If I Go to Jail in Dubai For Bad Debts Will My Debt Be Cleared? – Katrina

Best of luck to you Katrina… I’ll bookmark this to see the progress of your story.

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I recall reading it was similar to the debtor’s prison that existed in the US — as time passes, one’s obligation is reduced. I would perhaps contact your embassy to see if your citizenship can provide you some immunity.

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Steve Rhode Reply:
September 23rd, 2009 at 9:47 am

Thom,

No immunity from citizenship. Loads of ex-pats in jail in Dubai for debts, some for years at a time. The best solution in Dubai is to flee the country before you default.

Want a little shock, see Bouncing a Check Can Put You Behind Bars For Years in Dubai and I Left Dubai and My Mercedes at the Airport to Avoid Going to Jail for Debt. – Christopher.

Steve

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June Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 8:01 am

hi all,
i lost my job in 2007 and as a result, i wasn’t able to pay my debt consisting of a personal loan and 4 credit cards amounting to around 90k aed.

I went to the police station on the first week of february 2010 to face complaints i thought the banks had filed but there was none. I asked the officer again if he was sure that there was none and he looked at his computer and said there was nothing filed against me except a complaint made by my previous employer.

So im confused… If there is no outstanding debt complaint filed at the police station, does that mean the same at the immigration? because as to what i understand, if there are complaints filed at the police station with regards to banks and money, this will automatically reflect in Immigration computers thus enabling them to stop you if you make any attempt on leaving.

Lastly, when situations like these happen, what do you think would be the first move for debt collectors…? would they first go file a complaint at the police station or at the Immigration office?

June

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I actually heard of the same thing about serving the term and your debt will be waived as if you already paid them, but doesn’t know anyone who experienced it.

Well, what I can advise you Katrina is to negotiate with your bank cause banks here are flexible when it comes to payment. Don’t deal with the people calling you because they are basically after their commission. Instead, visit one of their branches and ask for somebody to assist you in recovery department.

Just want to share this story to you – - My sister left Dubai in 2006 and left a huge amount of debt in several banks. I won’t name the banks but she owes one of them 19,000 for personal loan and 23,000 for credit card. As she is no longer here in Dubai the debt collectors in our home country are harassing her to pay off, what I did was I visited their recovery department and made an arrangement with them. I told them that I can only arrange 13,000 for my sister as I was also made redundant recently. The Manager is very kind to accept the payment and cleared my sister from her debts. See? It is all about negotiation :)

As you are still working, you might want to show any proof of your current income and explain your financial situation. I am sure they will assist you. You wouldn’t want debt collector agencies hunting you in your home country..:)

Good luck Katrina!!

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Steve Rhode Reply:
September 29th, 2009 at 5:20 am

This is the first time I’ve heard about a successful negotiation with the bank. So did the bank accept 13,000 as payment in full or are they expecting the rest of the total amount due?

Steve

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carelesshush Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 8:55 am

hi Steve, i am sooooo sorry for the late reply..it’s already 2010 lol..didn’t get the notification..sorry!

anyway, yes the bank accepted the 13,000 as payment in full. you just have to explain your situation and besides what else the bank can do if you are already penniless? hehe

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Steve Rhode Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 10:18 am

Well that’s good news. It sounds like your bank was more reasonable than others have been. So were they nice or professional when you talked to them?

Steve

cristine Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 3:04 am

hi there, im cristine and i used to work in dubai for 1 year. i had my vacation in the philippines last 2008 and never went back to dubai. my problem is i have a salary loan in one of the banks there worth 100,000AED but was able to pay for i think 20,000AED already. I have also 5 credit cards that were not being paid. Is it possible that they will arrest me here in the Philippines and put me to jail for not paying all of those credits? I really dont have a job right now since i went home. There are people who keeps on threatening me through emails. I guess they are agents here in the philippines. Is it possible that they will arrest me here and send me in dubai for prisonment?

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carelesshush Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 9:11 am

hi cristine,

well from what i’ve heard they cannot arrest you in philippines since your debts are in uae. but uae banks have their own agencies that ‘hunt’ people who ran away and believe me, these agencies will pester you, harass you and will do everything they can just to get money from you.

just DON’T LET ANY DEBT COLLECTORS HARASS YOU.

i would suggest that you try to contact your bank and negotiate with them. banks prefer to negotiate with their clients rather than sending them to jail because that would not solve the issue, they will never get paid. however, if you do not have any means to pay them since you are currently unemployed then i guess all you can do is to delete your email account and make a new one :)

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angel Reply:
February 18th, 2010 at 6:01 pm

no they cannot arrest you in the Philippines and sent you back here to be put in Jail. They cannot do that.

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prison time does not erase debt. although I heard a rate of AED100 per month. however for large debts, you are looking to life imprisonment.

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Hi all,

Oh yes they do dat in DXB. I am an asian and last year august i landed in Sharjah jail for drinking and driving. I met a lot of people there for bounced cheque cases. I met one Emirati national who had a 150,000 loan. He was given 6 months initially and reduced to 3 months after the appeal. Generally its said 100 DHS is waived off for every day in jail. But never sure how its now cause the jails must be full with such cases. Best thing is u run fm the country before u get a case

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Its true, if you go to jail for a bank debt it will be waived off. My friend had 47000 dhs and he was given 23 days, then he was out and back to his job. He took annual leave and went to jail. It sounds crazy but this is Dubai. Anything can happen. They have slabs, for 50000 and below its a minor crime with 3 weeks prison, 100000 plus its something like 3 months, but you have to check with inside sources as even lawyers do not know or will not tell you. Jails are too full and they are diverting people to RAK jails etc. so they want people out soon. Hundreds of cheque bounced cases and even previous millionaires are sitting in jail. But beware, if you borrowed personally (not bank) from some person then the sentence is harsh, you have to serve full time till you pay up and if not paid its followed by deportation.

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Steve Rhode Reply:
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:23 am

Kris,

Thanks for the update. It is ironic that someone used their leave, did their time and was then let out. Was your friend forgiven of the debt or do they still owe it?

Steve

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Dear Steve,
As far as I know some one who spends jail time will be forgiven / debt free but the case is day he will most probably will b in the black list in the banks so dat he cannot get a credit facility.

Anu

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Steve Rhode Reply:
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:31 am

Anu,

Interesting. So which do you think is worse, some time in jail or not to be able to get credit again? Is it possible to live in Dubai without credit?

Steve

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U know its a funny place u c. Just imagine a situation of this nature. Somebody has 5 credit cards of each 10,000 and a loan of 50,000/=. now think one bank bounces a cheque of a card. Lets say he het 2 months jail time for dat. While he is in the jail it is obvious other banks would do the same – one by one as the payments are not coming and the person is not contactable. So what happens is when the person finishes one jail time and the police check the computer again when they find more cheques bounced – ahhhh again he goes in…. So my dear friends…. Run before they catch u !!!!

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Steve Rhode Reply:
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:52 am

Anu,

It is not a perfect, or even good system to allowing people to deal with debt in Dubai. I say your other question about the passport and iris scan, I just don’t know the answer to that.

Steve

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Hi,
My husband now he is in Dubai jail because of bank debt. Now our company pay already all the credit. My question is, my husband gonna get out automatically or do he still be inside jail for a couple of days even everything been paid off?

Thanks

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Dear Maileen,

Glad that ur debt is paid off. Even if the debt is paid off your husband might have to stay there for a while untill all papers are cleared. The best thing is that you should contact your lawyer and ask them to push the people inside the courd and the concerned so he can come out. Otherwise he will have to stay even for weeks for the proceedings to get cleared.

Anyway best of luck because ur debt is cleared.

Anu

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Steve Rhode Reply:
November 4th, 2009 at 10:13 am

Anu,

Thank you for your continued comments and feedback.

Steve

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i worked in abu dhabi… i had my annual vacation leave and found out that i was pregnant and decided not to go back their until i delivered my child… i have a debt there and wasnt able to pay the monthly due and i resigned from my work… now i want to go back there again to find a new job but what should i do for my debts… actually i emailed the bank regarding my situation but they did not reply yet.. can you give me the best advice pls… thanks

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Angels,

By now The bank most probably would have filed a police case against you. So the only option you have now as per my knowledge is check the amount ( If several banks – total debt ) pay it fully through a friend in Abudhabi or a law firm – get a clearance from the bank or banks ( MUST ) and then if possible – make sure ur passport number has no other cases -if so inquire and get it cleared and then go there to find a job. Or else they will escort to the jail.No point in giving explanations to them at the air port.They will put u in jail even if you are 8 months pregnant and carrying another infant in your hand. Thats the UAE law. If the banks replies ” no problem – come to UAE” It most probably would be a lie to get you in to the UAE !!!!! S0 thats it I guess !!!!!!

Anu

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what if im paying the minimum amount payment every month until the time that im going to return in uae… would they still file a case against me

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Steve Rhode Reply:
November 18th, 2009 at 11:18 am

Angels,

As long as you have come to an agreement with the creditor and you are making those payments I would doubt they would file a case against you. However, you need to make sure you have a mutual agreement and not just sending what you think is sufficient.

Steve

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As far as I know if you have been paying the monthly instalments / minimum amount – you will have no problems. But if you have not done that and you have any arrears accumulated for over 3 months then guess you would be having one by now – the reason being due to the financial crisis thousands left UAE with unpaid debts – therefore the collection departments of the banks promptly file a case to close the files….

Anu

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My friend is a bank collector. According to him there are certain procedures they follow on collections of overdue payment in the UAE. They try to become rude, unhuman and unreasonable at first and pressure you until time will come that you do not want to answer their calls or even change your number. They will soon document all conversations made in favor of them and present it to the insurance company stating that you are unreachable and is not willing to pay-off or clear the debt by any means. The insurance company will then assign their LOAN RECOVERY AGENCY (one of them is Bilkish Associates) to represent in the bank’s behalf to again call you or your home country for the payment. This will be done several times and for months. If the loan recovery agent confirms the bank’s report that you are unable to pay off the debt by not answering the calls, the bank will soon get the money from the insurance company. As a consequence you will have a police case and soon end up in jail if you are still in the UAE. This happened to my other friend, who owed AED80k from a bank, was not able to pay for 6 months and put him to jail for 45 days. After that his debt was waived off and now has a new job. As an advice, ifever somebody calls you from the bank, give them your email id and it would be better to communicate with these collectors by mail. Be sure not to ignore their mails because it will give you at least some benefits. First, you will have records of your dealings with them on how they want the payment will be made or a request on how you will make the payment. Second, they can deal with you professionally without any harrassment and emotional black mail unlike the way they speak to customers on phone wherein they can say whatever they want. Best regards.

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Steve Rhode Reply:
December 4th, 2009 at 5:12 pm

Harold,

Excellent advice. Thank you for sharing it.

Steve

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Steve Rhode Reply:
December 4th, 2009 at 6:32 pm

Harold,

what did your friend say his experience in jail was like?

Steve

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Hi Steve! My friend’s jail experience is horrible. He stays with several inmates with different nationalities, some sleep in bed and the others on the ground. They eat mostly arabic food and shares a toilet and poorly functioning shower. But with the situation he was in, he survived!

Harold

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krishna Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 9:45 am

Hi, my company terminate me few days back when i am in india for vacation through email. my total outstanding almost 350K (two loans + cards) i have to return this jan 10th to dubai. If i go to dubai debt prison this mess will be cleared? I will get 6 – 9 month prison period? I am ready to do this for my family. I cannot run or hide rest of my life for this. Or i have to hide. is this right decision? I know its sounds crazy. I dont have a choice now…

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Steve Rhode Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 10:27 am

Krishna,

It is a crazy situation indeed. I can’t imagine what it feels like to get fired by email. Doing the time in prison is the quickest way to clear the debt it seems, unless you have a sufficient amount of money to offer as a settlement.

I would find a lawyer in Dubai and discuss the matter with the lawyer.

Please update me as this moves forward so others can learn from what you find out.

Steve

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Anu Reply:
January 10th, 2010 at 7:30 am

Hi ,

For 350k I cant really tell you how long u might have to stay there. Steve, there is another thing we need to take in to account. Not everybody gets to stay in uae even if they serve the jail time. for big amounts of money some may even end up serving 3-4 years + they get deported. therefore the best thing for krishna is to not set foot in dxb again ever – try to get a new passport with a slightly changed name and a new passport number and then find a job in the region except uae…..

Anu

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Krishna Reply:
January 11th, 2010 at 8:43 am

Hi Anu & Steve,

I spoke to one loan department person, what he said is one of his known person was in prison for 6 months for 300K Dhs. and he said “it’s depend judge” some judge were very strict and some are soft. as you said may be i will get 3 years or 6 months who knows. he also suggested the same thing what you suggest take a new passport thats it… don’t come back when in you are in india… because if you are in india you are safe. indian government law not allow to harass anyone for the debt. May be they will come and threat you thats it nothing else…. so i decided stay back. Thanks for that friend :-)

Krishna

Krishna Reply:
January 11th, 2010 at 8:51 am

and one more important thing, if the loan is from one bank then you are safe, if you have 3 cards + 1 car loan + 2 Personal loans then you are in big trouble… they will take you to the court one by one. my case is like this. thank god i supposed to go tomorrow now i cancelled

krishna Reply:
January 17th, 2010 at 11:47 am

Hi Steve,

In india what all the possibilities debt collection agencies have to trace m? I changed my house, my name, my contact numbers. No body knows where we are including my friends. I gave only two phone numbers to the bank. That also i cancelled. We don’t have permanent address. And i cannot travel to GCC countries only or all over the world?

I feel very sad about this…because I have the same problem,I don’t know what should I do…
I wish everybody good luck in Dubai

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Steve Rhode Reply:
December 5th, 2009 at 12:07 pm

Anna,

Honestly, as nasty as a visit to prison sounds it really is the easiest way out of this mess. Some people are in for as little as a couple of weeks but once they come out, their debt is cleared. One person wrote in they used their holiday time to do the time so their employer never knew.

Steve

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Hi,

Sounds scary but I guess its the only solution left to get out of the mess unless otherwise u leave the country as soon as possible. Keep aside your self Anna, guess the Dubai ruler itself is in a debt crisis which he cant pay back ( Dubai world case )If possible – try n get out of the country before its too late.

Anu

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Hi All,

im on the same boat…. the bank filed a case against me, my hubby lost his job, i resigned to my Company as we decided to go back home, but unfortunately i found out that the bank filed a case against me, 3 banks filed a case (1st Gulf Bank,Mashreq, RAK Bank) with the total of 22K dhs. i know its not that big amount though, but i have decided to serve my term in jail,i cant afford to pay that 22K honestly, the thing is… i dont know for how many weeks/months do i have to stay in jail, worst comes to worst.. but i will go to police station by Jan. 2010.

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Steve Rhode Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 8:59 am

Debty,

The good news is that once your time is done you will not owe the debt. Think about it like bankruptcy, your debt will be discharged.

Your debt does not sound too high that the time should not be more than a couple of weeks.

From what has been reported back to me, jail for debt in Dubai is certainly not the Ritz and it is not the place you want to be, but nobody has complained about being treated badly. I understand their are many foreigners in the debtor part of the jail.

Maybe it could make the stay a little easier if you look at it as research and post a big review of it after your stay. We all need to know more about the inside story.

Big hug.

Steve

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Reply Reply:
February 1st, 2010 at 8:44 am

Hi Debty,
A close of frind of mine had around 300,000 in debt, he just bougth a ticket and went back to india. Do the same, donot surrender to the police, it would be foolish. Just cancel ur visa and get out, the banks would never know unless u have a comapny salary account with them. Noone has even contacted my frind in india, its been 6months since and hes living peacefully.

Take care.

Nadeem.

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Anu Reply:
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:00 am

Yeah dats all right,

But why does somebody need to wait untill the visa is cancelled. Just leave as if you are going on a vacation……. and never come back…. Dats all Waiting for the visa to be cancelled is too risky and time consuming… Just leave without telling anybody…

Anu

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angel Reply:
February 18th, 2010 at 6:12 pm

hello debty! I had the same problem with FGB and they are really horrible people! you cannot negotiate with them as they are extremely rude and very uncivilize. when you go to court, make sure you have a lawyer to represent you and the court will hear your plea and they will give you a shorter term in jail. In mashreq bank and rak bank, i know people from legal department who might help you, they are a little bit more human than First Gulf Bank. Call me at 055-8742616 and i will give you the legal officers who might be able to help you.

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Hi Steve,

I will definitely share what i have experienced inside… i know it wont take too long, i dont want to.. but thats the only option i’ve got. A friend of mine told me that the sentence to a women is half than the sentenced to a man, we
‘ll see.

Keep in touch!

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Hi Steve.. it’s good to know that there’s a website like this. Just want to ask, do you have any idea if how much will be the cost of unpaid debts (credit card) before you go to jail? do we have believe to all threats that we used to hear from legal representatives? do you think that i will be ended up in a jail if i did not pay 5000 dirhams?

thanks!

Edward of Dubai

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Steve Rhode Reply:
December 30th, 2009 at 10:47 am

Edward,

If you can’t pay it then ask them to hurry up and send you to jail for a couple of weeks so you can leave debt free. It’s not the most pleasant solution but if you do decide to do the bit of time in jail you can leave jail laughing that you beat them at their own game.

You see, in the grand scheme of things, the bit of jail time, that clears your debt completely, is free and gets the debt eliminated completely.

Without any bankruptcy available in the UAE the best advice is to get to jail as quickly as possible and mentally think of jail as a vacation or holiday at a really, really bad hotel and get your debt eliminated for free.

Steve

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Mario Reply:
March 19th, 2010 at 7:05 am

Dear Steve

That is not entirely correct. The first jail sentence you get (Usually 3 to six months) is for the bounced cheque. After serving that sentence most banks would then file civil case against you where by you are looking at anything between a year to 3 years. It is NOT as simple as spend a month and it goes away. That is wrong advice. I am in the same mess as most here and am out of Dubai. The info above is from a very trusted lawyer.

Again the problem does NOT go away by short jail time.

Thanks

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It to bad the US doesn’t have a system to put people in jail like UAE. Instead of having all this debt over my head, I could go to jail and my record could be clear. How come the US doesn’t do this???

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Steve Rhode Reply:
January 10th, 2010 at 10:25 am

Michael,

The U.S. got rid of debt prisons in the 1800s and enacted bankruptcy legislation that allows you to eliminate your debt without jail. Something they need in the UAE.

Steve

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thanks for the reply, Steve..

by the way, how will i know if they already filed a case against me for not paying the 5,000dhs (with credit limit of 6,000)? so far, they’re keep calling me ALMOST EVERYDAY. What will i tell them? i don’t have any source of income, still looking for a job and still trying to survive on the DUBAI crisis.. :)

thanks, Edward

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Anu Reply:
January 13th, 2010 at 1:48 pm

Generally, if you have missed 2-3 installments they probably would have produced your cheques. How u are gonna know if you have a case is dat at the immigration counter at the air port when you try to leave of enter the country. What they do these days is that they keep your passport as security and release you…. untill you find a job and pay the loan in full – so that you will not leave the country for any reason what so ever. how ever if you have any friend working in the airport you could give your passport number to get it checked if any black marks are there under the passport number. If no is appearing – RUN RUN to your country

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I am working in dubai for a company and getting my salary properly.Before I missed so many payments in my credit card,but by 6-7 i am doing it correctly and came to know upon renewal of visa that I have police case on two credit cards.Now I cant renew my Visa bcse of this reason.I speak with collection department and told i will settle my Overdue and plse relase the case but they want the full outstanding which is 15000 AED and 33OOO AED.So i think if they dont want money let them put in jail.Wat can i doo…?

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I’am also a victim of recession in Dubai have no choice but to leave the country with a loan of 120,000DHS.I was paying my loan in 4 months after my layoffs while doing freelance job.Still have my visa that time as consideration of my company not to cancel it. My question is how true that anyone who leaves their loan in UAE are possible to go in jail and will catch on their home country? Thanks in advance

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Mario Reply:
March 19th, 2010 at 7:08 am

Hi James

No one can touch you anywhere except the UAE… Good luck

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Hi Everybody,

Its a really terrible time to be in Dubai these days. Especially if youre caught jobless. Ive heard much, much terrible stories from other people- from friends of friends or the sort. I’ve learned a lot from this site, and decided to share what I learned.
Many of the bigger companies here give 3 months salary plus accumulated benefits to sacked employees. However, if you have a bank debt (cards or loan)-even an updated one, the employer is obliged to remit all of this remuneration to the bank to settle the unpaid debt. The employer is also required to tell the bank that the employee is sacked and will no longer be visa-sponsored by the employer. Once this happens, red lights and alarms abound the bank and they WILL freeze the employees’ credit cards and accounts unless you talk to the bank personally…in which case, they will still likely freeze your accounts until you show them proof that you got another employment and will release the money you got paid for from previous employer, less of course the outstanding obligation. Friends,banks in the UAE have been known to be consistently harsh to those who are suffering- unless of course you are an Emirati where thousands of options are available. By all means,lets try to make ends meet without using the damn credit cards.Use them only if darn necessary.If you can eliminate them at all, please do so. The points, rewards, and discts they seem to offer are nothing compared to the peace of mind you will have during rainy days.Dubai is the last place wed want to be if we are down. Locals think of Expats as necessary nuisance so they can live their lives very comfortably. Its a culture/thinking that envelops even the financial/banking system. In Saudi where I used to work, the common reply to an expat when caught in an accident with the Saudi man at fault (as is usually the case), is that “this will not happen if you were not here (in our country)…which is both true…and pathetic.Trust me, Ive experienced it personally. At any rate, UAE is much much modern, but again- discrimination always abounds…Judgment for any particular case and situation is never standard and will depend on the mood of the judge, your connections, your nationality- and sometimes, the team that wins the recent soccer match. I currently have a AED60k loan a few months back to have my house in my home country repaired after a drastic typhoon. Worked, but still aint sure if it had been worth it. People tend to take things for granted, and gamble a lot for comfort. Prevention is always better than cure, for those who had not been victimized by the system, avoid unnecessary debt like a plague…in most cases- you will be suprised that you can if you try

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James, and others

I’ve also had personal experiences with the people from a number of the banks in the UAE, and they must be some of the most un-professional people I have ever dealt with.

I was in a similar situation to you, but with another bank (NBD), and they sent a letter to my HR Dept, called my parents, etc over 2 missed payments. Unfortunately, I also had debts with other banks in Dubai as well. I’ve also had two banks who called my references, over 1 missed payment.

My total debt was in the region of 250k, including Loan & 5 Cards. While my loan was deducted from my salary, I fell in to the problem of using one card this month, to pay another, and so on. Then, when things got really expensive in Dubai, it got too much – I couldnt get another loan to pay rent, or get another Credit Card.

I tried to reason with a number of the Collections Departments, but as asking to make other payment arrangements wasnt part of the script that they read from, it made it impossible to attempt to fix the problems I had got myself into.

So, I went on a trip, and have never went back. Sure, I get a few calls every now and again, but I generally keep all communication on email, should the situation ever arise in my home country, that at least I can always say that I have communicated with my debtors, and have tried to come to some agreement.

Some other people on this site have suggested that you should go to prison and serve your time, I disagree with that so much. There is no shame in running back to your home country, although there is a recession and it may be harder to get work, I would suggest that before even thinking about going to jail.

At least running, when you get home, you tell people you lost your job – no big deal – its a recession. Tell them you lost your job, went to jail, and then got deported, believe me that will cause you more problems in your home country, than running away from some debt in the UAE.

I dont advocate running, but at least in your home country, you know the system, and can deal with it without the added stress of possibly going to jail.

Good luck over there….

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Hi steve,
which is better if theres a case filed for you for bank debts is it to go to the police station or to be caught in the immigration after your company cancel your visa

yours faithfully
jem

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Jem, Bad scene…..getting caught at the immigration will be very messy. You shall be escorted to the Jail straight away. But if you go to the police now for a bounced cheque case, they will ask you if you will pay now or they will keep your passport as security and will let u out untill u pay the whole amount.

Even if you go to the police they wouldnt let you go. They’ll take u into custody and then only the procedure will begin. therefore you will have to have a friend who will run around to get you out…..( even keeping the passport as security ) Best thing pay it off by any means, get a clearance letter from the bank and then leave…

Anu

For all that you will have to have a friend who’s ready to help you out while u are inside

Anyway its all bad as per my view.

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hi steve,

i am alone here in dubai. do you know how the procedure goes. i cannot pay by now but i already have a job waiting in qatar. how long will it take to be sentenced? will it be fast. then the stay in jail will the debt be waived off.

yours truly
jem

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hi steve,

I’ve got terminated last 15 December, 2009 but the effectivity is on 1st of January 2010 and the company given me 1 month notice. My visa was canceled already and I have to stay until 26 of Feb. 2010. I have still outstanding personal loan balance in Emirates NBD amounting to 46000 including my credit cards. I already talked to one person in the Emirates NBD recovery department and told me to seek for a new job in order to pay for the loan. I presented my termination paper to him and told me “Sir this paper was useless and will not changed anything in your loan balance or credit cards, eventhough that you loss your job you “must” pay the amount”. What I am asking to him was, How can I pay now that I don’t have a job? All I want is to ask their considerations regarding the payment or waived it until I can find a new job. I am informing the bank through him for some changes because I was lost my job. He was not so considerate and gave me instead the requirements to be submitted when I find a new job. Now, I’ve found a new job but it is outside UAE and in Qatar? This I will be going outside UAE. I came back to him (ENBD)and show my Offer Letter and again he told me I need your passport copy with the new visa page and gave me a Bank Guarantee Letter to be provided by my new company. I went again to my new company and asked the Admin Manager, he told me, this matter is beyond my control and I don’t want to mingle with it. He even told me finish first this problems of yours then afterward you come back and your visa is ready for departure to Qatar. Now my question is, how will I submit my documents to the bank if my new company was refused to make a Bank Guarantee Letter? How can I work in Qatar? The bank guy told me also that there is one more choice to make and it will be to have a guarantor. I should have a guarantor before I leave this country? Is there any possibility to get a guarantor if you are alone in this country?

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angel Reply:
February 18th, 2010 at 6:25 pm

hi jem: knowing the people working behind the collection of NBD, it’s a fat chance they will realease your case unless there is a guarantor to help you out but even so, if they had filed a police case against you, there is no way you can leave dubai. Go to muraqabat police station, criminal division and give them your passport number to check if you have police case (better have somebody else check it for you rather that presenting yourself). if you do not have any case yet, leave Dubai! get out of dubai! This banks collection people are mean and evil as they are after their commission only. I know coz’ i had done this kind of work and it is sick how they harrass people. I did not survive their kind of world! TO THOSE WHO HAVE FIRST GULF BANK LOAN, RUN! AND TO THOSE WHO WAS ABLE TO RUN FOR THIS BANK…I REALLY SALUTE YOU!

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senthil Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 2:39 am

dear sir,

when i was working in dubai i took a loan, still i have outstandings 110000 dhs from one bank and 150000 dhs form other bank and 40000 dhs from credit cards.. unfortunately i also lost the job.. me and my friend invested in real estate in dubai.. over night our dream crashed.. my friend committed suicide in dubai last ramadan because of debt collection agents harassment and fear.. all my friends and boss suggest me to leave dubai asap.. i left.. now i have a small job with lowest income.. i am scared of debt recovery agents.. i don’t have any property and debts on my name in india..

i don’t know what to do.. i cannot commit suicide.. i am not in a situation to pay back.. they will put me in jail in india or they will take me back to dubai and put me in dubai jail till i clear my debt (like 5-6 years).. or through out my life the debt collector will hunt me..? is there freedom or its like life sentence..?

and am also scared they will harass my old age parents.. the debt collection agency can take my parents property (one small house)..?

i have to run through out my life to hide myself.. or can i face the consequences? some people are telling debt collector cant do anything so no need to worry and don’t fear for them, some people are telling they will take me back to dubai so run to some other state and hide urself.. please give me hope.. dont know what to do..

senthil

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Steve Rhode Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 9:43 am

Senthil,

Nobody is going to extradite you and take you back to Dubai. You also cannot be put in jail in India for debts you owe in Dubai. Debt collectors may contact you and attempt to intimidate you into paying but they would just be trying to scare you.

There is nothing in this situation that would make suicide reasonable. I’m sorry your friend felt suicide was his way to deal with this situation.

Go and live your life in India. Find a way to smile again. If, in the future, a collection agent contacts you in India, the only thing they can force you to do is be afraid. If you are instead resolute and honest with them and don’t make any promises to repay you can’t afford, they can’t even intimidate you then. They can’t take anything from your parents. Their only weapon will be your fear and if you are not afraid, they have nothing else to use against you.

Steve

I left the UAE as I lost my job. i then moved to kuwait to get alternative employment. I have defaulted and the bank in Dubai have stated that they have filed a case against me. Can I be arrested in Kuwait airport and sent back to Dubai and go to jail?

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Mario Reply:
March 19th, 2010 at 7:16 am

You will only be arrested in Dubai. There is no such agreement between GCC countries, unless its a major criminal case like murder etc….

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Dear Steve,

I Use to work in Dubai.

I have a situation, I worked for a company who didnt paid my salaries for three month from june last year, I went to the labor ministry to file a complain regarding non payment of salaries,along with my another colleague who was also in the same position…Ministry of Labour followed up with the company and they played delay tricks …after following company for 3-4 times and didnt getting any satisfactory answer from them..the ministry has forwarded our case to dubai court where we fought tooth and nail and finally I along with my colleague won the case and court ordered to pay us compensation in tune of around 200000 each..but during the course of the court hearing the owner of the company ran away and closed down the company..now due to non payment of salaries I have exhausted my credit cards and also have car loan..the total loan amount is less than what company owe me….but right now due to present scenario job market in dubai is bad and its difficult for me to pay those debts….

I asked this question here with many people regarding my compensation that what will happen now sine the company is closed who will pay that amount…i got answers that sponsor will never pay as they have side agreements with the owners of the company and since the company was a LLC so minimum liability will be 300000 and that will be only paid if it is available with the ministry of labour which in our case has been used up by the owner earlier against the development of the company.

Now my questions are:

In Present scenario my Credit card and car loans debts are due to non payment of salaries and though i have a judgment in my favor which is more than the collective debts…chances of getting that compensation is nill so how could i repay bk my loan will the court or competent authorities here will honor the judgment and waive my loan ?

Should I talk to the banks and ask them to give me time till i find a job to paying their installments..in this case it is a hypothetical scenario as getting a job is quite difficult these days.

what to do ? Please advice ?

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Hi Steve, I have returned to my home country leaving a big debt in Dubai. Can i now go to Qatar safely and start my life over? Many thanks.

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Steve Rhode Reply:
February 20th, 2010 at 9:34 am

Kate,

Some have reported no problem traveling to Qatar, but I think Qatar is one of the countries in the GCC and that could create a problem. It would be best to contact a lawyer in Qatar and ask them for specific legal advice regarding your situation.

Steve

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Hi Steve,

I am still waiting for an answer please advice?

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i lost my job in UAE, and i can not pay for my loans.
to avoid jail sentence, i fled the country to find employment, after a year i contacted my friends in UAE, and informed that my where about, after 2 days the bank start calling me to pay up my debts or not they will directly speak with my employer. i did pay as the amount requested but at same time the debt collect did speak to my employer and i was ask to leave the company. Now that im unemployed.. i return back to Mindanao, will they be able to trace me?

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Dear Steve,

As i was reading your column i couldn’t stop myself from crying… I’VE BEEN TO THAT SITUATION and still trying to make my life normal…

I worked in dubai for 3 years and had loans that i cannot pay anymore, with all the phone calls, harassment and countless sleepless nights, i knew then that i have to escape before i totally loose my mind…I was able to leave dubai and been here in my country for over a year now… But no one in my family know that i left dubai with debts.

The debt collectors are starting to call and harass my friends in dubai to tell them where i am now, but my friends in dubai did not even know i left the country already or where to contact me.. then i got an email from a friend telling me about this and warned me that the collector wants me to know that i will not be able to have a chance to travel anywhere in the world because i am already reported in interpol..

I have a fiance an american citizen and would want me to go there in america this year to meet his family.. I kept turning down his offer because of my fears that i might be put on-hold in my country’s immigration or in the us immigration because of my debts in dubai..

This might sound crazy but i dont know anybody whom i can talk to regarding this fears of mine until i read your columns..

Please let me know if i can finally meet my fiance family because the last words i got from the debt collectors is that they will report me in INTERPOL so i have no other ways to leave my country.. and to free myself from all of these fears..

your reply is very much appreciated.. Cassandra.

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Steve Rhode Reply:
February 26th, 2010 at 11:22 am

Cassandra,

Dubai has no control over your travels except within the GCC countries. Go meet you love and the family without fear.

People don’t get deported from the U.S. to Dubai for debt problems.

Steve

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Hi Steve,

I’ve been reading forums here about debts in Dubai and I must say it is indeed very enlightening and helpful for people who in are debt in the UAE.

I was never able to keep up with my bank loans / cards payments after being included in a mass termination in January 2009 and even though I landed a new job in May of 2009, it was never easy to have my payments regularized. Unfortunately I lost my job for the second time (31 Jan 2010), and much as I want to flee UAE and start a life in a new country, I am unable to do so as my banks filed police case against me (discovered after my current company applied visa cancellation).

Now, not only the collection agents are harrassing me for payments, my employer is also pushing me til 1st week of March to settle my bank issues in order for them to cancel my visa. I currently have an approximate AED 180,000 accumulated debt (personal loans, credit cards from 5 banks).

I have long ignored the calls of the collection agents as I am certain I am bound to go behind bars. But before doing so, I am gathering information on the condition I will face in the jail as well as how long could be the sentence be for AED 180,000 debt amount. I was also told, I cannot just voluntarily go to the CID or Police to turn myself in as I would not be accepted just like that. For this reason, my friends and I are contacting few people who might know the procedure or the process that I need to follow.

I have not received any confirmed information that the loan amount will be waived if I serve a term in jail (but I have heard a lot of similar stories, like in your forum, where people go out free of financial burden after being imprisoned).

Steve, if I seek a lawyer’s advice or assistance to process my case, would you know how much would they charge? Will I get one-year-ban after serving the term?

I hope to share my experience after serving my term. I hope to do this in 2-3 weeks time (I also hope the term wouldn’t be that long though).

Thanks for your feedback.

Jho-anne

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Steve Rhode Reply:
February 27th, 2010 at 10:53 am

Jo-Anne,

Thank you for sharing and I am very interested in what happens next. The more you can share the more you and I can help others.

I’m afraid I have no idea what a lawyer in Dubai charges.

It sounds like you are in a ‘no-win’ situation with limited options but you sound like someone that can face those obstacles with grace.

Steve

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Hi Steve,

I want to share this “IMPORTANT” information with you folks. I had a total of around 80000 AED on credit cards and personal loans from 4 different banks. I was made redundant so what i did as everyone was to park my car and flew to Pakistan. After few months a collection agency started coming to my house from one of the banks. They used to come to my house and ask my neighbours about my whereabouts. My mom told them that i was not here and i was in another city as she knew i already had a lot of mental trauma due to loss of job and the owner of the company running away without paying employee salaries.

I decided that i will not take this insult from a collection agency. I started searching the internet for my rights. Then one fine day i contacted one of my friends in Dubai and he went to all the banks one by one and tried to convince them to take cases back. Within 2 weeks all the three called him and said they were ready to take cases back if i had intent to pay them once i get a job in dubai. He agreed to it and assured them that definately i will come find a job and then start paying from where it stopped (Principal amount only without interest and late charges). They agreed and my cases have finally been waived off.

Guys, one of the bankers advised my friend, if someone wants to remove the name from the immigration check the right time is now. When every bank is facing liquidity crisis. They are willing to negotitate if people approach them through friends. He also recently sent me a visit visa which confirms that the cases HAVE been taken back.

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Hi Muhammed,

Nice to know this important task info from your side. I have few queries and information for you :

1) Have you got any confirmation letter form ALL BANKS that there is no cases against you with terms & conditions.

2) If no, then be carefull before going to Dubai again. Lots of banks are using this tricks now these days to get back the person back in their own den. Once you will be there, you are gone…..

3) Getting a Visit Visa doesnt mean that no case against you. New Visa issues despite of any police complain. The moment you will try to clear immigration, there would be a Black Mark against your record in their system whcih will alert them to call for police. This way you shall get arrested at immigration.

Let me know you further experience.

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Hello Steve,

i had a loan of 16000aed from CITI BANK & 2 credit card with 4000 aed each, i left Dubai 7 months back,

its confirmed i have case with all banks.. but i was in regular touch with all bank in emails & i agreed to pay some of 10,000 aed total equally divided to all 3 banks and get a settlement letter & orignal receipt of payments (which my friend wil do in dubai)& balance i will pay once i get my first salary their…

My concern is ARE SETTLEMENT LETTERS IS A SAFE WAY TO ENTER DUBAI?? i have found a job in Dubai , as recovery agents from banks say yes.. have written emails from them but i still hesitate to take a step ahead… Plz advise on same,

regards
Mohammed H.K

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Steve Rhode Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 12:19 pm

For a legal opinion on this you’ll need to contact an attorney in Dubai before you enter the country.

Steve

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Mohammed h.k Reply:
March 12th, 2010 at 1:05 am

Dear Steve,

Thank you so much for your instant reply :)
As you know i am currently in India & its difficult to find a friendly lawyer who can advice me on same or rest of the people in this Forum,
Do any one of us have any detail of lawyers who can give us friendly advice… and guide us to rite path before falling in trap…

Would appreciate your revert & help for all

Thanks Steve you are a good man.. every 1 feels so good to have a chat or reply to their request..

keep it up Steve :)

regards
Mohd H.k

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Real Reply:
March 12th, 2010 at 12:23 pm

Dear Mohammed;

you do not need lawyer but what you need is a good friend who is ready to help you .

what you should do is to finalise your negotiation with the bank and your friend should pay whatever amount you agree and get from them clearance letter ( don’t pay a single fils unless you see the clearance letter or writen agreement for the setlment ).

after that he need to vist each police station where the cases are filed and present seperat clearance letters to remove your name from their system .

in the main time , the same officer who is removing your name will tell your friend if there is still any case against you in the system , and usually these offices will tell him the truth .

don’t trust when the bank tell you we will send the clearance letter to police and remove the name , they never do so and it’s just a game to catch you.

any other way or promises will only drain your money and give you fake hope .

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Hi;
i just want to share my personal experience which i hope it will help you .

i live in Dubai and i had credit cards, personal loans , comercial loans and difrent type of facilities from many banks .

unfortunatly due to many circumstances i start defaulting on payment and banks start filing police cases against me , and in spite several atempt to consolidate my loans or reach setlment i could not succeed in finalising any setlment .

one evening i had the CID knoking on my door at midnight and they took me to jail , luckily by the time that i was arested my family managed to sell some assets and pay the debt so i was released after few weeks.

this what will hapen with you if you are arested :

1/ the debt will never be waived !!

2/ as per the UAE law you are sent to jail because you sign the cheque and they don’t care if you pay the money or not , however the rule say if you pay then the sentence is waived and you will be pardoned but it will always remain in your file , so if you don’t pay the bank or the lender have the right to file another civil case to claim back the money, but most of the banks don’t do it because it consume time and money , and they prefer to claim the debt from insurance or sell the debt to colection agencies , but never take the risk as it is unpredictable if the bank will file or not the civil case and there where you could end up in seariouse mess, therfore the minute that you get out you should leave the country .

as per the UAE law there is no deportation or imigration black listing for financial crimes , because they clasify it as minor crimes even if the sentence are in years.

- when you are arested you will first be taken to police station which are very crowded and dirty places( but the police men are kind and good ) , you will spend 48 hour till they take you to public procecutor who will decide either to bail you out by taking your passport or the passport of your friend as guarantee or he will decide to live you in jail , and if he do so you will spend 10 aditional day in that police station till the court date , where you will be presented to a judge along with many inmate and you will see the judge for a maximum of 20 second ; he will tell you did you issue this cheque to so and so company or bank , and the answer should be either yes or no because he is not interested to hear any thing else , then he tell you are you guilty and also the answer will be yes or no , so he send you out and you wait for your sentence which is normally 1 to 2 month for amount below 50.000 and 3 month if the amount less than 100.000 and 6 month and up for more and normally even when you get the sentence you can apeal so it will be reduced to halve or less also the month in jail is calculated as 23 day only.

the real problem is when you have mutiple cheques your sentence for the 2nd or 3d or after will be tough such as 6 month for 50k or 1 year for 100k.

now in regards to the banks setlment , never make the mistake of paying part payment without geting writen agreement that the loan or card has been canceled and what you are paying is part of the setlment , because you will discover that the bank are taking your money and alocating it to fines and interest and your problem is still as it is .

morover if you have default never go to any branch and never trust any banker , normaly they will act like angles till you come to them and then they will call the CID to arest you as a way to balckmail you and colect more money from you and impose stricter condition and demand aditional guarantee or guarantor to release you.

you have to remember that dealing with the devils is much safer than dealing with the Dubai bankers and their colection department ( I saw cases where bankers ask the defaulters to deposit the money in the bank acount and come back to colect release paper , but when he did they just kick him out and ask him to go and get aditional money )

as per the setlments,most of the time the bank is interested to colect the principal amount and they are ready to give you up to 12 instalment if you provide guarantor, but normally they will rey to get as much extra as they can because it increase their bonus and comissions .

as for discounting and waivers it is unlikley unless the client is out of the country or the debt is older than 2-3 year and the lost hope of recovering it , in that case they might go up to 50% discount and even they might offer instalment .

i hope the above information will help some one and make your life easier .

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Steve Rhode Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 3:32 pm

Thank you so very much for posting this information.

Steve

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Hi Guys,

I am travelling to dubai before the end of this month. I had 3 cases against me by the banks and one of my acquantances got it off by speaking to them. At the moment there is only verbal agreement that the banks will take off the cases. My brother checked with immigration and they said my passport was clear for travelling. Let me travel and see whether what turns up and then i will update you folks. My trump card in case if i get caught is my brother who said he will take a loan and pay off my debts or try to guarantee if they agree. (This is in case i am unlucky and get caught). But guys i will tell you one thing. Try to stay away from banks. I have learnt my lesson the hard way. They are thieves.
MZ´s last blog ..7 Rules for Deeper Inner Peace

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Hi MZ;

You are taking very high risk ; most propably you will be arested in the airport .

banks never remove the police case , they give you release paper and it’s you who go and present it to police , so all what you say dos not make any sense.

it will be wiser if your brother make the deal on your behalf before you enter the country and after he obtain the release paper in his hand then you travel , it’s better for you because since you are out you can make better deal with the banks , and it is safer because bailing and finishing your story in fast way is totally unpredictable and depend a lot on luck .

once you become in police custody you will discover 2 things that dos not have any value ( Time and Human ), so better think twice and be wise if you don’t want to be sorry ( what you hear outside is totally difrent from what you might see, Not every thing is great and comfortable in Dubai , you will discover the real middle east life once you step in; especially if you land in burdubai, Rashidia or nayef police stations then you will discover the reality )

Also you should know that only the CID have access to the wanted list and details , Imigration and other department they just see a mark which say they should contact police , even trafic police and normal police department cannot tell you if you are wanted or not , they have to call the operation room and get the information … so don’t rely much on general information .

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Hi steve,

I left Dubai in 2008 with debt in the bank and went to
Canada as a temporary worker. I have all the intention in paying the my monthly payment until my Mother got really sick and She needed the money more than I do. So I stop paying and sending the money to my Mother instead. During my stay here I’ve met a nice guy he offered me a marriage. My friend told me If I’m going to marry this guy and file for a spouse sponsorship the police clearance from Dubai would be one of the requirements in the processing of the papers. I wanna setle my debt but I don’t have money. Is it possible to obtain a police clearance from Dubai even I have debt and not in there country? Would they follow me here in Canada? what are my options beside paying the bank?
I need your advice…

thanks.

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Hi Steve,

Just an update. I was in continuous touch with Rak bank for an AED 20,000 defaulted on credit cards. They have agreed to settle it for 5000 AED. But the rest have to be paid in installments as low as 250 a month as soon as i found a job. But i have decided against going over there. Last comment by “Real” has already made me feel fickleminded about the whole thing and i have decided to go to either UK or canada…But just a thought, I am 26 years old, born, brought up and lived in UAE for around 25 years of my total life. They do not give nationality to anyone. What a waste of time I had in this country with an artificial life. At the end I had to return to the slums of Pakistan. It is better for me to move to a place that accepts me as a citizen one day. Peace
MZ´s last blog ..Linkedin Has Revolutionized Professional Networking

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