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Sad case of affairs, but a warning to us all! I won't post the entire thing as it's very long, but here's the link:

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll ... /710239886

On one hand its wrong to run away from debts.

On other hand, banks here are *****

If you owe 5000 Dhs on a loan, and have 50000 dhs in the bank, and you lose your job, the bank will freeze your 50000 untill you return the 5000 from outside the 50000.

They are bigger crooks than banks in many other countries, which is why some people do the runner.

Its an all to familiar story, what really gets me is that the banks are still constantly cold calling trying to sell their credit cards, will they never learn!

I find it amusing that because he was a "celeb" (albeit a real fat one) the articles are all sympathetic, where are all the Lime Tree brigade baying for blood and divine retribution ?

Where is the kid (spelling and all)?

Or is it that those with any opinion have been brow beaten into submission by the Ch'ol guard and "its my view that counts" attitude, so prevalent of late ...

City of Hope, comments Anyone ???

What i dont understand is why dont the banks take the money owed to them from what the customers have in their accounts?

How do they expect them to pay from someplace else and then wait a month for their money to clear?

He does a runner, owing a sizable amount and then gets paid for the story (I presume)???? Funny old world, eh?

VW - stop with the attacks it's getting boring!

I know Chris Fisher personally so I can put a spin on this. Sadly Chris managed to burn most of his bridges here in Dubai, which is why he was unable to find a regular gig after he was let go from the Coast. Chris loved life and was always out partying and probably living beyond his means.

Personally I think for him to do the article was a bit silly, as now the debt collectors know exactly where he is, and they will go after him, for the amount he owes there's no question.

And no, The National won't have paid him for the article.

Chocs: not sure how these things work but why would he do the article if he wasn't getting paid? As you say, he has highlighted exactly where he is.

It's just Chris being Chris and looking for attention! Trust me, he didn't get paid for it! He probably contacted THEM!

sage & onion wrote:Its an all to familiar story, what really gets me is that the banks are still constantly cold calling trying to sell their credit cards, will they never learn!

who? the bank? since when they will learn? they are capitalists. they will always try to rob you off. sometimes it doesn't make sense. we put our money there (savings), but they always make it difficult (freezing, high charges, etc). it's our own money for god sake!

the one who should learn is us, the customers.

XTY, I totally agree with you! We as customers and consumers, should be much more careful with our money, spending habits and savings, you never kow what's going to happen in this country.

there will be time when the currencies fall down, wars and rushes, and the banks can't be trusted. we put back our own assets (money, gold, etc) under the bed or in the underground volt, just like old days

I think stuffing the mattress is probably the safest place for it!

I got all of my savings out of this place when the British pound crashed to around 5. I have no intention of ever bringing anything back here.

Gosh, all he has to show for his efforts is an apartment in Cyprus. What a shame - NOT!!! He didn't want to sell it because he didn't want to deal with the loss he would incur, but it was ok for the banks to deal with the loss they incurred when he skipped. What happened to all his high-end electronic equipment and home furnishings?? Didn't mention that he sold them off to try to lessen his debt.

I don't get the point of his story. Is he looking for sympathy or a handout? As they say: the bigger they are, they harder they fall!! This guy crashed and nobody is looking to put the flames out, and why should they?

It's an all to familiar story Bora, sadly hardly anyone has any sympathy. We knew he was leaving, but until we read the article had no idea that it was so bad. The debt collectors will be on the case, as we've said before, people can't run these days, it catches up with you in the end.

Why should I have any sympathy?

I wouldn't mind an appartment in Cyprus, the latest sound gear, and travelling several thousands of miles to indulge myself in some proper gambling... but somehow I know better than scooping off all possible loans and booking a wee flight back home.
T
he guy actually has the shame of trying to clean up his acts? Blame it on whatever country/ laws? OH PLEASE....

Is he actually trying to persuade me that a grown up sane man was considering 50.000dhs monthly as an average salary for radio presenter, thus assuming he would never ever have any troubles paying 30.000dhs per month for the banks? Plus could go on with all his wildest shopping ideas? And travel here and there every now and then?
Or may be he would have ever thought of taking THESE loans back in the Uk? Being a bleeding radio Dj??? Put all this show off on and blame it on the country???

Or he thought he would oversmart everyone, have a piece of a life he would never be able to afford back home, and run away when the sky get cloudy?

Sympathy? sorry too much to ask...

He didn't earn 50,000 a month working in radio - most jocks earn around a 5th to a quarter of that from their day jobs - shock horror! The rest is from outside gigs, which are not necessarily regular, so don't take that figure as a bench mark.

Yes he is responsible for his own issues, however, the laws and rules here make it very difficult, who'd have thought there would be a financial crash? Chris is only one of thousands of people who've found themselves in this situation, and not all necessarily threw fault of their own.

Elsewhere you have insurances to protect you against such things, here its not always possible.

Why do you think so many people have fled the country? Because you cannot file for bankrupsy, people get made redundant overnight, rents are expected to be paid a year upfront. Come on it's a catch 22 situation sometimes, don't sit there and say the banks and laws don't have a hand in thousands of peoples downfall in this place, because they absolutely do!

KeithL wrote:What i dont understand is why dont the banks take the money owed to them from what the customers have in their accounts?

How do they expect them to pay from someplace else and then wait a month for their money to clear?

that s a good one! it s beyond being naive!
now learn: when freezing the account, the bank can keep all the money of the account, not just the money owed.

Chocoholic wrote:It's an all to familiar story Bora, sadly hardly anyone has any sympathy. We knew he was leaving, but until we read the article had no idea that it was so bad. The debt collectors will be on the case, as we've said before, people can't run these days, it catches up with you in the end.

That is not true, in the UAE, a debt lands you in prison for sure, outside the UAE debt collectors can only recover the collateral attached to the loan, and nothing more, zip, nada.
if somebody runs to the UK and leaves his car at the airport, debt collectors cannot take any actions other than repossessing the car taking dust on the parking lot.

And as of credit card debts, it s another scare tactic from the banks in the UAE, in reality you can run from dubai with a AED50,000 CC debt from HSBC, go to the UK, and even open an account with HSBC UK because they will not be able to do anything.

gertrude wrote:And as of credit card debts, it s another scare tactic from the banks in the UAE, in reality you can run from dubai with a AED50,000 CC debt from HSBC, go to the UK, and even open an account with HSBC UK because they will not be able to do anything.

So Gertrude, what makes you such an expert?

Chocoholic wrote:Elsewhere you have insurances to protect you against such things, here its not always possible.

Speaking of insurance, this is where Credit Shield is supposed to come to the rescue to cover up the debts, right? Say with a proof that the card holder got terminated and has no balance in the account. I never heard a case where credit shield is being utilized. And yet the banks keep charging the card holders with such (even if they don't opt for it).

sage & onion wrote:

gertrude wrote:And as of credit card debts, it s another scare tactic from the banks in the UAE, in reality you can run from dubai with a AED50,000 CC debt from HSBC, go to the UK, and even open an account with HSBC UK because they will not be able to do anything.

So Gertrude, what makes you such an expert?

I am not an expert, I have not skipped on a debt, as it is what you imply, I just know how it works, but it is a shame to see how on one end it s ok that so many people get screwed up by Dubai, and on the other that it s not when people run from their debts. Screwed investors can't do squat, banks with borrowers in default neither. So if anyone wants to run, RUN! it s safe outsided the UAE, nobody will put you in jail for a debt, nor they can collect on you.

Well how do you explain the fact that I know several people who are being chased back in the UK for loans that they've taken out here? And credit cards? HSBC UK has nowt whatsoever to do with HSBC here.

The debt is sold onto collectors and loans companies/banks can apply for global travel bans - FACT!

Chocoholic wrote:Well how do you explain the fact that I know several people who are being chased back in the UK for loans that they've taken out here? And credit cards? HSBC UK has nowt whatsoever to do with HSBC here.

The debt is sold onto collectors and loans companies/banks can apply for global travel bans - FACT!

debt collections in the UK falls under UK laws, not Dubai laws. The people you know may be chased on the phone or by mail, but I guarantee you this will not go any further, collectors would never , ever, buy a debt from Dubai, well Choc, you gave me the laugh of today. Travel bans in the UK? it is unheard of, that is ridiculous, only the UAE confiscates passports and enforce travel bans.

Oh really? Ever heard of a thing called Interpol? And then how come this is happening to at least three people that I know? It happens whether you admit to it or not.

One specific case was where a certain person was under the sponsorship or a friends company, he had to report the person as absconding, the bank called and said because of the amount of money owed, they would put international travel bans and send someone after him - so how do you explain that one?

Or the guy that just got extradited back from Thailand for owing 400,000 Dhs - oh so these things don't happen - well i think YOU are misinformed.

I like the way you mistakenly assume that the UAE has no treaties with other countries to resolve these kinds of issues, which they very well do. Pfff ah that's the funniest thing I've read in a long time!

Interpol is a referral agency, Interpol nerver arrests people, it connects police between countries to seek for wanted individuals, ultimately it s up to the local police to proceed or not, not interpol because Dubai wants it. You are confusing several things here. 1st the UK is not Thailand, 2nd extradition procedures go in courts, with appeals and defense. 3rd, the Thailand case is an alleged fraud, not a debt. Interpol works only on cases that are crime, such as murder, drug smuggling, or fraud, again ....a credit card debt is not a crime in the West, it is a crime only in the UAE. Interpol will not seek anybody for a credit card debt because it is not a crime, and when a crime has been committed, it has to be with a sentence of at least 1 year.
So far the people that have been extradited back to the UAE were from Egypt, soudan or countries where obviously there is no due legal process.
5th, the Thailand guy has NOT been extradited yet, he is still in court fighting the extradtion.
Currently the UAE has issued 190 Interpol warrants or "red notices", all of them for fraud, as a comparison, the USA with 60 times more inhabitants has issued 500 red notices, most of them for murders and drug related crimes. It shows where the priorities are and the desperation of Dubai to try to go after people.
Treaties or not, give me one name, only one, of anybody who has been extradited back to the UAE, because so far, you just dont know what you are talking about.

Gertrude is technically correct people.

In the UK a debt is considered "civil" law as opposed t o "criminal". Only where cases of deception or fraud can a debt be considered Criminal.

Therefore anyone acconding from dubai to the UK will have no worry of any further action be takn against them unless they try to re-enter DXB again.

The worst case scenareo for them would possibly be Visa or Mastercard or the equiv Dubai/UK bank ie LLoydsTSB/HSBC etc placing them on a credit blacklist.

If they already have UK credit cards or UK curent accounts then even being placed on a credit blacklist would be no problem for them back home.

Choc, Gertrude is right, there is nothing such as "international travel ban" in effect today, please support your posts with links or verifiable facts.