# Showtime (DU) debt, please help!!



## rodi (Jan 29, 2009)

Hi,

My girlfriend and I lived in Dubai for 1 yr from 2005 to 06 in an Emaar building and during that time we had showtime for approximately 9 months, anyway we had to return to the UK and cleared all debts apart from an early cancellation fee to showtime (now DU)which was so high we couldnt simply afford it. 

Anyway, we plan to come back to the Dubai this summer for a holiday and were a bit worried about the old debt and wanted to clear it before we came, so got a friend over there to make some enquiries to DU and to our horror they claimed we had never paid a single installment the whole time we lived there, which is extra worrying as its a complete lie, and they also claim it was never cancelled, and kept the showtime running until 2008 and said the outstanding balance is now over 4,500 aed, despite someone moving into our property immediately and starting a new account with Showtime.

My concerns are:
A) they have fabricated a story that we didnt pay when for nine months when we did, which means they have either lost or changed our record
B) They claim to have kept it running for 2 extra years despite someone else moving straight in to the property 
C) If we do come over, the authorities will have a record of this (like they would with bank debts) and wont just let us pay but will also take action i.e throw us in prison!

Am I being overly paranoid? Would we be able to pay the bill or would we be thrown straight in the clink? Can anyone offer any advice to help to get this mess resolved?

Many thanks!


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## gearhead (Jan 6, 2009)

Relax. If the UAE authorities kept records of each and every unpaid bills and arrest or detain people when they visit on the grounds of few bills or installments not being paid then the whole country would come to a grinding halt don;t you think? i mean which govt on this planet has got so much time and resources to track these under a microscope.

You will be in trouble only if you are absconding after taking a significant loan from a bank or your high value cheque gets bounced or they suspect you of some illicit drug consumption etc. The authorities will not even notice unpaid bills running into a few thousands when millions of dirhams are being written off by the banks as a result of loans / cheques being defaulted.

cheerios!



rodi said:


> Hi,
> 
> My girlfriend and I lived in Dubai for 1 yr from 2005 to 06 in an Emaar building and during that time we had showtime for approximately 9 months, anyway we had to return to the UK and cleared all debts apart from an early cancellation fee to showtime (now DU)which was so high we couldnt simply afford it.
> 
> ...


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## gearhead (Jan 6, 2009)

Oh and to add to this - I left dubai back in 2007 and forgot to cancel my Etisalat subscription (i had my hands quite full with all the tenancy, permit cancellations) which I realised once i was back in London. I have visited dubai 4 times since and nothing happened to me.



rodi said:


> Hi,
> 
> My girlfriend and I lived in Dubai for 1 yr from 2005 to 06 in an Emaar building and during that time we had showtime for approximately 9 months, anyway we had to return to the UK and cleared all debts apart from an early cancellation fee to showtime (now DU)which was so high we couldnt simply afford it.
> 
> ...


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## nm62 (Dec 11, 2008)

not much to worry 

if u have records of bills paid (eg. receipt, bank statemet) 
then mail the copies to customer service and request 
them for a clearace letter on ur name. It could be a system error.

the only thing is when u go to Du for a subscription of 
any new product (telephone, internet, mobile) 

either 

1. they might not provid it to u
2. or debt collection department will transfer the due amount on the new subscription


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## rodi (Jan 29, 2009)

gearhead said:


> Relax. If the UAE authorities kept records of each and every unpaid bills and arrest or detain people when they visit on the grounds of few bills or installments not being paid then the whole country would come to a grinding halt don;t you think? i mean which govt on this planet has got so much time and resources to track these under a microscope.
> 
> You will be in trouble only if you are absconding after taking a significant loan from a bank or your high value cheque gets bounced or they suspect you of some illicit drug consumption etc. The authorities will not even notice unpaid bills running into a few thousands when millions of dirhams are being written off by the banks as a result of loans / cheques being defaulted.
> 
> cheerios!


Cheers for your reply, much appreciated. I suppose our worries are rooted in the fact that as you will know, any contract you sign (phone, water, tv etc) involve them getting a copy of your passport No which we tyhought maybe naively could potentially flag somet up at the airport when we flew back in. But thanks again, you have provided some much needed re assurance (the flights were already booked!)


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## rodi (Jan 29, 2009)

nm62 said:


> not much to worry
> 
> if u have records of bills paid (eg. receipt, bank statemet)
> then mail the copies to customer service and request
> ...


Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately we didnt keep any of our reciepts when we moved back to the UK (didnt think we would need them again)

It is definitely a system error, just not sure how to convince DU of this without the paperwork!


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## Andy Capp (Oct 5, 2008)

The thing is, you may have a debt with them, but that is not illegal. If you gave them a cheque for say a deposit (don't think you do) then if they banked it and it bounced, then yes that's a criminal offence.

No cheque=no crime.

Providing you haven't given them a security deposit cheque, then you'll have no problem.

Oh, and don't even bother trying to talk to thme, just forget about it and sign up with a different provider.


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## rodi (Jan 29, 2009)

Thanks for your reply Andy, much appreciated.


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