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Popular radio presenters story of running from debt


Chocoholic Whatever, you guys can go live in la la land. All I know is that it HAS happened to several people I know, so yes they can and do come after you, it might not be a quick thing, it could take years, but eventually it will catch up with you. So don't sit there and tell me it doesn't! I have asked the question several times, if you say it doesn't happen then how come it IS to a few people I know! One guy fled to Ireland and now has a European, Middle East and American travel ban - right so it's all a figment of my imagination is it? Just because it hasn't happen to you or people YOU know, doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Come on people think outside the box for once! Oh and it's alright for GertRUDE to have a go at me is it? Yet I can't get my point of view across? Bunch of hypocrits! End of.
coolpista The banks have been totally irresponsible if they gave him credit based on his freelance income. The good thing is that now they are getting a taste of their own recipe... Chocoholic 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: BlackburnRovers 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. sage & onion 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! viking-warrior 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 ??? KeithL 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? smoggie He does a runner, owing a sizable amount and then gets paid for the story (I presume)???? Funny old world, eh? Chocoholic 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. smoggie 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.

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Chocoholic It's just Chris being Chris and looking for attention! Trust me, he didn't get paid for it! He probably contacted THEM! xty
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. Chocoholic 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. xty 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 ;) Chocoholic I think stuffing the mattress is probably the safest place for it! :wink: smoggie 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. Bora Bora 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? Chocoholic 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. nuitgal 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...
Chocoholic 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! gertrude
:lol: 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. gertrude
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. gertrude 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. sage & onion
So Gertrude, what makes you such an expert? xty
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). gertrude
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. Chocoholic 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! gertrude
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. Chocoholic 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! gertrude 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. arniegang 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. capsicum Choc, Gertrude is right, there is nothing such as "international travel ban" in effect today, please support your posts with links or verifiable facts. Misery Called Life Yaa I totally agree with Gertrude, even Herve is making merry and writing a bestseller while he's at it. Everyone knows where he is, why is he not arrested? Hey Chocs haven't you heard of college students in the US accumulating huge credi card debts and then doing a runner? No one goes after them.... Here's what happens, should you default on ur debt in North America and Europe, then the first one's to catch up with you would be credit rating agencies, do a runner and they'll instantly give you a bad rating. Now if ur in The States and to evade paying off ur debts you do a runner, collection agencies then track you down in Europe(lets say Paris), in such a situation the US law has something called Long Arm Statute, where basically the US embassy will fight the case on behalf of the collection agency and try and retrieve the debt. So the short answer is Yes you can be pursued, but the reality is that it depends on which country ur in.Some countries may allow a U.S. court to obtain jurisdiction through their court system. Now at this point… I’m thinking you must have owed this creditor a truck load of money because the price tag for your harassment is getting expensive! Does this mean if your new country cooperates with the U.S. court you may be arrested until court is held? Maybe,but the best solution would be to select a country which is favorable to debtors. European and North American countries are favorable to creditors…. not debtors. Does Dubai have such reach? I don't think so. C'mon there is'nt even a credit rating agency here. I mean countries like UK, USA, EU, India etc these countries have their own laws, and you simply can't walk in to these countries and arrest someone for debt piled up somewhere else, when in those countries itself unpaid loans is only a civil suit and not a criminal offense. Misery Called Life But I will agree with Chocs on one thing it's best to just pay off the debts via electronic transfer or something, just pay it off! Cos it could someday come back to haunt you. I hear in the GCC there are plans for a common extradition treaty, so before long for this DJ the GCC will be out of bounds. And from there who know what next. Best option just pay off ur debts, period. viking-warrior WHAT Interpol can't arrest me ????? Say it ain't so. I applied to join on the basis of their cool yellow uniforms, yellow Nike running shoes (for catching the bad bad bad guys) and those OH Soooo cute berets. Imagine just going to any country you want and arresting all the naughty people and flying away (first class of course) ! "Ah ha, 'tis you Mr. Badman. You short changed Abdul in the coffee shop in Jumeriah 18 years ago. A irrest yo un ze nam of d' leiu" (Its how they say it, you see they are all from Lyon in France). :lol: Is this what you think Interpol does ? Sorry poppet - you are wrong, incorrect, misinformed and out of your depth. If I had the time money and motivation, I would buy an island, declare independance, gain recognition by the UN and join interpol (well my mum would cos she's chief of police) and take everyone that ever ripped me of to court and have the Judge (my dad) find them guilty then post their ugly mugs up on the Interpol list. (see if you can guess who would feature large !) I have to say I totally agree with Gertrude and Capsicum for once spot on, although the current figures for the UAE stands at 200 red notices issued - apparently one was for US$ 44 some Indian dude "allegedly" defrauded from a local lady. Don't notice too many of the local developers making headlines on there though ! Interpol is a self serving bureaucracy with no actual power or jurisdiction to arrest anyone, they are "represented" on the ground by the local plod, who as arnie correctly pointed out, will only act if the alleged crime is actually a criminal act on their own patch, and last time I looked, running up a credit card was more a national sport (hopefully in the Olympics 2020 Dubai yeeeah) than a criminal offence. :) ________________________ Be prepared, dib dib dub dub viking-warrior Hey MCL You seem well versed in the US and debt management - lend me $6.5bn, I'll pay you back, honest, here's some bond papers I printed at home on my HP Bubble Jet :lol: :lol: herve True MCL! Dubai has issued a red notice against me with Interpol, I am wanted. Brrrrrrrr! Does it make any difference? NO. Because I could challenge it in a US Court, and extradition is a long process where the defendant has rights, unlike in Dubai. Anyways, I sued Dubai World, in Florida, for fraud, defamation, abuse of process and false emprisonment, and everybody knows where I am, I am not hiding. In reaction of my lawsuit, and only then, Dubai World sued me here, was not the other way around, and I immediately countersued them adding breach of contract claim. I just dont have the media power to innondate the press like they do, but little by little my truth makes it its way. Remember? in the court papers in Dubai, they ignored the fact that Sultan Bin Sulayem visited me twice in Florida, now he is admitting it in US court. I welcome these court proceedings as unlike in Dubai, I will be able to challenge my accusers and the truth will come out, for the world to know. I will also dispute, the red notice, truthfully, I cannot understand why such recognized agency as Interpol can put any legitimacy in Dubai's warrants requests and give credit to a trial in absentia, which are not even recognized in international court. I have been convicted, I was not even there, not even represented by a lawyer, and I would never have been able to challenge the accusation. And...... next week, my book comes out, worldwide, at last! then everyone will know everything! Though I doubt Dubai Media Council will allow it at Mc Gruddy's So Chochocholic , come down from your cloud, and leave gertrude alone, nobody will ever chase anybody outside the UAE for a credit card debt or a default car loan in dubai, and no one will have an international travel ban. so stop claiming otherwise .....Look at me , Dubai is painting me almost like a war criminal with a $4million fine but I am a free man, with every rights to drag these people to court and claim my innocence. dubaidog
Love IT!
Anyhoozles...not to pick on Chocs, but I think the folks here have it pretty much bang-on. Let us not forget those of us that come from "free" countries are entitled to certain civil liberties. One of which is most certainly not having a "travel ban" placed due to claims by an archaic judicial system. In fact, in Canada (and I am sure other places) a passport and free passage is a RIGHT and not a privledge(sp?). The Canadian government can only with hold a passport or deny one based on a person being accused of serious crimes (murder, violent crime, serious drug offences). Pretty sure (although no proof) in our constitution that there is no clause stating "Passports will be with held and a travel ban imposed at the request of NBD, RAK Bank or any other UAE depository". Just saying.
Oh, and speaking from personal experience...when the poop hit the fan for me, NBD sent me a text saying they would place a travel ban. Sadly, just idle threats. Only the gov't can do this AFTER you have a case against you filed by the bank. Being late on a credit card payment is not a crim offense here. Bouncing the guarantee check is. Oh, and the added bonus when they sent me the threat, the mis-spelled "Emirates Bank".See below link from March:
Methinks another one of the great Dubai myths. I'm sure Chris is very safe in the UK. He certainly looks well fed.
"Passport Canada recognizes that the denial of passport services is a significant sanction and therefore exercises its authority to refuse issuance of a passport only where there is sufficient reliable information available to justify the action."
Link to Canadian travel ban:
http://www.ppt.gc.ca/articles/20080213a.aspx?lang=eng Chocoholic Thta's all very well and good DD, but still not one of you has given me a reasonable and logical explaination as to why someone I know has received travel bans! dubaidog
Hey Chocs. Not pooping on you. But I am guessing:
1. They are lying
2. They are actually charged with another crime and not telling you
3. They "think" they have a travel ban due to threats.
4. They have been "warned" by the UK gov't and perceive that as a ban.
Did they surrender their passport? That is the only way to impose a ban from your country of residence. You can either travel, or not. Yes, select countries may ban YOU from entering, but when a ban is placed where you hold citizenship, it is a global ban to prevent people fleeing. Chocoholic I've not heard it from the person themselves, but I heard it from their sponsor because he is a good friend of mine, and that is what the loan company said they were going to seek. dubaidog
So essentially a 3-4 combo as per my previous post. I would not sweat it, seriously. If the person is out of the country, not even H.H. can do squat about it. The loan company can "seek" what they like, but at the end of the day, they are just a financial institution and have no clout in the UK or abroad. Of course I am not endorsing running or blowing it off, but if I were in their shoes, I would certainly GTFO. Chocoholic I honestly don't know how people can do it! I understand if you're in real trouble, but morally it's wrong. It's a shame that people end up getting themselves in these situations in the first place. capsicum is it morally wrong to buy a car with a loan, then lose your job, have your visa cancelled and no longer being able to pay the monthly payments? Chocoholic Don't put words in my mouth! Of course not! But that's the problem, there are no coverage laws or insurance to cover such things in this country, therefore it needs to be looked at so things like this don't happen. dubaidog I agree Chocs that it needs to be sorted. I was astounded when I got here and essentially had people coming to my office to sell me credit cards, loans, you name it. As a new arrival in a country, this was crazy to me. I had borrowed my year's rent in advance via personal loan (with additional flash money), bought a 4X4 with an auto loan, and then the bank took the liberty of issuing me a credit card with the limit being 75K. I always thought it was a little crazy to have the ability to borrow a year's+ worth of salary the first week in town. This all hinged on simply getting my salary deposited in their account? Nuts. Any other normal country has a credit bureau or runs checks, etc. The banks don't even talk to each other here. Now they are tightening up, but only to a sub-standard level. I am pretty certain I could roll into a number of banks and start collecting credit cards based on a salary certificate (worthless). When I lost my gig, CSI informed the bank via email, yet I still have the truck, still pay off the loans (almost done thank god) and some of you here know I had a few lean months. Credit is something that needs to be earned over time. Funny how the banks dole out credit like it is going out of style, yet some people need to take 40 driving lessons and 10 tests to be able to drive a car in the UAE. How are they paying for it? Credit cards! capsicum
it is not an insurance issue in this country , it s law and cultural issue. default is a crime here, there is no insurance to cover a crime, any crimes. Chocoholic This very true. However, take for example the UK, the take out a car loan/mortgage/credit cards etc then every month you also pay a small insurance policy, so that if you become unemployed, the bank covers the payments for you, until you can start the repayments again. It's shocking that a bounced cheque can land you in prison here. It's shocking that people ask for pre-dated cheques, which in itself it illegal the world over. xty
that's what i said, not only in UK, but also here. take a look on your credit card bills and find out on "credit shield" (insurance). was it suppose to cover the debt? then how come it's not used? arniegang like DD said. at least he looks well fed Just don't ask him for advice on when to buy and when to sell property. :lol: Bora Bora
Chocs I don't think Interpol spends years and years tracking down people who have left DEBT behind. Possibly your friend is wanted for embezzlement or money laundering or some major crime that calls for Interpol to get involved in and he just failed to mention it to you. Interpol is not a collection agency. Leaving debt behind is NOT a crime in most countries. If it was, half the population in the US and UK would be in jail. Yes in Dubai incurring debt and skipping is a crime, but not an international crime as recognized under Interpol .
Britannica Precise Encyclopedia:
International organization whose purpose is to fight international crime. Interpol promotes the widest possible mutual assistance between the criminal police authorities of affiliated countries and seeks to establish and develop all institutions likely to contribute effectively to the prevention and suppression of ordinary crime. The organization traces its history to 1914, when a congress of international criminal police, attended by delegates from 14 countries, was held in Monaco. Interpol was formally founded in Austria in 1923 with 20 member countries; after World War II its headquarters moved to Paris and, in 1989, to Lyon, France. By the early 21st century, its membership exceeded 180 countries. Interpol pursues criminals who operate in more than one country (e.g., smugglers), those who stay in one country but whose crimes affect other countries (e.g., counterfeiters of foreign currency), and those who commit a crime in one country and flee to another.
Columbia Encyclopedia:
Interpol, acronym for the International Criminal Police Organization, a worldwide clearinghouse for police information. Conceived in 1914, Interpol was formally established in 1923 with headquarters at Vienna. In 1938, it was effectively disbanded by Hitler's Anschluss of Austria. After World War II, the agency was reconstituted (1946) with headquarters in Paris. Its principal services are to provide its 184 member nations with information on the whereabouts of international criminals, to organize seminars on scientific crime detection, and to facilitate the apprehension of criminals, although it does not apprehend criminals directly . The organization claims to avoid those crimes that deal with political, military, religious, or racial matters . Interpol has been most successful with regard to counterfeiting, forgery, smuggling, and the narcotics trade.
Intelligence Encyclopeida:
Interpol is an international organization based in Lyon, France, that fosters global police cooperation by sharing intelligence about cross-border criminal activities among its 181 member nations. Despite popular misconception, the organization maintains no police force of its own. Each member nation maintains and staffs a National Central Bureau to direct Interpol intelligence, while local authorities investigate and prosecute criminals according to national laws. Interpol's actions are limited to receiving requests for assistance; analyzing criminal activities that are not of a political, military, religious, or racial character; and disseminating notices published in four languages (English, French, Spanish, and Arabic) to its members. It currently focuses upon public safety and terrorism, organized crime, illegal drug production and smuggling, weapons dealing, trafficking in human beings, money laundering, and financial and high technology wrongdoing.
Nowhere does it say anything about going after people who incur debt and go on the run. Incurring debt is a matter for the company to handle and if things can't be worked out then it can go to court. Rarely has anyone gone to jail for non payment of debt - of course I'm talking about in being in the "real" world, not Dubai.
All those people who you know that are being "hunted down" by Interpol are telling tall tales or not telling the truth. bonk
Red notices on Interpol are for people wanted for "Check Fraud", not debts per se. Having a debt doesn't get you jailed, bouncing a check does. Credit card debtors get in trouble because the bank presents the security check, which bounces and then becomes a criminal offence.
At least one developer I know of is in jail - the Khoie Properties CEO in RAK, for a bounced cheque.
Banks can play on their customer's fears and make all the threats they like but a bank cannot travel ban anyone, arrest anyone, or jail anyone. A bank can make a complaint to the police who can arrest someone. The court can jail someone. The immigration department can refuse allow entry to someone, or detain someone when they enter or exit a country. But I doubt very much that the British immigration department (or any other immigration department - even the UAE) follows instructions from a UAE bank.
I expect immigration departments of various countries can look at the Interpol website and decide whether or not to allow entry to those people. But I doubt any Commonwealth country would refuse entry to a British citizen because they had bounced a check in the UAE for example. dubaidog
Credit shield through Emirates NBD is insurance for death or dismemberment. Nothing to do with job loss. arniegang
Problem Solved then. 8)
All those owing banks/credit cards money in DXB should therefore clear all their debts before leaving the Emirate by kiling themselves.
simples :D sage & onion
Mr Arnie, you have solved the financial crisis :lol: arniegang The answer was there all the time mate and such a simple solution, i'm amazed no one else thought of it So spread the word :lol:



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