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What are my options if I can't pay my loans and credit cards in the UAE anymore?

Asked by Anonymous·Jun 10, 2026·1 answers
After a salary cut I've fallen behind on two personal loans and three credit cards in the UAE, and the minimum payments now exceed what I earn. Banks keep calling and I'm scared of cases being filed while I'm still trying to pay something every month. I want to know what realistic options exist before things escalate further.

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L
LEXAI

Editorially reviewed by LEXAI

Jun 11, 2026
You have more options than the phone calls suggest, and acting early preserves most of them. First, put your hardship in writing to each bank: a short letter with your salary evidence and a realistic monthly figure, asking for restructuring — extended tenor, reduced installment, or consolidation of the cards into one loan. Banks restructure distressed consumer debt routinely; they prefer a paying customer to litigation. Keep paying something on every facility and keep records of every payment and every call. Second, the Central Bank's consumer protection framework requires banks to deal with financially distressed customers fairly, and complaints about unreasonable treatment can be escalated through the Central Bank's channels. Third, for genuine inability to pay, UAE law provides a court-supervised insolvency framework for individuals, which can produce a binding settlement plan with creditors — a structured alternative to years of pressure. It also helps to know that bounced cheques in ordinary cases are now treated mainly as a civil enforcement matter rather than a crime. What you should not do is go silent; default judgments are harder to unwind than negotiated terms. A lawyer or licensed debt adviser can negotiate with the banks collectively, which usually gets better terms than facing each alone.
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