Innova marketing and concierge club/Kovay resort

[SuzetteJ]

We went to puerto Vallarta last year and attended a presentation. We only bought a limited contract but were promised payment of we didn’t use our weeks and chose to let the resort rent them out. I’m now realizing this is a scam company so I am wondering what my recourses are since they are in Mexico. Does anyone have any insights into this?
Thanks in advance!

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

We went to puerto Vallarta last year and attended a presentation. We only bought a limited contract but were promised payment of we didn’t use our weeks and chose to let the resort rent them out. I’m now realizing this is a scam company so I am wondering what my recourses are since they are in Mexico. Does anyone have any insights into this?
Thanks in advance!

Welcome to TUG
You are correct about Kovay [ and it’s previous names ] There are a number of TUG Mexican Forum threads about this- going back at least 10 years.

 

[SuzetteJ]

Oh no! OK thanks for letting me know! Can you point me in some directions for recourse?
We booked through monster vacations which brokers tone share presentations. This is an American company. Is there recourse there if they know that kovay and innova are scam companies they are seeming people to?
Can I contact the credit card company I used to investigate it as a scam charge?
Has anyone reported in these threads any luck on getting their money back?
Thank you!!

 

[WorldT]

You said your vacation was last year. If you are still within the charge back period for your card, you should go ahead and do that. If not, I don't know of any way to get your money back. Just make sure you don't pay anyone any more money. It will not help.

 

[SuzetteJ]

Thank you. I will check into that tomorrow.

 

[Kendel]

We went to puerto Vallarta last year and attended a presentation. We only bought a limited contract but were promised payment of we didn’t use our weeks and chose to let the resort rent them out. I’m now realizing this is a scam company so I am wondering what my recourses are since they are in Mexico. Does anyone have any insights into this?
Thanks in advance!

I too had signed up with Kovay vacations but no one answers my e-mails (in fact, the e-mails they gave us are invalid), and the web-site links don't work. Does anyone know what has happened to the company?

 

[WorldT]

Really doesn't matter. As you can already tell, if they give you a non-working email, they have taken off. See the recommendations above depending on when you signed up. Also make sure to cancel any card or bank account number you gave them.

 

[Donald an owner]

Things to know from my own experience as a recent Kovay owner. The Kovay Vacations resort offers timeshare access to their resort in La Cruz half hour west of Nueva Vallarta on Banderas Bay. As part of their presentation pitch, they may offer to also "dispose" of other timeshares you may own, and/or also as part of that pitch to effectively "rent out" any timeshare weeks you "deposit" with them in a given year. The company that is contracted to dispose and rent out weeks is called Capital Marketing Distribution Systems. The company does not exist in any real sense. Their local numbers have been disconnected. Their international numbers ring thru to busy after 5 minutes. Their website physical office address is a valid address, but there is no company there by this name. Others in the same boat have also found that all e-mail communication with this company ceased sometime last fall. But not before users have been fed a string of lies about how long they might have to wait to receive any funds. Lies included claims that an international bank transfer was already enroute to their bank account. (False tracking number also provided.) Meanwhile, some other users (not myself) have launched a series of fraud claims against Barclays Bank, who provided credit card (loan) services to some Kovay (or predecessor Vallarta Gardens) purchasers. So far, Barclays has rejected all such claims, so other channels are being explored. The resort has been operating this scam/racket for a number of years--in conjunction with a series of (every-failing) side companies to do the disposal and rent-out thing. And many purchasers are also finding that it can often be difficult to actually book a reservation at the resort within the stated time windows for availability--and guess what, the resort is meanwhile offering access to some of the same types of units thru Expedia. They are playing all the angles, and obviously should be avoided like the plague.

 

[Donald an owner]

On the question of "recourse" that started this thread, I would offer the following advice:

Apply to join a Facebook group called "Kovay Gardens / Vallarta Gardens - Debt Club !"

This is a group of over 200 disgruntled Kovay/Vallarta people who are seeking ways to air their own experiences and escalate their complaints with this resort, and with Barclays Bank. Channels currently under consideration include legal and regulatory channels in Mexico, USA and Canada.

Your application may or may not be accepted since the FB group has been infiltrated by a person on the inside of the Kovay operation under false self-representations. And the chair and a previous legal counsel to the group have received (serious) threats if they continue their pursuit of Kovay. Nuff said?

 

[WorldT]

Any attempts to go after Kovay will likely be futile. The company will just close shop and disappear.
Best option is to go after the credit card issuer starting with refusing to pay the charge.
If the charge was made to your own non-Barclays card, you should be able to win a contest much easier than if it was on a card associated with the Kovay outfit.

 

[Donald an owner]

Agreed that attempts to go after Kovay will likely be futile. However, the Kovay operation itself is a bricks and mortar actual resort in La Cruz that both offers timeshares, and rents rooms on Expedia, where reviews are less than stellar. Kovay itself, under a succession of names, may yet "feel the heat" and change its name to muddy the legal waters. Most recently, this happened early in 2024, when the prior company "Vallarta Gardens" was disappeared to be replaced by the new company "Kovay Vacations". Same thing tends to happen to sales staff.

It is also the side companies, e.g. Capital Marketing DS, etc. that are largely fictitious, and subject to periodic "disappearance" when the going gets hot.

Then there is the "aiding and abetting" Barclays Bank credit card operation used by the resort to "help" purchasers finance their timeshare purchase. Barclays has been aware for years that the Kovay operation itself is a long-running fraud, but so far no one appears to have been able to get any legal satisfaction out of them. So much for a supposed "name brand" 35 billion USD bank.

 

[moonstone]

I wonder of Profeco would be of any help. They are discussed in the 'sticky' at the top of this section, here; https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/s...nding-a-mexican-timeshare-presentation.61829/

~Diane

 

[LVdude]

We went to puerto Vallarta last year and attended a presentation. We only bought a limited contract but were promised payment of we didn’t use our weeks and chose to let the resort rent them out. I’m now realizing this is a scam company so I am wondering what my recourses are since they are in Mexico. Does anyone have any insights into this?
Thanks in advance!

I was caught in the same scam! I gave them my weeks to rent out! The strung me along for 18 months with promises and excuses. Finally this month they have stopped answering my emails. Probably no recourse sine it is a Mexican company

 

[djmimi]

snap, I suppose the "insurance" I paid doesn't work either...