A firm owned by alleged kidnapper Christian Borg is using misleading and fraudulent commercial practices by making customers sign contracts with unfavourable conditions when they purchase second- hand cars, a court has ruled.

Mr Justice Toni Abela ruled that the company’s contracts were missing the most basic element – good faith. They included a specific clause ruling out the possibility of complaints on latent defects because it was aware of the quality of the cars it was selling.

He was ruling in a case brought by No Deposit Cars Malta – a car hire-purchase business – against a client, Mark Cauchi, who had returned the Citroen C3 he had purchased after just a few months because of defects that made it unusable.

The court heard how Cauchi had stopped paying the monthly instalments when he returned the car to the showroom and after having refused the company’s offer to exchange it for an older model against the same price.

The company filed a claim in court for the €17,800 it was still owed according to the contract Cauchi had signed in 2019, even though the car had been returned and sold to someone else who eventually returned it due to the damage it had.

The principle of good faith is a basic element, even when buying something second-hand

The car is presently in a warehouse “and the court hopes it will remain there”.

A court-appointed expert concluded that the car was “not in a roadworthy condition” and that the defects were only visible to someone experienced. It was evident that the car had been involved in a traffic accident and that the repairs were not up to scratch.

In his decision, Mr Justice Abela ruled that the clauses contained in the contract amounted to misleading commercial practice because with its overall presentation, it was deceiving customers and causing them to take a transactional decision that they would not have taken otherwise.

“The principle of good faith is a basic element, even when buying something second-hand. The practices adopted by the company amount to misleading commercial practices because it was using deceptive methods to cheat average consumers… in civil law, bad faith is the equivalent of fraud,” the judge ruled.

He declared all the bills of exchange Cauchi had signed as null and threw out the company’s claim for payment.  Lawyer Noel Cutajar represented Cauchi.

Times of Malta reported earlier this year how scores of customers had taken the company to court for a range of complaints, including employing unfair terms in its customer contracts and making them sign contracts accepting that their car may have a GPS tracking device installed.

This had led to calls for the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority to investigate the alleged illegal commercial practices.

Last month, Magistrate Elaine Rizzo ordered a magisterial inquiry into accusations of serious crimes, including kidnapping, money laundering, theft and stalking involving persons connected to No Deposit Cars Ltd.

The magisterial inquiry will investigate the company as well as its representatives Christian Borg, Joe Camenzuli, Luke Milton, Thorne Mangion, James Spiteri and Tyson Grech.