Tribunal rejects damages claim by ACCA exam applicant

A student who missed an examination after his application was lost in the post was denied damages by the Small Claims Tribunal.

Karl Pisani said he had sent a bank draft by registered mail on April 8, 2006 but the draft never reached its destination. The draft was for £41 and represented payment for exams with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in the United Kingdom.

Subsequently, Mr Pisani applied to sit for another examination and paid to follow another course. He claimed that he sustained €507 in damages due to Maltapost's failure to deliver a registered letter to England.

By May 10, 2006, the bank draft had not been cashed and Mr Pisani issued a stop payment. However, Mr Pisani said he had not been able to sit for his exams due to the failure on the part of Maltapost to deliver the bank draft within the ACCA's time limit.

The tribunal noted that the entry form for ACCA exams clearly stipulated that payment for the exams could be made by either sending a completed form by mail, together with payment, or by making payment online through ACCA's website.

The entry form clearly stipulated that late applications would not be accepted. It also clearly recommended all applicants to send in their forms early and to check for confirmation of receipt by ACCA seven days before the closing date.

However, Maria Karlsson, presiding over the tribunal, pointed out that Mr Pisani had sent payment for his exams by registered mail seven days before the closing, so he was already late when making payment to the ACCA. It would have been better had Mr Pisani paid his exam fee online and obtained confirmation of receipt. After Mr Pisani noted that his payment had not been received and it resulted that the draft had been misplaced in England, the ACCA recommended that he sit for another exam in December 2006. This exam followed the same syllabus as that of the one Mr Pisani had missed and he therefore did not need to make a new payment for another course of studies.

However, Mr Pisani had decided to apply for another course of studies at a cost of €507.62 and he had requested Maltapost to reimburse him this sum.

Dr Karlsson pointed out that the registered letter had left Malta but had been lost in England and that there had been no need for Mr Pisani to apply for a new course of studies.

The tribunal concluded that Mr Pisani was responsible for the damages he had sustained and it dismissed his claim against Maltapost with costs against him.