Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I was scammed by a car rental company that has not refunded my deposit for the past month. I believe they are fraudulents. Today, out of frustration, we had a heated argument on the phone, followed by verbal abuse during the next call. He claimed to have recorded it and said he would file a case. I want to know what the chances of a case are in this situation and what I should do. They are scammers for sure, but I’m concerned because he said he recorded the call and will raise a verbal abuse complaint.

Q: Dear Lawyers, I agreed with a seller to buy a used car for which I paid a deposit, but the car failed an RTA inspection. The seller refused to fix the car and refund the money. After going back and forth, I agreed to pay part of the cost (300 Dhs) to save my deposit. We tried to transfer the car, but the office was closed, so it wasn't done while I paid the balance amount as well. I took the car for a drive, and it became clear that the seller was lying. The car overheated after just 15 minutes. I immediately called him and paid for recovery to take the car to a garage of his choice. The mechanic said that either the head gasket is blown or the engine needs a replacement. I asked for a refund, but he refused. We went to the police station, where they tried to reason with him, but he refused to listen to them as well. The police eventually told me to file a case to claim my refund. I have proof of all the bank transfers and WhatsApp chats to back my claim.

Q: My wife and I went and saw a car at a dealership in the Sharjah car market. The dealer claimed the car had a very minor accident. We asked for some scratches to be fixed as a condition to buy, and he agreed. We paid 1000 dirhams and signed. later, he asked for another 4000. I transferred another 4000 online to him, so in total I paid 5000 Dirham, and sent him a note about the expectations, and he responded back with “agreed” on Whatsapp. A few days later he said the car is ready. We went but none of what we agreed on was done. He asked us to come back again on Monday. On my request, he sent this note on Whatsapp and agreed to refund the deposit on Monday if the car was still not ready. On Monday the car wasn't ready. I asked for my refund as he agreed before but he refused. I asked for a receipt of my 4000 payments. He forged the document and added a note about the 4000 on the document that I already signed, to make that a non-refundable! Later I found the car also had a major accident and he distracted us.

An interview-format article covering the topic of contracts in the UAE. This is from the legal podcast of lawyer Ludmila Yamalova, the founder of Lawgical with LYLAW.

The provisions of this law, promulgating UAE Civil Code, govern the civil transactions in the United Arab Emirates. The commercial transactions remain subject to the laws and regulations applicable in their regard.

The provisions of this Federal Law, known as the "New Consumer Protection Law", govern Consumer Protection regulations in the United Arab Emirates. The New Consumer Protection Law repeals the previous UAE Consumer Protection Law (Federal Law No. (24) of 2006 on Consumer Protection).

The provisions of this Federal Decree by Law No. (35) of 2022 Promulgating the Law of Evidence in Civil and Commercial Transactions, known as the "New Law of Evidence", governs the laws of evidence in the United Arab Emirates. The New Law of Evidence repeals the previous UAE Law of Evidence (Federal Law No. (10) of 1992 On Evidence in Civil and Commercial Transactions).