Quick Answer: The debtor should contact the creditor immediately to negotiate repayment of the 14,000 AED bounced check debt, as UAE laws allow jail time for bounced checks. Since police and creditor have already filed cases and payment arrives in two weeks, hiring a local lawyer to facilitate settlement discussions would be advisable to avoid criminal consequences.
“Dear Steve,
I have a bounced cheque situation, the amount is not that high (14000). I couldn’t pay back since I am almost at handover of a project and want to pay the supplier asap. Since the cheque has already bounced and I have received threats from the supplier, I am a quite worried what will happen next. The supplier has filed a case as I did not answer his calls and the police department also tried calling but I never replied. Its been almost a month now since the incident. My payment is coming in the next 2 weeks. Please advice me what to do. Should I go to the Police station and pay off the debt or should I go to the supplier pay off and ask him to drop the case. Is it possible I could send somebody else instead of me going personally. Please reply to this urgently as I need to do some action asap. Should I hire a lawyer and ask him to settle the amount in installments? What are the consequences I have to face now?
Alvi”
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Dear Alvi,
The UAE is a really bad place for debtors. It is still entirely possible to find yourself in jail for a bounced cheque.
I would not discourage you from seeking the advice of a local lawyer to assist you with this matter. Good legal advice is extremely valuable.
At this point the best solution would be one where you can negotiate with the creditor to allow you to repay the debt in some mutually agreeable fashion you can meet.
If you do strike an agreement with the creditor, be sure to get it in writing.
If you are a UAE citizen there may be some additional programs you can use to deal with the debt. Let me know if you are.
Please post your responses and follow-up messages to me on this in the comments section below.
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