Cook Islands wedding dispute: Couples claim 'scammers' break promise for refund

Saturday, 23 March 2019

Tegan and Jerome Iakimo on their wedding day in Rarotonga, which Tegan Iakimo says was a 'disaster'.The couple, who live in Australia, are yet to receive a refund promised by the men who organised the wedding, Charls Ingaua and Remi Wearing.

A dispute between two former wedding planners and customers they owe thousands of dollars for botched destination ceremonies in the Cook Islands is still ongoing.

The aggrieved couples say they're yet to receive refunds promised to them by Auckland-based Paradise Wedding Desires, but the planners say they've paid them most of the money.

The company, owned by Remi Wearing and Charls Ingaua, were hired to organise several couples' weddings. But when the wedding parties arrived in Rarotonga in September and October, Wearing and Ingaua told them standard services such as hair and makeup artists, photographers and caterers were not available.

Ingaua acknowledged mistakes were made when organising Australian couple Jerome and Tegan Iakimo's wedding and that of a Kiwi couple. He and Wearing also owed vendors 'a small amount' of money, he said.

He told Stuff he would refund all of the money owed, totalling more than $14,000, no later than March 15 to make up for the errors, but claimed he had to 'save up' before he could afford the payments. He said he and Wearing had nothing to hide.

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A letter sent to Stuff on March 7 by a lawyer acting on behalf of Ingaua and Wearing confirmed Ingaua and Wearing would honour their commitment to refund the Iakimos by March 15, and would pay the other couple as soon as possible.

A week after the promised deadline for the refund, the couples said they were yet to receive a cent.

Ingaua and Wearing disputed the allegation made by the Iakimos and said through their lawyer that they had paid the couple most of what they owed and would arrange payment of the remaining $990 on Friday.

They said they were overseas and would provide more information and evidence of the transactions when they could.

They acknowledged they had not paid the other couple and said they would organise that payment as soon as possible.

Cook Islands police had been investigating two reports detailing Ingaua and Wearing's conduct but told Stuff this week the investigation had stalled.

'The case has not progressed further. No further information has been provided to the Police and the investigation has reached a point where no further action can be taken,' the force's media officer Trevor Pitt said.

Ingaua's father, Areumu Ingaua, is one of the country's highest ranking police officers.

Both Pitt and Ingaua and Wearing's lawyer said the relationship between the father and son was not relevant to the investigation and Ingaua senior had not been involved in the case.

Stuff understands at least one complaint about Ingaua and Wearing has been made to the New Zealand police.

A police spokesman said they would not comment without a privacy waiver from the person who had lodged the complaint.

A police spokeswoman previously told Stuff police did not comment on whether individuals were being investigated for privacy reasons.