Q: Dears, I left the UAE last year in 2021 and now I have a personal loan debt of AED 15,000 as per the bank. Now, I have received a court letter from Dubai Court with a travel ban to the country. What will be the next process, please help as I would really want to avoid any travel ban and police case.

Q: Hi, Firstly, thank you for this service. Let me briefly describe my situation. Been in Dubai for a long time. Lost my job recently and frantically applying for a new one. Currently on garden leave until June, so only 2 more salary payments are pending. I have a loan for AED 950k and an outstanding mortgage of 900k (the value of the property is 2m AED. Afraid that after June I will not keep up with payments on the loan for sure which are 33k per month. Willing to settle since I have access to some funds but the bank only wants to settle on the full amount with all 5-year interest payments added. I have access through the family of approx. AED 500k to use for settlement. The loan was for 5 years and paid without any defaults for 26 months. I have no savings at this time but in the coming June, I will most likely default. Any advice would be appreciated. God bless.

Q: Hello Experts, I need your kind advice regarding my loan. I had a loan of 250k and a credit card of 13k with a bank. When I left the UAE in March-20, my cumulative outstanding of both was 160k. Since then, I'm in Pakistan and hasn't come back to the UAE The bank has bounced security cheques and filed criminal cases. Now I have a job offer from Dubai and they already applied for my employment visa. Meanwhile, I'm negotiating with the bank for a one-shot settlement over the telephone. They are asking me to pay 112k one payment for the full and final settlement of both liabilities. They have waived off all the interest and just asking the principal amount in this way. Please advise if 112k is a good deal considering the situation or I should have to get more discount. Also, advise how should I go forward with them (they said, they'll issue a settlement letter/new offer letter, after which I'll submit the payment and then within 2 weeks they'll withdraw the criminal case).

Q: Dear sir/madam, What is the process to release someone from a court case, especially in a cheque bounce case? I want to settle with him.

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, Greetings! I am an ex-pat who took a personal loan from a bank in Abudhabi. I have 13 months of installments left. My bank changed my monthly installment amount last month without any notification. They charged me an additional amount of 1190 per month for the next 13 months. When I contacted the bank, they said these are your accrued interest amount as I took deferment during Covid period. When I asked them how much the interest would be before taking deferment, they didn’t give me a proper response. I initiated a query with customer care asking them to provide complete details about my accrued interest. They are ready to discuss only via phone & they can’t send any emails. Can the bank charge a high-interest amount for deferment? Kindly advise me on what I can do, please! Thank you!

Q: Hi, I have a credit card issue. Since last 2019, I am asking the bank for negotiation. I paid for around 4 and half years but now I am not able to afford it anymore. But they are not negotiating and telling me to pay the full principal amount. They are calling and harassing me but not negotiating. How can I come out of this issue? This issue is pending since 2019.

In the UAE, cheque bounce is a very frequent problem faced by people during their span in the country. It is covered under the purview of Commercial Transactions Law, and legal implications/penalties can be financially severe and daunting for more “serious” offenses. Bounced cheque issues may arise in a variety of commercial transactions, including but not limited to, companies’ exchanges, bank loans, property rents or purchases, and individual transactions.

The management of individual financial affairs is crucial and all the actions must be weighed down while committing to any financial liability. Whether it's job loss that may have lead to financial failure or the opposite, one must be aware of the personal liability which will not diminish by paying fines for cheque bounce cases. There are two major types of liabilities, criminal liability and civil liability. Each has its own significance, hence, must be dealt with accordingly.

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.