# Banks - reschedule agreements and arrears harassment??



## Lamplighter (Jul 20, 2010)

Hi

To what extent are local banks allowed to harass creditors for overdue payments? Are there any laws or guidelines concerning this, or any regulatory body, or any provision for making complaints, appeals or judgements?

Joe Bloggs (expat) had a bank loan (_transferred debt from his home country_), vehicle finance and a couple of credit cards, all with perfect repayment history over a couple of years. Then he lost his job last year, and started to fall behind with repayments. The bank bounced two of his security cheques and filed police cases against him, and he was bailed by the court to agree a repayment proposal with the bank.

Joe was out of work for about 5/6 months, during which time he scraped together cash from various odd jobs here and there for his living costs and to make occasional bank payments. He wiped out his savings, maxed out his cards, and built up debts to family, friends and some businesses.

He has just found new employment, however "reaching agreement" has proved impossible, hence the court cases remain open, his passport (_which his new employer wants_) is retained by the police, and the bank are harassing him for payment.

Joe's frustration with the bank is as follows:

- 1: *impasse on agreement*. Joe has offered up to 50% of his salary (_the maximum the bank is legally entitled to take_) against a rescheduled agreement. This is a greater amount than the sum of his previous repayments, and he can also arrange an Emirati guarantor, so his feels this is not unreasonable. However, the bank want the full arrears to be paid before a reschedule is possible, which requires a sizeable and immediate cash payment that Joe simply does not have and cannot get (_as he told the bank, if he had it, he wouldn't be in the situation in the first place!_). So there is no progress on reaching an agreement, and the bail clock is ticking, as the bank is obviously aware.

- 2: *no coordination within the bank*. The bank told Joe that any agreement must cover his entire liability, including a personal loan, vehicle finance and a couple of credit cards. However, each time he is contacted by a bank representative, they are interested in only sorting "their own product" and cannot discuss other aspects.

- 3: *withheld cheques*. Despite wanting a consolidated solution in place prior to closing the police case, the bank has only bounced security cheques relating to the loan and vehicle finance. They said that they will keep the other cheques (provided for the credit cards) to use to open further police cases, if necessary.

- 4: *withheld information*. One point agreed with the bank at the outset was that they would sell a vehicle covered by a finance agreement to lower the overall debt, which has duly been accomplished. Joe understands that the proceeds of sale were somewhat greater than the outstanding finance, however the surplus was wiped out by admin costs, auction charges, and payment of fines and levies. He has asked for a closing statement for this account detailing this, but the bank has not provided. Similarly, the bank has levied admin charges on his personal loan, but will not provide any statement.

- 5: *nothing in writing*. As there is no cordial agreement, Joe has asked for all communication / correspondence to be in writing. However, nothing is forthcoming from the bank other than meeting requests and telephone conversations.

- 6: *harassment/bullying*. This is the most recent and perhaps the most frustrating aspect. A bank representative called Joe on Sunday morning demanding to know when a payment would be made, and threatened that things would get a "whole lot worse" if money wasn't received this week. Joe said he wasn't prepared to comment, or indeed discuss anything over the phone, and asked for correspondence in writing. The representative then refused any attempts to conclude the phone call, which lasted some 20 minutes before Joe, after prior warning, hung up. He answered a call-back, only to continue in the same vein for several minutes before Joe once again had to hang-up. He is now receiving *50+ missed calls per day* from this representative, often in redial batches, from 9am to 6pm, and occasional calls from his mobile in the evening. Today's latest news, he has obtained Mrs Bloggs's number from somewhere and is now intimidating her. *This cannot be acceptable (or even lawful) practice, and Joe wants to act*.

To whom can he turn about all the above in order to seek some closure? My feeling is that the court is surely the answer, but Joe tells me that court "hearings" are 2-minute affairs, in arabic with disinterested translators, and it's impossible to have any wider discussion beyond the black-and-white of the existence of the debt and the associated arrears.

I would be grateful for any advice, on board or by PM.

This is not about the existence of the debt, which Joe does not deny, but about how to negotiate the repayment agreement with such companies as the UAE consumer banks, what their rights are, and what are accepted practices - much of what he is experiencing would not be acceptable in most of the western world, where there are ombudsmen and regulators to whom one can appeal.

Thanks in advance,
Lamp


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

He can make a complaint about the bank and it's practices to the Central Bank - they won't tolerate this kind of behaviour. If it carries on, report them to the police for harassment. The bank representatives must act in an appropriate and professional manner, which clearly they are not.


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