| Kippreport.com

After a month of tolerating calls, I exploded – UAE bank victim

October 21, 2012 3:17 by M. Aldalou

That was when Maylo had his first taste of luck and justice. He describes the collections rep as ‘the best thing that happened so far’. The rep was angry at the fact that his sales colleagues continue to extend credit limits for customers without any regard for basic credit risk assessment, and that he would end up cleaning after their mess.

“I’d given him a copy of the final credit card settlement, which they did not have in their files,” Mylo says. “He then sent an email asking the outsourced collection agency to close this matter, but that’s when more trouble started.”

While the credit card receipt was proof enough, Mylo was told that there was a debited transaction from his overdraft account and that the bank had been charging interest on it for the past four years. “After showing him my last statement of account that shows no transaction activity, he admitted that this is a mistake from the bank which they needed to fix.”

Mylo heaved a sigh of relief, feeling pretty confident that after the rep would contact the agency, they would finally stop calling and all would be water under the bridge. No such luck.

After some time had passed, the collection agency called him again demanding payment for the same outstanding balance. Once again, he ‘patiently’ asked for proof but instead what he got were two “utterly useless warning letters” requesting him to pay but no shred of evidence.

“At this point, we reached the end of the road. The collection agency is playing smart so they can get their fee for following my case and the only proof they have is what they call, legal notices,” Maylo concludes. He says he has been advised by his lawyer to file an official complaint to the Central Bank of the UAE. He will also prepare a legal notice based on the civil and criminal laws that show that without having legitimate claims, audited results and documentary evidence, the bank’s demands are deemed unlawful.

“Under the criminal law, these ongoing calls by collection agencies hired by the bank are considered unlawful, violate my personal privacy, and they will be held responsible, solely or jointly , in front of UAE public prosecutor,” he says.

Mylo says that he believes that the bank will not cooperate with the legal warning and that this case will eventually reach the court. He stresses that he wants to educate the public about their consumer rights in the articles of central bank regulation and civil law of the UAE.

“I am confident that I will win my battle and I am doing it not because I don’t want to pay or can’t afford to pay but simply to set an example of how bad practice is destroying the banking sector reputation in UAE.”

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