Questions & Answers
Liability for the unpaid loan
I was jailed for 4 months for not being able to pay a loan from a Dubai bank since I've lost my job in 2011.
After my release, I tried looking for a job but was unsuccessful, so I went back to my home country when my visa expired but still the bank is sending emails and threatening me and wants to collect money from me.
Now that I am back here in Dubai, they threatened to file a ban against me and told me that I cannot get my visa renewed if I will not pay them.
Can the bank do such THING? I already have accepted the punishment of serving jail time since during that time I didn't have a JOB and was totally broke. What can I do so that they will stop harassing me?
What does the law say if someone had served the sentence for a bouncing check case?
Thanks and hoping to be enlightened.
Your situation is indeed very unfortunate. Sadly, prison term does not erase your debts. You were jailed for a bounced cheque, not for failure to pay your loan.
Bank may file a lawsuit against you based on Articles 246 and 710 of the UAE Civil Code. Subsequently, the bank may start a civil procedure against you in order to receive loan amount along with contractual fines. During these procedures, the bank may ask the court to impose a travel ban on you.
The best course of action for you now is to pay your debt as there currently are no individual insolvency laws in the UAE. If you need any further legal assistance please contact our office.
