huzaifakapadia

Hello, I have an old debt from 2007 which I have not paid..few credit cards and a personal loan...does anyone here know of a way to clear that as I don't even remember the names of the banks. I want to take it off my head so incase in the future my work sends me for a visit to dubai they shouldn't put me behind bars.

Fossildog

Love that painting. I'm sure the original is in the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle

NorthernLad

Just head over here, you will get a reminder very quickly.

Meow

Don't remember the names of the banks?

You'll need to jog your memory to get started. The banks will come to an arrangement to let you repay over time and may even accept a lower amount, but not until you know which banks...

scrubbedexpat141

HSBC
Lloyds TSB
Emirates NBD
Mashreq
ADCB
Arab Bank
Citi Bank
RakBank
....

The Dean

Jodrell Bank
Dogger Bank
Sperm Bank
River Bank
Takethattothe Bank

scrubbedexpat141

Spank Bank
Wank Bank
Clothes Bank
Monopoly Bank
Money in the Bank
Dealornodeal Bank(er)
Bank Street

keeleboy

I would be interested in people's views on my story and any comments that might give me advice on what to do. I am not under exaggerating when I am quoting numbers in hundreds, not hundreds of thousands.

I didn't skip on a debt: I left the UAEfor personal reasons in Feb 2012 and decided to never go back. I withdrew all my cash in the UK but left in approx 900 AED to cover my final credit card bill, which I estimated would be close to £100, leaving me with enough left over.

Turns out I miscalculated and my final bill was 950AED. I checked my current account (which was linked to the credit card, meaning I would never default) two months later and I still had plenty of money left in. I withdrew in good faith.

Two months further down the line I get an email from the bank informing me I had defaulted on my credit card and I now owed 2000 AED with the default charges. I argued via email, heard nothing for two months, before I had an offer to pay off 1500 aed from a company called Tahseel acting as agents. In order to just move on with my life I paid, though owing to hidden charges at the UAE end I was 25 dirhams short.

Again I heard nothing until 5 months later I get another email from another debt collection agency saying I still owed money. When I forwarded the email exchange with Tahseel she said that they had no right to make any kind of final offer but now she was able to offer me a final offer. Of 3000 AED.

Unsurprisingly I refused to pay such a ridiculous amount for a debt of, originally, 950 aed, of which I had paid 1500. I told her as much, only to get emails, 3 months later, from HSBC again, asking me to contact them about payment.

I have never wanted to quibble over the debts, and I made sure that for the 18 months I was stationed in that dump that I never got into debt. Obviously 15 months of charges will now amount to a hefty sum for an original debt of £150, one which I'm not particularly willing to pay considering my experience.

Is it worth complaining to HSBC international? Or will they be able to enforce repayment in the UK, considering I have already paid over 150% of the original debt?

Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Meow

Any HSBC office outside of the UAE will just tell you to contact the branches here.

Seems odd that the bank contacted a debt collection agency for such a small amount. Best to deal with the bank directly, or I can do that for you and will get a quick result. If you check me out via my signature below you will see that I deal with these issues via a newspaper column on a regular basis.

Millhouse

Write to the CEO of HSBC. Don't bother with the Middle East operations.

If you get fobbed off, then ...

Buy some HSBC shares
Go to the AGM
Ask the CEO directly in front of everybody if he is aware of how this business is run.

The Dean

Good advice, but you can also pick up the phone and call the Group Chairman (Douglas Flint) on the main Head Office number. Tell the telephonist it relates to a complaint about the bank's Dubai business - that will get you through to Flint, as he has a sizeable dossier already on Dubai.........

By the way - HSBC Middle East is regulated by the JERSEY Financial Services Commission, so contacting the regulator there might also work.

Ronnie Biggs

HSBC in Abu Dhabi is no better. I had no end of problems with them - switching to Emirates NBD was one of the the best financial moves I made here.

They shouldn't be using the name when the service is more National Bank of Uganda.

keeleboy

Thanks for the advice: I imagine HSBC would wash their hands of it but I hadn't thought of the Jersey FSC.

Millhouse

You would be amazed at the response rate when you write to the CEO (or any multinational) with a complaint. I've done it a couple of times and the response is always immediate.

Copy the regulator if you are really pissed off.

scrubbedexpat141

Absolutely.

BT had a separate team to deal with complaints sent to the CEO / Directors. The bloke I spoke to was brilliant and had all his details to make any changes / cancel when I moved out.