Dubai Debt-Advice please

She will only be in danger of being arrested if they take out a police case. By the sounds of it she doesn't have any secured loans/cc left as she was able to move jobs without having to pay back what she has left... its a lot of debt, but its her debt so the best thing to do is to pay it off, whether it be from home or from here. If she is sinking and getting behind on payments, it won't be long before they lodge a police case.... Since she has so many credit cards, I'm assuming they're from various banks for various amounts, so the good news for her is there isn't really a central system here yet where all banks can collaborate the debt together, so if she has 10 cc at 500'0000 value altogether, chances are they're only around 50k for each card, so although 500k is a lot 50k for each bank won't be so attractive for them to make too much of an effort to chase her if she's back home. However if they lodge a police case they lodge a police case and when she comes into the UAE she'll be detained. If she's being called by the banks, she should ALWAYS answer and not avoid them, because I think they have a system in place where if you don't answer/ignore a certain amount of calls/visits it becomes an automatic police case... If she wants to stay here, she should really consider speaking to each lender as to how to arrange a payment plan, if she thinks she is able to pay it back and still keep her job here, if not then her best choice (although it is wrong, and she should have never spent that kind of money if she couldn't afford it) is for her to go home, cut her losses and if she's honest enough keep paying back her debt but from the safety of her home country. ETA: If they are unsecured loans/cc each bank only knows about the debt to their own bank, and if she provides bank statements then any debts on that, plus if she shows bank statements with any regular payments they'll question about what it is... She doesn't need to disclose other debts to the other lenders... <em>edited by AdviceSeeker on 10/01/2011</em>

if she uses her CC to purchase her branded goods, have them sold as many as she can. every little money helps in this situation. apart from that, keep paying the debt. owe money pay money! that's what the loansharks in the Asia always scribble on the non-payment's front door! good luck to her!

Is she not in danger of losing her property anyway if cannot keep up with paying her debts and mortgage? Not too sure how it works here with repossession but just wondering if she is swimming against the tide.

How can one not be judegmental? Bye bye Dubai asap. Really have very little sympathy.

OMG 500K is a lot of money, cant advice other than, If it was me I would have to jump ship and swim home. Me too, there is no simple way out of this. She should leave the region and plan never to come back, then try to consolidate her debts back home and pay them off slowly from the safety of her home country.

Hopefully for her she bought her flat early before the prices became ridiculous and doesn't have to lose any money in the sale... is it at least enough to pay off more than half her debt? Hopefully it is... but wow that is a scary situation to be in! at least she is trying to find a way to pay it off...

OMG 500K is a lot of money, cant advice other than, If it was me I would have to jump ship and swim home.

Ah shame, hoped it might have just been pride in not asking for help from home... Finger's crossed her flat sells quickly and for a good price. She is lucky to have a friend like you trying to help her find a solution! There are so many 'fairweather friends' in Dubai. Good luck again.

Hugs to the girl, what a nightmare situation! As SueB said, can she not sell the property? When did she buy it? If she bought it early and can sell it to cover the mortgage then she should do that straight away. At least that will save her the 5K a month and the worry of possibly not having a tenant in at some point in the future with regards the mortgage. Other than that really all she can do is keep her head down, her belt tightened and keep paying as much of her debt off as she can. Oh, and don't enter Dubai until she is sorted..! Good luck to her! Ps. Don't suppose anyone at home could lend her a bit just to keep the wolves from the door?

I would of been having nightmares at 500,000!!! and done something then, 1 million...... Can she not sell her assets here in Dubai?

Wow... To be honest, I would also be scared silly - to the point where I wouldnt come over here, since defaulting would go on your record and you'd be picked up at immigration as you enter.... I dont really know the answer, as even if she did run, 500K would be enough for them to follow you. What cheques does she have out there anyway which could be presented? And how does she manage to have accounts and credit cards here in Dubai if she is living in Bahrain? Im not being judgmental but how on earth did she mange to run up such a huge debt in the first place?