MaltaTicket.com said today that Commissioner John Dalli's refusal to apologise for his remarks rubbishing the online ticketing industry in Malta' showed a complete lack of leadership, responsibility, or the guts to really protect consumers.

Maltaticket.com had demanded an apology from Mr Dalli after an EU-wide investigation, known as Sweep, found that five internet sites with a Maltese connection, selling online tickets for cultural and sporting events, were deceiving clients and not adhering to consumer protection laws.

Mr Dalli's office refused to apologise, saying its statements were based on the information received from the Maltese public authority which participated in this EU-wide enforcement exercise and no names were made public during or after Mr Dalli's press conference.

"Saying that the Commissioner is not responsible for libelling an entire industry by his remarks because the information came from the Maltese Consumer Division is like a politician putting the blame for what he said on his speechwriter", MaltaTicket CEO David Pollina said.

"The fact remains that by making such sweeping and unverified claims, Mr Dalli has lumped all good operators with any that may be bad, and left the public in doubt as to which is which."

He said that if Mr Dalli wanted to protect consumers, his office should be published the names of the companies that were found in the recent Sweep survey to be non-compliant with regulations.

Dr. Pollina said MaltaTicket.com did not take any issue with the concept of the Commission's 'Sweep', and wished to encourage such proactive enforcement which was in the interests both of the consumer and of any good operator. It's complaint, he said, lay with the release of nebulous and self-serving 'results' which were not substantiated with any proof or directed at any offender.

See also

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100921/local/no-apology-over-internet-sites-sweep