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Hi all

I tried some searches for this but didn't really get what i needed.

Been in Dubai 3yrs, last 12 months have been tough spent about 8 months of it out of work. Needless to say I ran up quite a bit of credit card debt due to basically well living on them for most of the time.

Working again now and its going ok however as it stands I don't think i'll ever be able to pay off te debt due to the amount. I'm paying around 7000 aed a month in credit card repayments (the 5%) and have 3 payments of 3000 Aed left on a loan I took out when i very first arrived.

This is the problem i can't see how i'm going to be in a position to pay off the CC debt, I owe around 140,000 AED in total on the cards, even working i still can't see a way to get rid of the debt.

Is there any way I can apply to have the debt reduced or written off in part? (i bank with HSBC), i've never missed a payment on either the loan or the cards but need to have a plan in place to get out of debt as its crippling having to pay the 7000 AED per month in a minimum payment, its really getting me down as I don't do anything just work and sit at home as i can't really afford to do anything.

Is the anything the bank can do??

HELP!

1, Consolidate your CC Debt on to one card.
Apply for a new CC offering either 0% interest free periods on CC Balance Transfers or low interest but again time limited charges on CC Balance transfers, whichever suits your needs, read and understand all the small print, transfer your debt to this card.
DO NOT SPEND USING THE NEW CARD, use your most economical existing card for any future spending.
Use the interest free or low interest payment period to reduce and better manage your overall debt.
Repeat the above process as necessary.

2, Talk to HSBC, they would rather keep you as a customer than lose your CC account to a competitor, debt reduced or written off? Not unless you’re a bankrupt 3rd world Country.

3, Cut your losses, pack your bags and catch the next plane out of here, Good Luck!

Regards

can you do balance transfers in the UAE not heard of it and also not heard of cards doing the 6 months 0% etc like you do in the UK

There are deals on all CC's, Standard Chartered Bank are currently offering 6 Months Interest Free on CC balance transfers, just make sure you check all the small print.

Regards

What were you thinking to run up that kind of debt?? The banks here do not operate the same way as in the UK or the US. There are no companies to help you get out of debt, you get yourself out of debt.

Suffer and pay the debt. Cut up your credit cards, with the exception of the one that has the lowest credit due on it. Use this one for extreme emergencies. Talk to the banks. I don't know about wanting to keep you as a customer, but they do want their money so they may be willing to work something out.

Sit home and recall all those fine memories from when you were living the high life and ask yourself was it worth it?

Honestly, I don't feel bad for you. I do feel bad for those people who actually invested money in homes and lost their jobs and found themselves in a REAL bind not of their own making. Many of them were forced to do a runner because banks wouldn't work with them or they couldn't get a job. They had to leave behind whatever money they actually laid out/paid out in loans because they invested in property. Those are the real victims. You are a victim of your own foolishness and carelessness. These people were investing in their future, while you were investing in the moment.

You play, you pay.

That is bit of a bother mate, And over here its all matter of luck and who you are going to end up talking to. Some banks are reasonable and will to restructure and talk, some are just plain old A.holes, sadly mostly A.holes !

If your salary and stuff is not going into same bank what you should do is first of all cancel the cards, if your salary is going there I suggest you empty your accounts and move your salary before you do anything.

Then try to talk getting into a fixed amount agreement which does not gather interest. I've done this on behalf of a friend with two banks. But these were dead cases with no payments being made for over a year and police cases filed. Mashreq were complete A.holes and I think just skimmed off like 5k if the entire amount was paid ( 30k ) or something like 45 if broken down into installments. Friend was lucky and able to get a payment from the new employer to pay the off.

Second bank was First Gulf Bank who were totally reasonable and willing to talk. Although the original outstanding was 50 ish they racked it up to 70ish something. But would not go down. But did restructure it. With payments of 3.5k over six months and then a lumpsump at the end, which my friend wasnt able to come up with on the due date so broke that down further into half lump sum and the large 3 month payments. But this was intrest free

But this was really tough on my friend with barely left enough to scrape though the month on crumbs, literally and got a break with having a very decent employer willing to help out. And cashing in anything and everything like cash instead of vacation time etc etc on months when rent was comming up etc etc. Its hard but its worth it.

Another thing I can suggest is try to apply for personal loan from another bank if you can get one and pay off the CCs and just contiune paying the personal loan as the intrest is much less and there is a end date to it and doesn't keep om going forever like CC's

Also do you have security checks with the bank ?

cheers for the advice guys,

i don't have any security cheques with the bank as they only brought that in about 18 months ago. I've looked at a loan but my company hasn't been around 2yrs yet and is not registered with any bank.

I'm looking at the below possibility,

Get a credit card with a small limit from another bank as lets face it a credit card is essential in the UAE for hire car and the such like.

Cancel the cards with HSBC (there are 2 cards both with 70k limits) and restructure so as to freeze the interest so i can actually make a dent in the debt.


I have discussed the restructure with the bank before however they said i would be blacklisted with HSBC UAE and all other UAE banks until i pay off the debt which at the level its at would take a long time. Having done a little asking around some are saying that as there is no credit rating system (like in the Uk) in the UAE and that it would not be possible for me to be blacklisted as it were with all UAE banks, thats why cards, loans etc are based on salary certificate and not credit score.

-- Sun Nov 14, 2010 1:35 pm --

oh and @ Bora Bora

believe me i was not lving the high life for the 8 months i was unemployed, I sold my car, tv, playstation, moved out and into a maids rooms. I was made redundant just after xmas 2008, just after meaning i'd just been home paid for flights, presents and a snowboarding holiday to return and be told sorry your out of a job, added to that fact that rent was due very soon after i returned.

I've never missed a payment on any of my debt and i do want to pay it off however as i said at this point i cannot reduce the amount via earnings its mathmatically not going to happen so something else needs to be done in order to repay the debt

Dude if you aint got no checks then your in the clear, there is nothing they can do other than just make rediculas threat. You see the flawed system works both ways here for the banks and the customer.

If you have given in a security check for a credit card with a 5k limit then your liable for criminal prosecution as a bounced check is crimal offence, but other than that banks got nothing.

The worse they can do is file a civil case, which requires a 50% deposit up front from the party doing the suing ( Thats what I've heard but don't take that as gospel ) in the court and can literally go on for years and they couldn't be bothered about that and in my 34 years in this country I have yet to see or hear of a bank filing a civil case.

You could simply just stop paying and flip the bird to HSBC and they can do fark all other than make threathing calls and send vicious sms's. But if your still honest and really want to get rid of this and I suggest you do.

Go to the bank and tell them this, that your fully aware of the law and there is crap they can do about it if you decided not to pay up, they give you all sort of BS and this is aint so but trust me thats the way it is. Talk to them regardless that you still are willing to pay, turn it into one big payment and pay of small installment stretched over a few years.

Although an ex employee of barclays did tell me that HSBC has somekind of deal with the authorities that they can put a travel ban on you, but I've heard contradicting statements to this as only way a travek ban can be put on someone is if he/she is wanted i.e has an outstanding criminal case which in your case is not possible.

And thats one of the problems here as there are so many contradicting accounts about everything and no one really knows what truly is. But I would still get that confirmed from some credible source in case you decided to flip the bird to the bank and do get back here about any info and updates here.

desertdudeshj wrote:Dude if you aint got no checks then your in the clear

I know from experience that the police can and do put travel bans on people simply because someone claims to have an outstanding debt. My wife and I rented a car from Joseph rent a car in Dubai, and it broke down, they demanded 16000 AED in repairs. We refused to pay, but they got the police to arrange a travel ban on my wife because it was her signature on the lease and we only found out about it when she tried to leave the country on holiday and got arrested.

If an ordinary person can arrange that kind of action, imagine what a bank can do. In this country, there is no such concept of 'the police can't do that' - they can do a lot.

Oh yes the banks certainly can make life very difficult for you! Even if you tried to run, with that amount of debt, they pass it onto international debt collectors, who by hook or by crook will track you down!

Being blacklisted means the minute you'd try to leave the country, they'd pick you up at the airport and off to the slammer you go.