Josephine Borg, director general, Consumer Affairs,

has announced that the company Dario Azzopardi – 3 Group has not honoured the decision delivered by the Consumer Claims Tribunal.

The consumer had purchased a machine that manufactures bitcoins, which may be used as money. However, while working, the machine made a lot of noise and consumed so much electricity that using it meant spending more money on electricity than the value of the bitcoins made. The consumer requested a €2,600 refund from the trader, representing the price paid for the machine.

The tribunal noted that even though Azzopardi has been served with the notice of claim, date and time of the hearing, he did not attend the tribunal sitting. 

Furthermore, he did not submit a written response to the claim. To the tribunal this meant that the trader was not contesting the claim.

Azzopardi was ordered to pay the consumer €2,000. The tribunal also ruled that the ownership of the engine reverts to the trader after the payment is made.