Q: Hello, I have a customer to whom our dues are AED 125,000. Our terms were set for a 30-Day PDC, but they have not been able to fulfil it. Since many months they have been giving false promises to release my payments, but we have not yet received any. I would like to know the legal charges and court charges to send them a notice.

Q: Hi, I invested AED 75,000 with a company that intended a takeover of CCTV installation, and the company is located in DAFZA with 4 partners. They made me sign an internal contract which wasn't signed by all the partners and I never got a copy of the same signed by all 4 partners. I kept chasing them for the same as well as for MOA from DAFZA and name change on Trade Licence but got only excuses. Finally, after 3 months of chasing them, they informed me that they don't intend to take over the company and wanted to divert my funds elsewhere. I refused and asked for a refund. They gave me a fraud cheque that got bounced due to the unauthorized signatory. I filed a police complaint, after which the authorized signatory was summoned by police. Later the signatory contacted me and wanted to settle it in 4 PDCs across 3 months but on a condition that I return him the fraud cheque which is the only proof I have proving his fraud intentions. Kindly advise if his demand for the return of fraud cheque is valid?

Q: Dear Mrs Khan, I have recently received a Post Dated Bank Cheque from one of my new clients, the cheque date is Thursday 19th Apr 2018. Today, I called this client to find out that they are not answering calls, and when I went to their office I found it closed and many of their suppliers in the corridors complaining about their Bank Cheques that were bounced back (rejected). The owner of this company seems to have already left the UAE and none of his employees is answering the phone. So most probably the bank cheque that they gave me (AED 57250) will bounce back Thursday. So I want to start taking action now. I sold them 10000 boxes of 15 Kg lemon, which they stored in a third-party cold storeroom in Dubai. I went and found that the lemon is still there. Please, could you tell me how can I legally get back my lemon as I'm 100% sure I will not be paid? Thanks in advance and please feel to ask should you need more details.

Q: I own 10% of the shares of a restaurant. The contract I have had already matured and I was issued a cheque. Naturally, the cheque bounced, but along the way, the cheque was sent back to my old company so I no longer possess the cheque. And I was promised that the debt will be paid, but more than 1 year has passed and I haven't been paid anything. I still possess the original contract and a letter stating that he will pay his dues. Is this usable if I want to file a case claiming that he owes me AED 130k?

An interview-format article covering the topic of how to increase chances of getting your invoices paid in the UAE. This is from the legal podcast of lawyer Ludmila Yamalova, the founder of Lawgical with LYLAW.

This Law applies to merchants, as well as to all acts of commerce carried out in the UAE by any person even though he be not a trader. Commercial matters regarding which specific Federal laws are issued shall be subject to the provisions of such laws, and to the provisions hereof which do not contradict with said laws.