Long drawn-out case over flight ticket

Frank Muscat's case is extremely drawn-out. Over 30 letters were exchanged between Mr Muscat, Air Malta, Data Protection Office, and Sant Travel, to no avail. I received the first letter last May. As if that wasn't enough, his wife sadly passed away.

On his request, his only consolation is to have this letter published:

'On April 10, 2007, Alphonse Sant of Sant Travel, hand-delivered my return ticket to Frankfurt. He told me that if a problem arose regarding an extension of my stay in Germany, all I had to do was visit the ticketing counter at Frankfurt airport, show my return ticket and reference number, and pay an extra €46.59-€58.23 (Lm20-Lm25). The return ticket cost me €293.50 (Lm126).

'On April 16, I called Mr Sant several times from Germany for confirmation of his instructions. He assured me I should have no problems. The next day I spoke to Mr Sant again to inform him about the problems I had encountered at the airport the previous day. Air Malta's desk was closed and Lufthansa had no records of my flight or my ticket reference number.

'Lufthansa told me they had a vacant seat but that I was required to pay €607.97 (Lm261) for a ticket. I had no other option but to purchase the ticket. Mr Sant assured me that if I needed help, all I had to do was to provide him with the air ticket, which I did. Subsequently, I e-mailed him, making it clear that I was seeking a refund of €232.94 (Lm100) either from him or from Air Malta for losses incurred.

'On May 10, I e-mailed Mr Sant to find out why it was taking him so long to get back to me with an answer; this was followed by yet another e-mail four days later to which he replied: "As I told you repeatedly the matter was forwarded to Lufthansa, who returned everything to forward to Air Malta...".

'Repeatedly is a figment of Mr Sant's imagination. Since Mr Sant opted for silence, I e-mailed him again on May 25 and May 28, requesting a chronology of his alleged communications with Lufthansa and Air Malta and a photocopy of the air ticket, which I had sent him by post.

'Mr Sant did not answer my e-mail. In June 2007, I decided to turn to this column and the Office for Data Protection for assistance. As a result of their prompt intervention, Mr Sant promised both entities he would communicate with me. However, up to this day, he has flagrantly dismissed repeated petitions from the

Office of Data Protection to write to me directly to keep me informed.

'Undoubtedly, his word has not been his bond. Throughout my ordeal, he has been a notorious example of broken promises. A word of apology would not go amiss.' (Frank Muscat)