# Debt vs. Libel case



## brixybaby (Nov 20, 2011)

I NEED YOUR HELP PLS. AND SORRY FOR THE LONG POST.

Last January 6, I went to a Travel agency here in Dubai. I met this girl and asked her to process my relative's visa + ticket, and asked me to give her AED2000 for deposit and the remaining AED700 upon receiving the original documents.

The problem is since I have dealt with her before from my previous job, I thought I could trust her and I was wrong. And how stupid of me not to ask for a receipt.

She promised it will be ready for 3 days, but days passed she still didn't process it. Until one day,I came back to their office and the people there said she already resigned. And the visa and ticket was not under the agency since I don't have the receipt.

Months passed by, and she keeps on promising and never answered my calls, and when I went to their office I met other people who are also complaining against her. She still replies my messages and promised to give my money back. I know the amount is not big enough but i want to teach her a lesson in case there are other people who she cheated as well as she keeps me hanging.

So I posted her picture (Passport pic) in FB pages (UAE expat pages), and asked people to share and inform them that this girl was not to be trusted and she cheated on me and other people as well. When lots of people shared and they called her, she finally contacted me and her friends threatened me that they will file a LIBEL case against me since I have ruined her dignity and I am spreading false information against her.

Now my question is: Does the LIBEL case against me even valid since I am the one who is the victim here? And they said I could be jailed for lying since I don't have a proof (receipt)?


FYI: I already went to the Police and tried to file against her but they said the company should be responsible to her and should be the one to file against her, and the company doesn't care about her anymore. And also there are people who contacted me that they are also cheated by her with huge amount (AED60k)


Thanks.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

brixybaby said:


> I NEED YOUR HELP PLS. AND SORRY FOR THE LONG POST.
> 
> Last January 6, I went to a Travel agency here in Dubai. I met this girl and asked her to process my relative's visa + ticket, and asked me to give her AED2000 for deposit and the remaining AED700 upon receiving the original documents.
> 
> ...


Hi,
Yes - you should be very careful naming and shaming people in the UAE. If you notice, even in newspaper reporting of court cases the defendants are rarely named - just their initials are used. You have potentialy prejudiced your case by naming and shaming this person, in this case.
The key thing - did she take your money and processing fee as a personal favour or whilst representing the company she worked for?
If personal it will be more difficult for you. If representing her company - then she has commited fraud and theft from them - as she will have taken money that belonged to the company. In this case you would need to file complaint against the company and they in turn against her.
Cheers
Steve


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

brixybaby said:


> I NEED YOUR HELP PLS. AND SORRY FOR THE LONG POST.
> 
> Last January 6, I went to a Travel agency here in Dubai. I met this girl and asked her to process my relative's visa + ticket, and asked me to give her AED2000 for deposit and the remaining AED700 upon receiving the original documents.
> 
> ...


Yes, you could be in trouble for this so I suggest you take down that post immediately. I know it sounds very unfair but that's the way the libel laws are set up here. 

Unfortunately without a receipt there is not much you can do to recover your money. Have you tried filing a case against the company, since the police won't let you file a case against this woman?


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## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

Committing another, separate crime isn't excusable despite how unjust or unfairly you feel you've been treated. They authorities take a dim view to naming and shaming on social media.

On the plus side if this lady is as dishonest your making out it's unlikely she'll make trouble for herself and bring a libel action against you. That still doesn't give you the green light to break the law though.

I feel the company are definitely shirking their responsibilities though, I recently got some results by making a measured nuisance of myself and refusing to leave when my grievance was not dealt with. 

However, without a receipt or any documentation I doubt you'll have much to go with.


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

As others have said, this is a whole can of worms sadly and you've left yourself open to trouble with the laws of the land.

Regretfully I think it's something you'll just have to chalk up to experience and let it go.


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## brixybaby (Nov 20, 2011)

Stevesolar said:


> Hi,
> Yes - you should be very careful naming and shaming people in the UAE. If you notice, even in newspaper reporting of court cases the defendants are rarely named - just their initials are used. You have potentialy prejudiced your case by naming and shaming this person, in this case.
> The key thing - did she take your money and processing fee as a personal favour or whilst representing the company she worked for?
> If personal it will be more difficult for you. If representing her company - then she has commited fraud and theft from them - as she will have taken money that belonged to the company. In this case you would need to file complaint against the company and they in turn against her.
> ...


Thank so much Steve for your reply.

I have left with no choice and I felt bad about her hence I was not thinking carefully and made a mistake.

Actually, its personal since I have no receipt but I made transaction in their office. 

I tried to complain against her but the Police won't accept it as she is still under the sponsor of the company.


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## brixybaby (Nov 20, 2011)

dizzyizzy said:


> Yes, you could be in trouble for this so I suggest you take down that post immediately. I know it sounds very unfair but that's the way the libel laws are set up here.
> 
> Unfortunately without a receipt there is not much you can do to recover your money. Have you tried filing a case against the company, since the police won't let you file a case against this woman?


I already did. When she contacted me, she already begged me to remove it and promised to pay at the end of this month (which she always do). 

It was posted for hours and lots of people already shared it and her friends are claiming that I should post a new one and ask for apology and that I gave the wrong information about her. 

I know  I tried filing against the company but they don't want to take any responsibility related to her anymore since they are claiming she already resigned/terminated and is not coming to their office anymore. 

Yes, its really unfair.


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## brixybaby (Nov 20, 2011)

Mr Rossi said:


> Committing another, separate crime isn't excusable despite how unjust or unfairly you feel you've been treated. They authorities take a dim view to naming and shaming on social media.
> 
> On the plus side if this lady is as dishonest your making out it's unlikely she'll make trouble for herself and bring a libel action against you. That still doesn't give you the green light to break the law though.
> 
> ...


I didn't think carefully  I tried to go to the Police but they can't help me either.

I tried to complain against the company but I think I don't have much of evidence since I have no receipt.

Anyway, I communicated with other people who complained against her and hopefully they will file a case. I just hope that she/or her friends will not proceed with the libel case against me since they said they already took picture of my posts. 

Thanks for the advice!


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## brixybaby (Nov 20, 2011)

Chocoholic said:


> As others have said, this is a whole can of worms sadly and you've left yourself open to trouble with the laws of the land.
> 
> Regretfully I think it's something you'll just have to chalk up to experience and let it go.


Hi chocoholic, yes already let it go.

I spoke to the girl and compromised with her. She said she will pay at the end of the month but her friends keep on insisting to pursue the case against me.

How crazy these people!! Grrr


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## saraswat (Apr 28, 2012)

Just wanted to add that you might also want to get in touch with the consumer protection agency @ Ph No: 600522225

Might be a long shot, but certainly worth a try ...


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## xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxStewartC (Mar 3, 2012)

Whatever you do, do not post anything elseabout her or the incident. If you apologise and/or withdraw the comments, you are PROVING that a libel happened.


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## brixybaby (Nov 20, 2011)

saraswat said:


> Just wanted to add that you might also want to get in touch with the consumer protection agency @ Ph No: 600522225
> 
> Might be a long shot, but certainly worth a try ...


Thanks! Let me try and contact them asap..


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## Canuck_Sens (Nov 16, 2010)

You need to accept the facts in the UAE.

1) A dubious commercial transaction without a receipt is no valid ground for a dispute. You gotta have proof that the transaction took place.

2) We do not have customer protections laws. Moreover, the way the name and shame is set up here undermines customer protection. Companies have been using this excuse to impede reviews of their businesses. Say you post a bad experience you had purchasing in a company in the UAE, the company will certainly file a case against you.

3) You should always try to refer to the company not the employee. She was working in her capacity when she offered the services correct ? Then you could have told the company that well since she resigned, when are you going to deliver what I contracted with you ? then again no receipt it is hard, but ppl know that why someone would come out of the blue ? it is probably because it happened.


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## brixybaby (Nov 20, 2011)

StewartC said:


> Whatever you do, do not post anything elseabout her or the incident. If you apologise and/or withdraw the comments, you are PROVING that a libel happened.


Hi, I actually deleted the posts already as we already compromised. But her friends are the one insisting to file a case against me since I ruined her dignity and they said even if it's deleted, they already have pictures of it.

Anyway, if they pursue the case I have no choice but to face her, anyway, I hope that our conversations/messages can proved that she owes me money. And my friends can vouch for me that they are with me when I gave her the cash and when there are lots of people in their office complained against her.

One more thing, someone called me and told me this girl also cheated on him and other two owners of travel agency, and that she owe them huge amount. So i guess they can help me validate my posts. 

Thanks!


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## brixybaby (Nov 20, 2011)

Canuck_Sens said:


> You need to accept the facts in the UAE.
> 
> 1) A dubious commercial transaction without a receipt is no valid ground for a dispute. You gotta have proof that the transaction took place.
> 
> ...


1.) yeah, i'm so stupid to trust this girl. My only proof is our conversation and transaction that she did owe me money and she promised to process my papers.

2.) The company doesn't care about her anymore and they don't want to deal any transactions she made without proof or receipt. Too bad.

3.) Yes she is under the company when I went there to ask their service. But they said she resigned/ terminated so they have nothing to do with her.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

brixybaby said:


> Hi, I actually deleted the posts already as we already compromised. But her friends are the one insisting to file a case against me since I ruined her dignity and they said even if it's deleted, they already have pictures of it.
> 
> Anyway, if they pursue the case I have no choice but to face her, anyway, I hope that our conversations/messages can proved that she owes me money. And my friends can vouch for me that they are with me when I gave her the cash and when there are lots of people in their office complained against her.
> 
> ...


Hi,
This could get really messy for you very quickly.
In your post above you mention someone else called you to say they were also cheated by her - how did they get your number (from her?).
You need to stop communicating about this case with anyone except the following people:- the person who owes you money, the company they were working for, the police and your own lawyer.
You should not speak or email her friends or any other random person who contacts you to discuss this case (as they could be setting you up).
Be careful!
Cheers
Steve


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## brixybaby (Nov 20, 2011)

Stevesolar said:


> Hi,
> This could get really messy for you very quickly.
> In your post above you mention someone else called you to say they were also cheated by her - how did they get your number (from her?).
> You need to stop communicating about this case with anyone except the following people:- the person who owes you money, the company they were working for, the police and your own lawyer.
> ...


Hi steve, the person contacted me privately in fb. And he is already filing a case against her today with his lawyer. I already spoke to the girl and she promised to meet me this afternoon and discuss this issue. 

THANKS A LOT!


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## QOFE (Apr 28, 2013)

How many posts about this matter do you need? I came across exactly the same post on the women's (the one not be mentioned here). Some dubious advise there...

I think you need to thread very carefully. What if the person that you have your dispute with reads all these messages as the forums are public? Or her friends? What if they give you advise that will land you in even deeper brown stuff?
Just a thought...


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

QOFE said:


> How many posts about this matter do you need? I came across exactly the same post on the women's (the one not be mentioned here). Some dubious advise there...
> 
> I think you need to thread very carefully. What if the person that you have your dispute with reads all these messages as the forums are public? Or her friends? What if they give you advise that will land you in even deeper brown stuff?
> Just a thought...


I agree, some shocking advice there, especially from that lady that says that social media cannot be used in a libel case. Does she not read the papers or what? Some people should seriously stop themselves from offering advice about anything and everything under the sun ... it is OK to not have all the answers!!!


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## brixybaby (Nov 20, 2011)

dizzyizzy said:


> I agree, some shocking advice there, especially from that lady that says that social media cannot be used in a libel case. Does she not read the papers or what? Some people should seriously stop themselves from offering advice about anything and everything under the sun ... it is OK to not have all the answers!!!


Hi sorry Just need some opinions. 

Anyway, THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP.

This is issue has been sorted out. And even if they proceed, all the information written there are true. I mean I have all the evidence or Proof I needed and she already have a case filed against her by other people.


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