Coventry-based Eastern Transportation and Rentals allegedly took payments but didn’t provide customers with rides, forcing them to hire different companies.
CROMWELL, Conn. — A new alleged scam has the Better Business Serving Connecticut on high alert.
The BBB Serving CT issued a warning this week regarding a Coventry transportation service that is accused of scamming nearly a dozen people out of their money.
The name of the company is Eastern Transportation and Rentals, according to the BBB Serving CT.
The release said that over the past month, BBB investigators have discovered a pattern of deception involving the business.
Reports received by the BBB Scam Tracker allege that the owner of the business, Mitch Kloter, took money from travelers who booked rides to Boston Logan and JFK international airports.
Each report was similar to the others, as customers recalled seeing Kloter’s services advertised in Connecticut and Massachusetts community forums on Facebook.
Many of the victims have said that despite accepting prepayment via peer-to-peer apps, Kloter didn’t show on the day of service, which forced them to spend more money on a different transportation company.
The customers added that Kloter said he would pay them back and never did.
In the BBB release, a Newington woman said that on July 9, she and her husband were scheduled to be picked up at Logan by Kloter, but he sent someone else at the last second.
She noted that the drive was not covered and she had to pay an extra $300. While in the car, she said she spoke with Kloter, who assured her he would reimburse her the $440.
“Again, to date he has not reimbursed me, and I don’t believe he has any intention of doing so,” she said. “I have repeatedly sent texts and either do not get an answer or I get some half-hearted excuse i.e. ‘processing issues,’ which I know now to be a scam.”
The woman encouraged people not to use Kloter because “he is not to be trusted and will scam you.”
According to the BBB Serving CT, an Enfield woman reported to the Scam Tracker that a few hours before she needed to leave with her family of six to Logan, Kloter contacted her and said he did have a van to bring them.
The woman said she had to pay $149 for an Uber on top of the $425 she already paid.
“On the way home same thing, no response for a ride home. A different driver came to get us through Mitch, and the next day the transportation company sent me an invoice for $244.13 because he was not paid either,” the woman said, adding that Kloter’s Facebook advertisements are still visible.
A Niantic woman informed the Scam Tracker that she lost $825 to Kloter, who she hired for transportation services to the airport.
She said he called her over the phone and was very professional. He even called her the morning of the services to let her know someone was on the way.
“When I called the driver, he was going to be delayed an hour after pickup time. When dealing with flights, this was not something we were going to risk,” the woman noted.
Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at .
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