 27, with the company closing on June 13.
Denver7 stopped by the offices, but no one was there. Chen has not returned our request for comment via email or voicemail as of the publication of this article.
On the company's website, the owner claims to offer refunds for the vouchers with a possible 12-month wait time. Customers told Denver7 they're hopeful for a refund, but they aren't holding their breath.
"What they did, not only to me but to many people, it's wrong. Just wrong," said Reyes.
Denver7 checked in with the Colorado Attorney General's Office about this situation. A spokesperson said the office cannot comment on whether they are investigating a specific business, but Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser did provide advice on what you should do if you find yourself in a similar situation.
"Whenever you're buying a voucher, or even a gift card, be careful because they're only going to be good as long as the company is in business. If you buy a voucher or a gift card from a company that's not a well-established, let's call it upstart or a newcomer, that's a risk that you're taking. So be careful," said Weiser. "If you buy a voucher or a gift card from some type of new company who's not been in the market long, that's a sign. The second point I would say if you use a credit card, there might be ways to protect you."
