Two hotel owners were yesterday fined €3,000 each after they were found guilty of breach of contract for evicting foreign students and interns from La Valette Resort in Paceville.
I am not satisfied because it does not say if we are getting our money back. I think the fine is too low
The hotel owners, Anthony Borg, 75, from Ta’ Xbiex, and Peter Paul Testaferrata Moroni Viani, 52, from Naxxar, had pleaded not guilty to failing to adhere to a contract as per the Malta Travel and Tourism Act.
La Valette Resort evicted the 16 young foreigners last November despite them paying more than €16,000 in combined rent to malta-rooms.com, an agency run by German woman Jasmin Voss.
The court heard how the guests had each signed a contract with Malta Rooms and paid sums of between €950 and €2,115 to cover their deposits and rent for the duration of their stays.
They were housed in shared apartments at the resort.
The victims claimed they were unaware of any problems with rent payments until they found messages on their doors last November telling them to contact the manager.
It transpired that there was a dispute between Malta Rooms and La Valette Resort. They were told they must pay rent and deposits directly to the hotel or leave the premises.
Unable to locate Ms Voss so she could clear up the dispute, the foreigners were forced out on the streets.
The Malta Tourism Authority began investigating the case after an article was published in The Sunday Times on November 18.
After taking legal advice, the MTA deemed the resort to be responsible and took court action in terms of the Travel and Tourism Services Act.
Magistrate Ian Farrugia took the civil and commercial rights of the hotelier into consideration as well as the fact that Ms Voss could have been in breach of contract.
He also considered that the evicted foreigners could not locate Ms Voss and were not offered or given a refund, before he deemed that the accused were responsible.
The magistrate said that he appreciated the important service that hotels give to the tourism sector and the problems that come with the business, but hotels should respect the rights of others.
When contacted yesterday, Dutch victim Hüseyin Ak, 22, was disillusioned with the verdict.
“In a way this makes it worse, because nothing was said about our money being returned and I don’t really have any hope of getting it back now,” he said.
“I don’t understand why the fine was only a total of €6,000 when we lost €16,000.
“We have even lost our deposits, which were supposed to be a guarantee for damages – surely that money should be immediately returned to us.”
The MTA said last month that a guilty verdict should help the evictees to recover their lost money through civil cases.
But many of them have since left the island, including Mr Ak.
“In my case I lost around €300 so it will probably not be worth the legal costs, but others have lost much more,” he said.
“We signed everything, we paid everything, we acted correctly all along.
“It is very clear what has happened, so it’s not normal that the money has still not been returned.”
Another Dutch victim, Manuela Smits, 20, echoed Mr Ak. “I am not satisfied because it does not say if we are getting our money back. And I think the fine is too low,” she said by e-mail.
Ms Smits and Mr Ak have contacted the European Consumer Centre in the Netherlands, which is advising them on possible ways to recover their money.