A petrol station that had its unleaded petrol tanks filled with diesel is holding Enemed responsible for damages it and its clients suffered as a result of the mix-up. Enemed is the state-owned fuel procurement and distribution company which was formerly Enemalta's petroleum division.
Mario Mizzi, on behalf of Joston Company Limited, which operates the Yellow Service Station in Floriana, filed a judicial protest against Enemed Co. Ltd, holding it responsible for damages.
He explained that last Saturday, an Enemed employee went to the station to supply it with fuel as the weekend was approaching.
It resulted that Enemed supplied diesel instead of unleaded petrol, which in turn led to a large number of complaints from clients that their vehicles were not working properly.
Mr Mizzi said that as a result of Enemed's mistake, motorists who filled their fuel tanks between Friday and Tuesday, damaged not only their fuel tanks but even their car engines. These were holding the fuel station responsible for the damages they had suffered.
However, the responsibility for the damage was to be borne by Enemed as this was the result of a mistake committed by one of its employees. Moreover, the person who made this mistake had admitted it.
To add insult to injury, the Malta Resources Authority had ordered the company to close its fuel station until it provided documentation from a certified engineer that the unleaded fuel tank was free of diesel. However, this came at a very high cost which should also be borne by Enemed, Mr Mizzi said.
As a result of this mixup, not only had the company losing out on business, given the strategic location of its fuel station, but was also facing hefty claims for damage.
Mr Mizzi said Enemed had been approached but it was denying any fault for the damage sustained.
Lawyers Charlon Gouder and Joseph Gerada signed the protest.
MOTORIST DESCRIBES EXPERIENCE
Meanwhile, a motorist who filled up at the same petrol station wrote to Times of Malta to say what he had been through.
"Last Saturday I filled my car with petrol from the Floriana petrol station (the one next to the MCP Car Park).
"After a few kilometres the car started losing power when accelerating and misfiring. It also had engine 'hiccups' which made it very difficult to have a smooth drive. The engine also takes longer to start and when it does it stalls soon after.
At first I thought it was a fault in my car but then I started hearing other people complaining about bad fuel sold to them by this petrol station. These people had the same symptoms in their car. This afternoon I called the Malta Resources Authority (MRA) and they told me that they have several complaints from customers about this particular station. They told me to file a formal report in writing, which I just did. They also told me that they have closed down the petrol station."