Left Dubai, 50 AED debt, ridiculous!

[KrazyKat]

I left UAE last year, cancelled all my credit cards and bank accounts with zero balance like a good boy.

However, one of my old UAE credit cards posted a charge of 50 AED, long after I left Dubai and cancelled the card...

Emirates NBD claims I made the charge last year and the retailer finally posted the transaction six months late. I think the charge is fraudulent.

Anyway, all attempts to correct the issue have failed and Emirates NBD is now sending threatening e-mails asking me to telegraphically send 50 AED within 24 hours or else!

I refuse to spend about 75 AED in fees to send them 50 AED. Makes no sense. Plus, all attempts have failed to explain that it is impossible to make that charge after I cancelled the card and wasn't even in the UAE the time the transaction posted. Out of principle, I should not be responsible for this charge, even if the retailer failed to post a transaction in a timely manner.

Two part question:

Does the UAE have bilateral agreement with credit agencies or debt collectors in the United States?

Also, I never plan to ever visit the UAE again, but my wife is planning a trip back to Dubai soon. Will she be arrested for my debt of a whopping 50 AED?

[ualgrizz]

My friend when you put the words UAE and principle in the same sentence you create a paradox! Are you willing to solve this problem while your wife sits in jail? I was flying (Dubai company) with a colleague who had left and returned to Dubai only to be put in jail for a 200Dhs phone bill that he didn't realize he owed. He managed to get all resolved with great grief...but would you wish to see your wife suffer the consequences of a $25 corruption fee!!! This is the same country who put women in jail for being raped. Pay the money and consider it part of a visa fee to get back into the place. Although I am not an international lawyer, you will not be held in contempt for $25 in the world wide venue of finance. When I worked in Dubai we had a runner who accrued massive debt and flew the coupe. What he did was legally and morally wrong, but he was not held accountable. However, would not want to be in his shoes if he were to return to the GCC!!!

Grizz

[thatwasclose]

man, pay it. it sucks, it hurts, but pay it.

[vfenext]

For fifty dirhams you'd rather risk an arrest than pay such a measly sum. It's not just the bank that's being stupid. Give your wife the (whopping) 50 and have her pay it when she's in Dubai. Problem solved and no transfer fees.

[Popgun]

FFS. Just suck it up mate and pay!

Their train set..their rules.

It constantly amazes me that people move from Western democracies to the Middle East and expect all the same human rights and industrial, legal and social norms and protections of their original home country.

Much as it might frustrate you...you abdicated a lot of these things when you became a 'gun for hire' and moved to the Arab world.

PG

[Am NOT Sure]

I am with KrazyKat on this one
I would rather spend double that amount on disputes
I am sick of everyone trying to rob us of our money one way or another .. The amount is irrelevant

[KrazyKat]

for those planning their exit from Dubai, just be prepared to be screwed over, bad.

I knew it was going to be bad, but it was much worse than expected.

ie. Selling possessions you don't want to ship back for a 80-99% loss.

for example, sellanycar.com advertising they buy all cars fair, fast and easy. I spent a half a day to only be offered 4,000 AED for a car I eventually sold at Dubizzle for 20,000 AED within hours of my final departure in a high stress time crunch. (sellanycar.com's online offer was 24,000 AED, liars!)

My advice, sell your car months before your final departure and rent one. Time is your friend.

sellanycar.com feeds on people's desperation that are leaving within 24-48 hours.

I sold a slightly used couch paid 900 AED brand new for 10 AED (best offer) I basically was paid 10 AED for someone to do all the work disposing of it.

As far as the 50 aed debt, the amount doesn't matter, a human can only be screwed over so many times.

My wife told me she's willing to cancel her Dubai trip out of principle and boycott everything UAE, forever. She's had enough too.

In the end, the whole expat adventure; I did take more money home than they took from me, so in the end, I did win.

[Southpole]

I understand how you felt.. But even if the card was cancelled and the hypothetical seller filed the charge with months of delays... Could it be the slightly possibility that you actually did make that 50 AED expense?

[Ketek400]

Man just send me the details and I will pay it for you?

Buy me a beer one day!

[LHR Rain]

Don't give in to the bastards!
If they did this to every ex pat that leaves imagine how much more money they would have. They would not have to steal from us pilots to pay for Expo and the Abu Dhabi loan.

[expat400]

Don't think this has anything to do with Dubai. I've had this issue both in Europe and in Singapore. A credit card provider will honor claims from vendors for up to a year after you cancelled the card (unless of course you can prove it's a false claim). You might for example have a automatic renewal of a membership fee that you forgot to cancel on that card.

Unless you are 100% sure it's a false claim have someone in Dubai pay it and send him some cash.

[pumpkin]

While I agree this place is just one endless bend over and take it in the a** parade, I would tell you, just pay it.
Life is bizarre, and you just never know when you might end up transiting through this place, or be on a flight that gets diverted or god only knows. And then you will be straight to jail, no questions asked, and it is not a pleasant time, I have seen it happen.
50 bucks is nothing in the big picture of life.

Pay it, move on. Enjoy your escape .

[KrazyKat]

The charge is very suspicious. It's a food vendor in Karama for exactly 50.00.

Even IF I completely forgot about some late night adventure to Karama for a Shwarma, the amount is suspect. How often is your charge exactly 50.00 for anything, especially for food and drink?

Anyway, I did send the 50 AED…bastards Assuming it is fraudulent, I would suspect a charge of 50 AED is most likely to be paid than if they charged 5,000.

This "possible scam" is probably done 100's of times for small amounts, under the radar. Especially to expats leaving.

Brings up a couple more points.

Since my escape from Dubai, my home country phone number is being scammed weekly by Indian hacking scammers telling me they are from Microsoft and I need to log onto my PC.

Makes you wonder if the forwarding contact info I provided at my end of service is being sold to India?

Having a UAE credit card made me nervous, especially when they kept raising the credit limit to 100,000+ AED.

If I would ever do the expat thing again, I would use cash for everything and my home country credit card when needed.