Inselaffen

they can only enforce the debt by going through the english courts to have a judgment of the UAE courts enforced.

luckily for those debtors the UAE did not join the Commonwealth, otherwise it would be a comparatively simple process.

kittycat1

I'm just curious, when coming to a tax free haven where the pay has been pretty good for a lot of people why so many people appear to have built up debt over here- the first thing people have said to me is do not borrow money here.

I'm here to pay off my UK debt and save some money which is impossible to do in London so how come so many people fall into this trap or is it intentional?

Kitty x

Ethos83

Various reasons. Some people are just spendthrifts.

But quite a few people fell into the debt trap when they had to take out loans for a year's rent, and of course to buy cars. People who came out here at the peak of the boom had to spend considerable sums just to set up their life in Dubai, and if they lost their jobs they were often in trouble.

Bob

big one is the loan to pay rent upfront...

NorthernLad

- It used to be very easy to get loans/credit here
- A lot of naive people expected the boom to go on forever
- Property (rental and purchasing) was at ridiculous prices
- Whilst not as bad now, Dubai used to have a culture amongst many expats of 'keeping up with the Jones'.

Add these all together and you have a debt collectors wet dream.

N.B. There are also cases of people who got caught up in debt without living the lavish lifestyle, but from what I have seen/know these are more the exception to the rule.

Blue Cat

people living above their means, flash cars etc

toughinthegulf

I know of many expats in Dubai that are in Debt in Dubai, be that through a mortgage on a property now in negative equity, a car loan or credit card and now they have taken pay cuts or worse, have been made redundant.

Personally my debt came about through a simple credit card and car loan. Having lived in the ME for almost 15 years its normal to have those lines of credit.

One day i changed my employer and pay was late, business bad and it started going backward. I saw the crunch coming and moved my family back home and i returned to Dubai to sort it all out, get a new new job etc but it wasnt happening. The threats i received from the banks were shocking and basically i went home myself to avoid the possibility of being put in jail.

I have a family and protecting your family is the number one thing in any persons life. I intend to repay the debt from here, where i am safe, where i will not end up in jail for a bounced "blank cheque".

Hope that helps.

nogoingback

The debit in a foreign country is not enforceable in the UK unless in the conditions it stated that this was the case or if the contract was given in the jurisdiction of that country.
The debit collectors may hassle you but they can not get the debit enforced in a British court.
The rules are slightly different between EU countries but a debit you have in the ME can not follow you to the UK. They may try to persuade you to pay but it will not affect your credit record in the UK.

Madam Medusa

to be fair though, some people didn't do this but still have debt...you wouldn't think twice about getting a car loan at home, even for a basic car, so what are people to do here, pay in cash? not everyone can afford that...and then people may have had loans for rent etc...

MM, xx

littlejimmy

It is ridiculously easy. If you go to Dubai at the drop of a hat with a naive assumption that the streets are paved with gold and that everything the agency and employer told you is true, and then arrive to find everything cost loads more than you expected, you have to get loans for the rent and buy 2 cars (even if they are second-hand) , pay fees left right and centre for schools and internet access and utilities and pay for all of this out of what seemed at first glance to be a nice monthly all-in amount...

*takes breath*

It's so easy to get into debt. Trust me. Some have learned the hard way.

Proper, extensive research is the key.

Roadking

...and a huge salary/benefit package helps.

littlejimmy

Aye.

IndieG

The debt is not sold, the concept of selling debt doesn't exist here. Even if the bank writes off a debt in their books they can still, if they want to, chase a customer for debts until repaid/settled.

Basically they've just outsourced collections to agencies in India, Pakistan, Philippines and now possibly included UK. At first only few banks outsourced collection but now most banks do and hence more and more people talking about it.

IndieG

Very true - a lot people were caught out by rent and car loans after they lost their jobs. They were living within their means.....

minuteman

hi guys,
there is a company in the U.K. called Oriel, that act on behalf of the banks in the U.A.E. to collect on any debts that were obtained before absconding from the emirates, i too am in this position, and have sought legal expertise from various organisations including the office of fair trading who have set guidelines concerning debt recovery,
the fact of the matter is such, that since the Emirates have not signed a reciprocal agreement with the U.K. the debts cannot be registered in either Scotland, England, Wales or Northern Ireland, since they cannot be registered they cannot be enforced, on the advice from the O.F.T. when Oriel called back they were told these facts and that i was in no position to pay (even if i was legally obliged to do so) and that any effort to collect this debt would be an exercise in futility, they have since handed the Debt back to N.B.D. and closed the case, N.B.D. However have a collection Agency in Dubai, who just make phone calls once in a while, which i find is convenient to find out how the weather is.