Maltese Woman Slapped With €2,460 In Fines After Man Who Bought Her Car Failed To Transfer Ownership

Trouble found one Maltese woman two years after she sold her car because the buyer’s failure to transfer ownership of the vehicle led her to receive €2,460 in fines.

Rita* sold her car for a mere €200 to a Gozitan man in January 2020. As customary, the vehicle’s log book, duly signed by the seller, was handed over to the buyer in exchange for the agreed sum.

“The sale took place on Sunday afternoon and I couldn’t find anywhere to take a photocopy of the log book as proof of the transfer,” Rita told Lovin Malta. “And having come all the way from Gozo, the buyer insisted that we go ahead with the sale so he doesn’t lose the car.”

“He assured me that he will proceed with the transfer right away and send me all the relevant documentation via email by the beginning of the following week.”

Following the agreement, all personal details were exchanged and the two went on their separate ways.

Though eventually, Rita started receiving the odd contravention at her home address, and their number increased with the passing months.

Two years on, and with the transfer still pending, she had amassed €2,460 in fines and several penalty points to her name.

“I tried calling him hundreds of times. I sent him texts and later involved both Transport Malta and the Police,” Rita said. However, this course of action did not have the effect Rita expected.

“The police told me that they will have to charge me instead of him, as it was I who broke the law. So I decided not to file a police report – it was useless,” she said, adding that even so, the police attempted to contact the buyer numerous times.

Initially, the buyer used to respond to her messages with phrases like: “I’m working on it.” But after a little more persistence from Rita’s side, the messages eventually turned a touch more vulgar.

“Every time I approached him myself, he simply told me that he’ll do it tomorrow.  He then told me not to call him again and that he’ll phone me and tell me when the transfer is finalised.”

“He will say dejjaqtni tibgħat (your constant texting is frustrating me).”

“The number of times I contested the contraventions… I even spoke to the police inspector who gave ‘me’ the ticket and he told me that he found the car dumped together with other cars in a valley in Gozo.”

“I cannot even fathom listing all the various means and ways – not to mention the expenses incurred on my part – in attempting to get this individual to fulfill his obligation and finally proceed with the transfer,” she added.

“I later learned through police that the man in question had been implicated in numerous other frauds in the past. But to date, nothing has been done to stop him and I remain a victim. Expenses keep piling up.”