The Debt Panel: Can I use my Ajman property to pay off a Dh171,000 debt?
However, I am worried about the debts we have here. While I haven’t missed any payments, supporting two households in two countries is a huge strain on our finances and my husband is diabetic and not working.
I plan to use some of my end-of-service benefit to pay off part of our debt, but I will need most of it to take home with me to continue supporting my family until I start working again.
We came here to work and make money to buy a house. But our children couldn’t attend a public school, so we went from one loan to a top-up loan, to a second and a third credit card to pay school fees. Instead of making money, we had to borrow money constantly just to send our boys to school.
However, the bank also wanted to freeze our joint current account and both debit cards, which we objected to as we had a credit card payment due in two days. If this was necessary, then why didn’t they freeze the main credit card?
To renew the blocked cards, unfreeze the current account and regain access to internet banking, we were told that we had to sign an indemnity form. I refused to sign it due to its unreasonable terms, which included a point that I would undertake to sign and enact any document that the bank presents to me in the future. Several bank representatives told me that it was standard, had been drawn up by the bank’s lawyers and could not be amended.
After arriving home in India, I was able to lodge this request over the phone. Despite multiple follow-up attempts with customer care, I never received a call back on my number in India to confirm the cancellation of the card. Now, the bank has charged me late fees and interest against the card’s annual renewal fee. This amounts to Dh1,663.40.
I am not in Dubai, do not use this card, cannot make this payment for card renewal and need the card cancelled immediately. I don t understand why it is so difficult to cancel a card even after numerous expensive overseas calls. During my last communication with the bank, they threatened to lodge a police case and travel ban against me, among other punitive actions.