Pending case

This is a long drawn out case in which the customer has no intention of giving up. I do not have the space to feature all the correspondence however I will feature some of the correspondence exchanged so far: Auto Sales Ltd. (Kind's) - Would you care to answer?

In September 2002 I bought a new silver Renault Clio from Auto Sales (Kind's) with full extras for which I paid Lm6,600 cash. However, it appears that after-sales service was not included in the price.

After a week I took the car to the agents as the paintwork on one of the doors was chipped. I did not accept their offer to spray part of the door and insisted on a brand new door, factory-sprayed by Renault. After a number of telephone calls Joseph Curmi, the sales manager, told me that he would give me a new door, factory-sprayed.

In December, since I was never contacted, I phoned, and an appointment was made to have my door replaced with one from a new car of the same colour. That afternoon I was informed that, instead of replacing the door, they had buffed it without either informing me or asking my permission. They said they had not changed the door as the colour did not match.

To add insult to injury the inside of the car had a layer of fine dust and, when I informed Mr Curmi, he said that the dust should not have been there, but nothing was done. I then filed a complaint with Mr Curmi. I asked for a factory-sprayed door and told him that this was becoming a lengthy operation. He told me that he would be contacting me after discussing the matter with the general manager and the garage. However, I was never contacted. On contacting him myself he told me that the best they could offer me a new door sprayed in Malta which I was not ready to accept. He told me that it was not possible to get a matching factory-sprayed door.

To settle the matter quickly I asked for an extended guarantee on the door and compensation since I had paid the full price I was asked to pay for a new car, not a repaired one. I was told the matter was in the hands of the general manager, Alfred Xuereb, who, I was told, would be contacting me on January 20, 2003. As usual, no one bothered to call.

As I cannot get through to the general manager on the telephone, can anyone suggest how this demi-god can be contacted? (Andrew Ellul, February 4, 2003)

On February 2, I asked Auto Sales for their comments, to no avail. On March 5, Mr Ellul sent Mr Xuereb a reminder and copied me in. Subsequently I received a copy of a letter sent by Mr Xuereb (dated March 3) to Mr Ellul:

I refer to your letter of February 4 regarding your Renault Clio with registration number LUL233.

In this letter you requested an extended guarantee on one of your car doors and compensation presumably because one of the doors was "chipped".

To clarify matters, the paintwork in a corner of one of your car's doors had a minor flaw. There was no "chip". This flaw was easily removed by buffing. In fact, this flaw is no longer visible.

Regretfully, your request for compensation cannot be met for the following reasons:

a) Small defects in the paintwork of a car, of whatever make, are not abnormal;

b) The defect in question was extremely minor and will not affect the value of the car in a significant way. (Mario Xuereb, general manager)

These letters are a fraction of the letters exchanged. In fact our file on this case contains eleven letters wherein various propositions were made by both parties. Obviously I do not have the space to feature all the letters or cover all the points and issues raised by both parties.

I have dealt with cases involving Mr Xuereb and I must say that he has always been reasonable and fair. At this stage, as far as this case is concerned, I shall not make any comments or express an opinion as to who is right or wrong. I featured these letters with a view to highlighting the fact that we have many similar pending cases which reach a 'stalemate'. In the prevailing scenario I appeal to consumers and traders who may come up with some ideas and/or suggestions on how we can make the most of our column to the benefit of both consumers and traders.