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Just a word of warning after a friend of mine found themselves in a bit of trouble and strife recently.

If you have a car/personal loan/mortgage/credit cards etc and have paid it off, remember to get your security cheque back from the bank!

My friend was hauled off to jail last week after some jobsworth put through the security cheque for his car loan, which of course bounced, which he'd already paid over over 6 months previously. The police wouldn't allow him to contact the bank to verify this, nor was any friend allowed to help out, so he had to get his mother to find the original closing of loan letter/certificate to prove that the loan was paid off and that the cheque should never have been encashed.

So if you have any loans and have cleared them, make sure you recover the original security cheque, to avoid the same thing happening.

Excellent advice.

I read about this recently. A UAE lawyer said that the Court doesn't look at your personal situation or even tries to understand it. They only focus on the bounced check!

And the worst part? He said there were tens of people banged up for the same thing!

One poor guy had been in the clink for 3 months because he has no family here to get the original paperwork for him, friends are not allowed and he's not allowed to contact the loan company.

UAE = FAIL!

The quicker they bring in the change in laws regarding this, the better.

Aren't there any NGO's that can help such people? If the difference between being jailed or not depends on paperwork, then should'nt there be non profit groups aiding such people?

Come on MCL, logical thinking doesn't exist here, you should know that by now.

On any given case the accused is reliant on the DPP to "investigate" the claim.

And you are correct - the fact that the check is signed and bounced makes the victim guilty in the eyes of the Court of First Instance

The explanation is in MITIGATION and WILL be accepted by the Court of Appeal.

It is the Police that need to be empowered to actually investigate these cases to a set of pre defined standards then 90% of these cases would not end up in court.

But the point here is - the loan was already paid off and the bank had no right to cash it in the first place! It was their mistake. And the fact that he wasn't even allowed to contact his bank to verify this to the polcie is terrible.

Nope, they are the bank, so they must be right.

Using bank logic, if he didnt want to be in jail, he should have stayed within his limits and not taken the loan in the first place.

'I Should not be facing life in jail"
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll ... /708019845

the above article appeared yesterday in the National. As per the article:
“The judge didn’t care about the circumstances of the cheque,” Mr Bender said. “All he wanted to know was if I had signed the cheque. If so, I was guilty.”

No reasoning, no explainations. You signed the cheque - you're in. I have never seen this blank cheque issue in any other country.

The main problem is: even though you're innocent, the little or more time you spend in jail, your life is ruined. personal, professional, your confidence.

the problem is with the bank systems not the police, the police job is to bring wanted ppl to courts and then they could clear things there, it is out of their jurisdiction to clarify the financial problems I believe.

just like in the USA , even if you don't pay the traffic ticket on time ,the police system put a ( warrant for arrest ) on your name without explaining your crime, and if you are unlucky and got pulled by police and your name got checked, you will be treated as a criminal and the gun will be drawing in your face bcz the police man don't know why there is a (warrant for arrest) on your name, his job is just to take you in until you get bailed or sent to court and clear everything there, I remember my friend who spent 1 week in jail just for a trial .

and the same happens here, just last year my local friend went to jail for DH 150 that he didn't know about and it was a 2 years old payment to a CC, we tried to bail him or pay the 150 to him out but they said it's not their job to do so, and for his bad luck it was the weekend so he had to stay in jail for 2 days LOL


so for your friend ,even if he called the bank at the time it won't help , not even the bank can get you out when you are in jail, not here not anywhere else .

Well it was the banks mistake in the first place. Once this was obvious and the documentation submitted he was released immediately.

michaeldubai wrote:'I Should not be facing life in jail"
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll ... /708019845

the above article appeared yesterday in the National. As per the article:
“The judge didn’t care about the circumstances of the cheque,” Mr Bender said. “All he wanted to know was if I had signed the cheque. If so, I was guilty.”

No reasoning, no explainations. You signed the cheque - you're in. I have never seen this blank cheque issue in any other country.

The main problem is: even though you're innocent, the little or more time you spend in jail, your life is ruined. personal, professional, your confidence.

law does not protect fools ... why would you sign a blank cheque, I know 2 to 3 banks that writes the amount of each cheque like first gulf bank for example, you had the right to go to another bank and choose whats best for you, I know I did

The main problem is us not the law, we tend not to care as long as someone provide us with cash. Don't blame the law for what you chose .

uaekid wrote:

michaeldubai wrote:'I Should not be facing life in jail"
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll ... /708019845

the above article appeared yesterday in the National. As per the article:
“The judge didn’t care about the circumstances of the cheque,” Mr Bender said. “All he wanted to know was if I had signed the cheque. If so, I was guilty.”

No reasoning, no explainations. You signed the cheque - you're in. I have never seen this blank cheque issue in any other country.

The main problem is: even though you're innocent, the little or more time you spend in jail, your life is ruined. personal, professional, your confidence.

law does not protect fools ... why would you sign a blank cheque, I know 2 to 3 banks that writes the amount of each cheque like first gulf bank for example, you had the right to go to another bank and choose whats best for you, I know I did

The main problem is us not the law, we tend not to care as long as someone provide us with cash. Don't blame the law for what you chose .

The laws are old Kid. They could use a 21st Century update.

Whoa, old up there Kid, I will have to respectfully disagree. Who said anything about a 'blank' cheque?!

You very often have to write a cheque for the full amount of the loan/mortgage whatever, this is common practice in the UAE and quite ridiculous. Ok, so you buy property, take a mortgage, cool happens the world over. But nowhere else would be asked to write a cheque for the full amount as security. Afterall if you could afford to buy it outright you'd do that wouldn't you? Of course if the loan company presents this cheque it is going to bounce.

It's silly and souldn't happen. That's why anywhere else, you pay insurance along with your payments to cover the eventuality that there might be a problem at some point.

uaekid, agreed signing a blank cheque is dumb. but even in your case where FGB wrote the actual amount on the cheque. How is this any better?

Can you guarantee that this amount is present in your bank account at all times? if tomorrow there is a shortfall, and they decide to encash it for the value on the cheque, arent you in jail?

And if you did have the amount to spend in the first place why go for loan/credit in the first place?

michaeldubai wrote:uaekid, agreed signing a blank cheque is dumb. but even in your case where FGB wrote the actual amount on the cheque. How is this any better?

Can you guarantee that this amount is present in your bank account at all times? if tomorrow there is a shortfall, and they decide to encash it for the value on the cheque, arent you in jail?

And if you did have the amount to spend in the first place why go for loan/credit in the first place?

well I don't work in banks but I don't think they would go this far, my cheque won't help them on their shortfall LOL they usually would go to goverments in this case.

That's why I have never taken any loan. I cannot sign ILLEGAL security cheque.

alright guys let's make this constructive. if tomorrow i need money and decide to lend form investors how can I assure investors OTher than signing security checks that I will pay back?