HKDC Attempts to Collect on UAE Debt

Question:

Dear Jon,

I was working in the UAE for 2 years in Abu Dhabi. I had to leave quickly and left credit card debt.

I have recently been receiving phone calls and emails from a debt collection agency in the UAE almost 6 months after leaving there and moving back home to Australia.

They have gathered my new Australian phone number, business number and all my email addresses and are sending me multiple notices to all.

My debt (I assume they’ve added interest) has been calculated to 40k AED.

Are they able to do anything here to collect the debt? There is no way I will be able to pay this for a very very long time.

I do not intend to travel to the emirates or transit through there anytime in the future. However I am worried this could affect me in other countries outside the UAE. Is that possible?

Any advice on what they could do to me in Australia or if I’m travelling would be greatly appreciated. And should I communicate back to them? So far I have just ignored all communication as I do not know what to do and know I cannot pay.

Courtney

Answer:

Courtney,

It isn’t very nice being on the receiving end of collection notices and calls. However, since the collection agency is in the UAE and you are in Australia, there is little they can do unless they apply for authority there to collect the debt or sell or assign the account to a collection agency there in Australia. This does not mean they may not continue to make threats, send emails, and calls, and in general harass you.

If you cannot afford to repay the account, then you cannot afford to. Hopefully in time the collection agency will realise they cannot get money from you.

Avoiding their calls and not reading any correspondence may remove some of the stress, but it is good to know the status of the account, and what the agency may do next. Unless the account is assigned to someone in Australia, all they can do is make threats.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Jon

Sincerely,


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