Ask Elhais

Question: My friend would like to seek assistance regarding her plight. She had a bank loan when she was working in Dubai but had to leave UAE due to family’s medical reasons. She stayed in her home country for almost a year and a half. While she was back home I was paying the banks installment every month without any delay.

Now she is back to the UAE on a visit visa and looking for a job. The bank is now calling her and threatening her to sue her if she doesn’t pay the amount. She told the bank about her situation and added that she has all the intention to continue paying once she gets a job. The bank wont listen to her situation. The bank is also telling that if she doesn’t pay the amount she wont get police clearance in case if she gets hired. As for me I am also not in the condition of paying.

Please offer the best solution as she is mentally stressed and don’t know what to do where to go. She thought the bank will understand her situation and postpone the payment until she get a job. Things have completely turned against her expectation.

Answer: We completely understand how difficult it is to make payment towards your liabilities when you do not have a job. I will give you an insight on the legal actions, which the bank may take to recover its outstanding amount. It is a usual practice for banks to take a security cheque at the time of disbursing a loan or issuing a credit card. The ban may encash this cheque. Should the cheque bounce, the bank may file a criminal case related to bounced cheque. The punishment for dishonoring a cheque can vary from a fine to a jail term depending on the value of the cheque. Further, the bank also has the right to pursue a civil case against your friend. Now, during the civil case, your friend has the right to contest the claim amount and request the court to inquire into the actual outstanding amount. This can be done by a court appointed expert. Accordingly, a judgement award will be delivered eventually proportionate to the outstanding debt, which your friend owes to the bank. Your friend may try to pursue a settlement arrangement with the bank where the bank may provide a payment option to your friend over a period of time to repay the outstanding amount.