Dubai for Visitors

Question1: I took a vehicle on rent from a car rental agency in Dubai. I paid the rent for two months in cash to the employee in charge in the presence of a friend of mine. I took ro receipt. The office took my passport as a guarantee.

When I returned the vehicle after two months, the agency refused to hand over my passport claiming I had not paid the rent for two months. The staff also claimed that the said employee had not collected any money from me.

They even threatened to file a lawsuit against me. What am I supposed to do? A1: First of all, a jail term not exceeding six months and a fine of not more than Dh5,000, or either, shall be slapped against whoever has taken a vehicle on rent but unreasonably declines to pay the rent or try to escape payment, as per Article 395 of the Federal Panel Code.

In this case, the questioner does not appear to be playing tricks on the car rental agency. He, as said in the query, has an eyewitness — his friend — who is ready to testify before court on advance payment. It is also surprising that the agency gave the said vehicle without collecting the two months’ rent in advance.

As such, the questioner shall not be held responsible should the agency file a lawsuit against him.

The agency is not even entitled to bring him to court or refuse to return his passport. The questioner may file a lawsuit against theagency for not giving back his passport.

Authorisation must to cut money from bank account Q2: I deposited Dh1 million in a Dubai bank four years ago. I opened several accounts in the same bank. In my capacity as the owner of a commercial establishment, the bank allows me to withdraw a maximum of Dh500,000 at one time in lieu of certain guarantees, not including the said deposit. When reviewing the bank statements regularly sent to me, I discovered that the bank has deducted all my loans from the deposit. I did not sign any document authorising the bank to do such a deduction. Is the bank entitled to deduct money from my deposit on its own? What action shall I take?

Answer: As per Article 367 of the Commercial Procedures Code, should a client open several bank accounts, they shall remain independent unless they are joint or unified on the account holder’s request in writing.

Deducting money from an account other than the agreed upon one shall be ruled invalid.

Only a judicial order can permit such deductions, according to Articles 97 and 99 of the Civil Procedure Code.

As such, the bank is not entitled to such deduction. The bank shall be bound to redeposit the deducted amount. The questioner is also entitled to the interests due against the deducted amount as long as he did not enter into any agreement that authorises the bank to such withdrawls.

Should the bank decline to amicably settle the dispute, the questioner may file a lawsuit before court. The bank, however, is entitled to claim the repayment of the said loans as per the agreements signed by the questioner.