Dealing with debtors – Dubai style

Posted in 'Personal Finance' by Barry Stamp

20 August 2010

A British man has finally returned to the UK after being forced to spend three months living rough in Dubai, brought about by a dispute over his credit card bill.

Nicholas Warner, who was living in Dubai, originally got into dispute with Emirates NBD – a Dubai bank – over whether the repayment on his credit card had been made. After temporarily returning to the UK for Christmas without informing the bank, Mr Warner was classified as a ‘debt skipper’ and was arrested on his return and his passport confiscated by the authorities.

Debtors are not looked upon at all favourably in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, where it is possible to be jailed for up to 3 years for issuing a bounced cheque, and where local papers regularly publish pictures of people who have skipped or who have reneged on credit agreements. When he was unable to come to an agreement with the bank over the debt, Mr Warner lost his job – and quickly became caught in a Catch 22 situation.

Without a job he was unable to repay the debt and without his passport he was unable to prove his eligibility to be in the country and therefore unable to get a job. Only after contacting the BBC and receiving help from locals and other expats was he able to raise enough money to pay off his debts, get his passport returned and come back home to the UK.

Emirates NBD say that they had only acted in accordance with UAE law. Mr Warner argued that each offer made by the bank carried conditions that were impossible for him to accept.

Thankfully, punishment for non-repayment of debts isn’t quite as harsh here in the UK, although any black marks against your RBS and 16.9%.

If it’s a card that offers a great deal on both balance transfers and purchases, the 18.9%, it provides 0% interest on both for 12 months.

Finally, if getting rewarded for using your card is your thing, both the 18.9% and the 19.9% offer great deals.