Christian Peregin
Hotel owner likely to face more charges
A man is facing more fraud charges following allegations made by several British tourists who stayed at his hotel in Xlendi in recent years, The Sunday Times has learnt.
Two new complaints have been formally registered against Serena Hotel owner Joe Vella - one by Economic Crimes Unit, which is compiling the various claims made by British tourists, and the other by Gozo police.
When contacted, police confirmed a number of former guests were willing to return to Malta to testify, while others will be testifying in British courts. A hearing is expected to take place early next year.
Three months ago The Sunday Times had spoken to a number of former guests who claimed their credit cards were used without authorisation or that they were unwittingly charged for services.
Mr Vella strenuously denies any wrongdoing.
Ten per cent of formal complaints submitted to the Malta Tourism Authority last year concerned the Serena Hotel, and all were related to some form of alleged fraud or payments which they felt were unfair.
The tourists claimed Mr Vella charged them hundreds, in some cases thousands, of euros in various incidents dating back to 2003. Many said they had made formal reports to the police and the MTA but they were never refunded or compensated.
The day after the story was carried last August, Mr Vella was charged with attempting to defraud two French tourists. The couple, who had paid for their holiday beforehand, were allegedly asked to pay again once they arrived.
Since then, the Economic Crimes Unit has been working to build a case against Mr Vella, interviewing former guests who had spoken to this newspaper and who posted their complaints on popular travel website www.tripadvisor.com.
In 2003, Mr Vella was charged with fraud after a complaint was made by another guest, John Craig, who alleged that €568 had been debited from his credit card without permission. The matter went to court but Mr Vella was acquitted because of insufficient evidence.
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Michelle Sultana
Dec 1st 2008, 13:29
Part two....
After experiencing the above, we decided to leave the hotel as nothing was as promised. Infact the lady ( owner) told us, when we complained regarding the apartment not being an executive suite, that if we don't like it LEAVE and we give you your money back. When we asked for our money, as we have paid on check-in, they both (owners) refused and an argument ensued. As if this was not enough apart from all the insults and shouting and intimidating in the reception, a pen was thrown as my sister after I was called a liar while I was on the phone with the Consumer Affairs Department explaining the situation and asking for advice).
We filed a report at the Victoria police station, in fact we are to be called to witness.
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This is just to prove that certain incidents did occur...
Michelle Sultana
Dec 1st 2008, 13:27
Part one of two
I have booked an executive suite . I actually sent them a deposit of 10% as requested by the owner. Upon our arrival we realised that the "executive suite" we have booked was in actual fact a two bedroom apartment with a pullout sofa bed in the living room adjoining the kitchen. to make matters worse we had to insist in order to give us the remote of the AC. Also, since the apartment had two entrances they gave us two keys, however if one of us went out taking the key with her, that left the apartment "executive suite" without electricity in either one of the main bedrooms or the rest of the apartment. We were never told that hotel was under maintenance and we were never told that to cross from our apartment to the reception, indoor pool(which smelled of mould) and all the amenities we had to pass through the internal yard.
cont...
Joseph E Briffa
Dec 1st 2008, 09:16
@ V Mercieca One shouldn't be so pessimistic. It's one thing accusing people and another proving it in a court of law. Unless the case is full-proof it can easily be thrown out of court. This is to ensure as is humanly possible that no one ends up behind bars unless he is proved guilty beyond reasonable doubt. The maxim is 'better a hundred guilty people at large than a just one behind bars'. Having said that, I am not in any way judging the alleged unfair treatment of tourists by the Serena Hotel owner; but let's wait for the law to take its course.