Q: I paid an advance to a seller for a used car. I was supposed to pay the rest of the money and get the car registered the next day. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I couldn't complete the deal and called it off within 24 hours. I requested for a refund of my advance amount, but the seller says he will not do that. I also found out later that he has not told the complete truth about how he got the ownership of the car. This also partially influenced by the decision to call off of the deal. We have not signed any contract saying that my advance money will not be refunded. I want to know whether I am legally entitled to the refund of my advance?

Q: Sir, I booked a room in Hotel Armani through Agoda.com. They offered 2 adults and two children 0-11, but the hotel did not allow my children who are 7 & 11 years old. I want refund, please advise.

Q: Hi. This is Arun from Thailand. I need a legal opinion from your concern regarding the cheating faced from a UAE-based firm named R. I. In January 2017,   my wife signed an agreement with them regarding a job offer letter to Canada. The total fees they asked for were AED 7000, but for the initial payment, I paid AED 4000 to them. They said it will take 6 months. In January 2018, they told me that presently they aren’t able to do the job offer for me because there is no current openings. After that, they gave me one more offer that they have for an Atlantic immigration program to Canada. In this case, I also believed them and they started the program. Then only I came to know that they didn’t even know how to fill the immigration application. So I told them to stop the processing and refund me the full amount on last April, but till now, they didn’t refund and they are keep on postponing. I thought to file a case against them, so I am requesting you to give me an advice on the same.

Q: Is there a law regarding a "cooling period" on an item purchased? We had a problem with a company distributing vacuum cleaners in Sharjah, we have returned the item to them as we felt like being pressured to buy without giving us time to think before buying, and their contract states that I have to pay 4,000 Dirhams as a cancellation if I return the item within 3 days. Is it legal? Where is the 3 day cooling period?

Q: I purchased a diamond Jewellery 15-20 days back from a renowned jeweller in the UAE for a price of AED 20500 and made advance payment for AED 15000. Due to some unfortunate reasons, I had to cancel my purchase. The jeweller is deducting 25% of the paid amount ( 5% for vat and 20 % being there policy) to return the cashback. I believe the amount deducted is unreasonably high as I have not bought the jewellery back home since the amount is not paid fully. I offered them an option to allow me to purchase gold jewellery instead and they still are very stringent in deducting 25% of the amount paid. It has only been 15 days since I made the purchase, I don’t know what to do.

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.

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.

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 Cabinet Resolution No (12) of 2007 Concerning the Executive Regulations of Federal Law No (24) of 2006 on Consumer Protection.