Consumer & Competition Division

Consumer Affairs Directorate - Procedures

Consumer Complaints

When a person needs to register a complaint with the Consumer and Competition Division, one must either –

a)      contact the Information and Client Affairs Directorate on Tel. No: (+356) 21446250-5 or  call freephone 8007 4400 from 8.00 a.m. till 5.00 p.m. in Winter and between 8.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m. in Summer; or

b)      print out a Complaint Form from this site, fill it in and send it to the Consumer and Competition Division, ‘Office for Fair Trading’, Cannon Road, St. Venera, or to No. 4, Old Mint Street, Valletta. Upon receipt our personnel will call you back to inform you about the procedure; or

c)       call personally at one of our Offices at the above address on weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in Winter, and between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on weekdays in Summer, where you will get personal attention. Should there be any variation in the opening hours in both offices, this will be published in the media.

Procedure

For each complaint that needs to be followed up, an electronic file is opened. In this file, all data regarding  the consumer and the trader is included. A scanned copy of all documents related to the complaint is kept, and all actions taken are recorded for the benefit of the consumer.  

Information

The basic information that will be needed in each case is:

a)      the consumer’s personal details (which will be used solely for dealing with complaints);

b)      the trader’s details;

c)      a brief description of the complaint;

d)      photocopies of all documents related to the complaint;

Investigation of complaints 

When all information is obtained, the Complaints Officer will study the case, and the mediation process will start, with a view to reach an amicable settlement between the consumer and the trader. The procedure has a limited time-frame of fifteen (15) working days. The following steps are usually followed: 

• the trader will be contacted and informed of the complaint made against him. He will be given the chance to exculpate himself from any accusations;
• the Complaints Officer will evaluate the case to see whether the complaint was justified or otherwise;
• if the complaint is justified, the trader will be asked to compensate the consumer;
• if the trader is not willing to comply with the consumer’s request, the consumer is informed about the outcome of the case. The consumer is then informed about the option of taking the complaint to the Consumer Claims Tribunal.

 In cases where a complaint is found not justified or does not have enough evidence to be investigated by personnel at the Consumer and Competition Division, the complainant can either withdraw the complaint or else choose to proceed to the Consumer Claims Tribunal.

 It is to be noted that if a claim or defence is considered to be vexatious or frivolous, the Tribunal may order a penalty of not more than fifty Maltese Lira (Lm50) to be paid to the other party.

The Consumer Claims Tribunal 

• The Consumer Claims Tribunal is the place where the consumer can obtain redress quickly and with little expenses, if the claim is justified.
• The Consumer can take the claim before the Tribunal, if he/she has bought or hired goods or services from a trader for personal needs or for a third party.
• The Consumer can opt to take his/her case before the Tribunal if the compensation that is being claimed does not exceed the sum of Lm1,500.