I booked a moose hunt with Covert outfitting and wanted to tell you about my experience on this ordeal in November 2023.Because of the lack of contact prior to the hunt I decided to reach out to Kiff the owner the day before I left and ask him if everything was ok ? I asked if there is anything I need to know? He responded not one thing and looking forward to seeing you . The next day upon my arrival in Canada I got notice from him that there had been a problem and I was to take a taxi upon the arrival of my second flight to a motel which was a long distance away . He said he would pay me back for the cab fair . He said this vehicle had been stolen. I arrived at the motel and waited for his call . The next day ,the first day of my hunt ,after many attempts I finally got him on the phone and he said his problem was his brakes had went out on his truck!?! Well having had a lot of employees over the years I knew something up ! Later that night when I got ahold of him he said he was still looking for someone to fix his brakes. So on the second day of my hunt when I was didn't hear from him in the morning I caught a plane home. Later in the day when I got a hold of him and left a message that I was leaving he texted me back and said that was probably the right thing to do .He said I have been doing this full time for 15 years and never had anything like this happen...perfect storm of problems...please accept my apology ...obviously we will make it right financially...I ran a bit hard up north and broke to much gear. So I sent him a statement which included my deposit, Airfare, airport park, taxi and motel bill. I tried to be more than fair I didn't include food, mileage to/from airport or ticket change fee. I got a check with my deposit back along with a note which starts off with an apology then turns into all the problems he has had and how bad covid was on his business and then saying it also was kind of my fault for not giving him time to fix it ! Remember it was a 7 day hunt and I also was planning on be on all seven days for the opportunity to hunt other stuff after the moose and just to enjoy my 7 days of vacation! I will let you decide if he owes me more than just the deposit but I know this is not what I signed up for and ,I am sure not what you want when you go on a hunt !
With show season upon us I just thought I would give everyone fair warning!

You can tell I can't type it is supposed to be COVERT OUTFITTING can the administrator please change the title

Did the check clear?

yes

He should cover your expenses since he failed to live up to his end of the deal.

good luck i'm afraid you may need it

That sucks. While it definitely sounds like the outfitter "should" reimburse you for flights, taxi, motel, etc. I wouldn't hold my breath. The fact that he returned the full deposit and the check cleared outs you in a better position than many folks who get screwed by an outfitter.

I just think we as hunters have an obligation to each other to inform each other when something like this happens. I do not want this to happen to anyone else and hope people will spread the word that this is not acceptable. Outfitters who treat clients this way should become well known as someone you want to stay away from!

Can anyone tell me how to make this also appear on the Canadian hunting tread?

You'd have to post it in that forum too

The type of hunt that everyone fears could happen.
I'm afraid that getting your deposit might be as good as it gets. To recoup the other legit expenses would entail more effort/money than you would get back. Letting everyone factually know your experience with this outfit is much appreciated even though it came at a lot of anguish. They always try to get you to buy into their problems that you don't own. It's not a friendship. It's a business proposition.

If this guy has a website please post a link to it so that others can positively identify who he is. Chances are that he'll drop his current name and restart under a different name.

Here it is:

https://covertoutfitting.com/

Tom:

Thank you for posting this. I really hope that you are able to recover all of your expenses. I cannot even imagine someone doing this to a client, especially allowing the client to travel out of the country.

There is a link on the Outfitters web site to an outfitter/guide association (which I’m unfamiliar with). If it was me, I would report him.

I am going to S.C.I. in Nashville and plan on taking all my paperwork over to the British Columbia guides association and go over it with them in person.

quote:

Originally posted by tom ferry:
I am going to S.C.I. in Nashville and plan on taking all my paperwork over to the British Columbia guides association and go over it with them in person.

That is great! I hope it turns out well for you.

Guides associations are there for the outfitters, not you.

I met with the guides and outfitters association in Nashville. The basically didn't want involved. I started this post so others might learn about this outfit and not have the same disaster I had. Hopefully this accomplishes this. Good luck on all your hunts!

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck Nelson:
Guides associations are there for the outfitters, not you.

Had a similar experience in Canada. Same outcome.

quote:

Originally posted by tom ferry:
I met with the guides and outfitters association in Nashville. The basically didn't want involved. I started this post so others might learn about this outfit and not have the same disaster I had. Hopefully this accomplishes this. Good luck on all your hunts!

Do you recall with whom you spoke in Nashville? If this outfitter is a member of GOABC, they need to know about him. If you would like, PM your contact info and I will give you contact info for the GOABC CEO, he is a friend and a good guy.

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck Nelson:
Guides associations are there for the outfitters, not you.

Had a similar experience in Canada. Same outcome.

Me too…

I'm glad you got your deposit back.

Given this guy's ability to make and change excuses, I am surprised you did as well as you did.

I have also had a very bad experience in Canada.

If you do a quick google search on “Covert Outfiting reviews” you’ll see some sketchy business practices by this guy.

I have known owners who are very welling to lose their reputation over a few dollars.

Not realizing the lost of future business.

quote:

Originally posted by K Evans:

quote:

Originally posted by tom ferry:
I met with the guides and outfitters association in Nashville. The basically didn't want involved. I started this post so others might learn about this outfit and not have the same disaster I had. Hopefully this accomplishes this. Good luck on all your hunts!

Do you recall with whom you spoke in Nashville? If this outfitter is a member of GOABC, they need to know about him. If you would like, PM your contact info and I will give you contact info for the GOABC CEO, he is a friend and a good guy.

Karl GOABC will not side with the clients ... it is a long story and its affecting any outcome where the clients has been gouged, it happened in the Yukon, in bc and other places and always the same outcome being friend with the actual president not ceo of goabc will not change the outcome sorry about that.

I think there is a misunderstanding about these types of organizations. They are trade associations. They are not a court of law. They have no ability to award damages or FORCE any action for that matter. About the most they can do is kick someone out.

Yes but it would be nice if they kicked someone out when they are shown the truth

Tom: I know it sucks but consider yourself lucky that you even got your deposit back. I applaud you for alerting other hunters to prevent this from happening again. Having been in a similar situation I am surprised that someone who had a successful hunt with Covert Outfitting 30 years ago did not post to explain how this is all your fault.