Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1448619
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 FEBRUARY 2022 NEWS and was not representative of the tremendous service and value enjoyed by many Green Motion customers at our other 13 world- wide destinations," Green Motion founder Richard Lowden had said. When announcing the reopen- ing of the franchise in Malta in 2014, Lowden mentioned Borg and Bezzina by name, expressing his disappointment at the way the brand was represented in Malta by them. A complaint from a cus- tomer who had his €1,500 deposit retained, even though the car had been returned in the same con- dition, had also featured on The Guardian. A Facebook page titled "No De- posit Cars Malta are a Scam" has over 300 likes, and shares testi- monies and details about the op- erations of Goldcar Malta and the Luqa and Burmarrad showrooms. Desperate clients facing garnishee orders MaltaToday was in recent months approached by a con- siderable number of customers of No Deposit Cars and Easy Fi- nance Motor House, who have had their bank accounts frozen by garnishee orders after stopping repayments for what they claim are damaged cars. Customers pay no direct deposit to acquire a car in a hire-purchase agreement, obliging them to pay a monthly fee for a fixed number of months, until it is totally paid for. Our sources explained how the hiccups started once the contract was signed. One customer explained that despite making regular payments for a car, it was never delivered. After weeks of false promises, a replacement car was provided, but it was in such a bad shape, that she returned it immediately. Eventually, the promised car ar- rived but it had multiple warning signs switched on and it wasn't possible to close the car boot. She questioned how it was possi- ble that the car had just passed the VRT test. When she took the car to a mechanic for a report, it was confirmed that the car was pret- ty much damaged and broken. "When I told the mechanic where I had purchased the car from, he sounded afraid and totally refused to pen down a report," she said. Another mechanic confirmed the condition of the car was abys- mal and agreed to provide the re- port, as long as he remained anon- ymous. The car was taken back to the showroom and the customer requested the money back, how- ever only a replacement car was offered. Although she initially refused the exchange, her lawyer read the contract and found claus- es that protect the business owner from damage claims. "I realised I had been conned when signing the contract and I had no option but to accept the new car," she said. This time the car was certified in a good condition but although it had been agreed both verbally and on WhatsApp that the company would be paying for the service, they refused to do so. Complaints were raised again, and this time our source insist- ed on not signing a new contract for the car. Luke Milton asked for the car back and it was picked up by his colleagues. The customer however was taken to court and had her bank account frozen over "missed payments". According to the garnishee order, six payments are due. Faulty engine Another person who approached this newspaper explained how he had entered into a hire-purchase agreement for a car at the No De- posit Cars showroom. When he went to collect the car, he was told this was not available anymore, but when he refused a different one, he was told the €600 deposit was not refundable. "I had no choice but to accept a different car model, but as soon as I switched it on, the check engine light turned on. I immediately called them and I was promised they would be paying for the re- pairs," he said. The promises were never kept and after about three months, he took the car to a mechanic for a service, which he paid for out of his own pocket. However, the check engine light turned on again but when he tried to get through to the company, no one replied. After three days he went to the Burmarrad showroom, but he was told to go to Qormi for a repair appointment. Once in Qormi, he was told no one could help him and he was sent to Burmarrad again. "I was being sent from one place to another, every time telling me they couldn't do anything about the car. Every time there was someone new at the showroom and I had to explain everything again each time," he said. The car went dead a few days later and once again they refused to make good for the repairs and he ended up pay- ing them €400 to re- pair the engine. Once again, he was told he had to wait for at least a month for the car to be ready, and when he com- plained he was of- fered a new car. The car provided ended up being a different one. "The car was in a disastrous con- dition, with scratches all over the body. It was even missing a side mirror," he said. To his surprise, he was told the monthly payments had to start over, despite having had paid all the prior monthly instalments. One day when he went to pick up the car, he did not find it in its parking spot and he went to the police to file a report. At the showroom they denied they had picked up the car but days later they called him, telling him they had collected the car. They insisted they had the right to pick up the car whenever they wanted to. Luke Milton told him he needed to pay €1,100 to cancel the con- tract, which he did. In October he received a letter from court ordering him to pay for 16 monthly instalments and his bank account was frozen with a garnishee order. Many other testimonies confirm the above stories, with many other customers complaining from lack of communication, hidden fees, false promises and even threats. Courts siding with contract clauses Most of the "victims" who shared their stories with this paper, have been taken to court and are faced with a garnishee order because of missed payments. The court sid- ed with Borg's companies most of the time and ordered the custom- ers to honour the contract and pay any outstanding amount. MaltaToday obtained copies of contracts with No Deposit Cars Malta and analysed the lengthy clauses that are listed. The con- tracts state the cars remain in the possession of the company, until every payment has been effected. They have very strict clauses that state payments have to be affected monthly within a three-day peri- od from due date. Failure to do so leads to hefty daily fines. Multiple sources have explained how their car had gone missing without any warning, finding out that this was taken by the compa- ny itself. The contracts stipulate that the cars might be equipped with a GPS tracking device, allow- ing the company to track and re- possess the vehicle, upon reason- able suspicion that the agreement was breached. Breaches include failure to af- fected payments within a month from the due date and failure to notify the company of any third-party use of the car. Once the vehicle is repossessed, the company is under no obliga- tion to return the same car, even once all outstanding payments would have been settled. Proximity to the Labour Party In the past, Prime Minister Rob- ert Abela served as legal adviser to Borg. An image uploaded on so- cial media shows Borg in Castille square, next to a car with Abela's face stitched to the bonnet, fol- lowing Abela's election as prime minister in January 2020. "One of my best legal advisers, good friend and now Prime Minister. Proud day," said Borg. Borg is also a close friend and a business associate of Joseph Camenzuli, a photographer who offers his services to the Labour Party. It appears Camenzuli is an avid exotic animal enthusi- ast, with his social media profile showing him nursing and posing with various tigers and lions. But the closeness of the two was evident in court, last week when Camenzuli acted as a third-par- ty guarantee for Borg, saying he knew him for five years and could vouch for him. In posts on social media, Camen- zuli is also seen advertising No Deposit Cars Malta and Sicily By Car Malta. In a Facebook post Camenzuli uploaded a picture of the Sicily By Car staff, writing "We deliver, you drive in comfort." Despite the use of the word 'we', Camenzuli does not appear in any of the compa- nies linked to Christian Borg. lvella@mediatoday.com.mt One-time Labour Party photographer Joe Camenzuli acted as a third-party guarantee for Borg in court, saying he knew him for five years and could vouch for him. Below: repossession clauses