Having read the letter Traffic Fines (June 26) by Francis Formosa, I could only sympathise with his harrowing encounter with Transport Malta.

While in the UK, I went online to pay my Malta motor insurance and road licence fee only to find that I had run up an ongoing traffic fine amounting to €785 because my vehicle had not been “garaged”.

At that point I had not been in Gozo for some 18 months and my vehicle was stored in my underground garage.

In all that time, like Mr Formosa, I did not receive a single notification from the transport authority that I was breaching local laws. My mail is forwarded to me in the UK from my Gozo address.

I entered into communication with TM for over a year, explaining my mitigating circumstances. It was all to no avail. I then approached the Ombudsman Office for assistance and although I was treated most politely by them, the saga ended almost two years later in favour of TM.

My main bone of contention was the fact that at no time was I officially informed that I was incurring a daily accumulating fine.

Ironically, since I paid the outstanding fine and during the period of communication with TM and the Ombudsman Office, an amnesty, with a fixed charge of €125, was introduced. However, I was still refused a refund.

In conclusion, I can only say that I join in Formosa’s bitterness against the Malta Transport Authority. Their treatment of the public obviously smacks of contempt. They are clearly even untouchable by the Ombudsman and I was of the opinion that there was justice for all in the European Union. How wrong one can be!