Liquigas Malta is seeking damages from Easygas after it filmed its employees allegedly filling of some of its cylinders at the Easygas yard in Luqa.
In a statement, Liquigas said the police had, however, not yet pressed charges against the offenders, who were identified in video evidence.
The evidence, handed over to the police a month ago, showed Easygas operators aided by two distributors illegally filling green and yellow Liquigas cylinders at the Easygas yard in Luqa, which has no licence to carry out cylinder filling activity.
Makeshift equipment was used while safety rules and necessary precautions were not respected, Liquigas said.
The company highlighted that the evidence had been passed on to the Malta Resources Authority and to the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority following a judicial protest filed on December 18.
The company urged consumers to check LPG cylinder seals before use.
“Liquigas Malta genuine seals have an injection point on top, between the words ‘Liquigas’ and ‘Malta’ and a square profile rim.
“As safety and service remain a priority for Liquigas, the company is offering to replace any of its yellow and green cylinders which are still unused and which have a fake seal. These unused cylinders with fake seals will be picked up by Liquigas from homes and businesses and will be replaced with regular, and properly filled, Liquigas cylinders at no additional cost,” the company said.
Easygas said it would carefully consider the contentions being made by Liquigas and reply at the appropriate time.
“Easygas regrets the fact that Liquigas constantly tries to suggest that Easygas is unfit to compete with it. Clearly, Liquigas would prefer to have a monopoly even if this is to the detriment of the Maltese consumer, but it is wrong to suggest that Easygas runs an operation that does not take health and safety issues seriously.
“Fortunately, the regulator – the MRA – has confidence in Easygas’s operational ability and had issued it with a licence to fill its cylinders on December 27, 2013. The licence is subject to renewal later this year, which renewal should be forthcoming.”