Tools / Everyday
If you don't pay: what happens and when
Fear is worse than the facts. Pick what you're late on — a loan or card instalment, a cheque, rent, traffic fines, Salik, a DEWA bill — and see the timeline of consequences day by day as the law and official rules set it: when fees apply, when your credit score suffers, when a case starts, and when a travel ban becomes possible. And what you can do before each stop.
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How to use it
- Pick the kind of overdue amount.
- Read the stops in order: day one, fees, credit score, notice, lawsuit, travel ban.
- Every stop has «what to do now» — early contact with the other side stops most of the chain.
Questions
Is a bounced cheque prison?
No. Since 2 January 2022 insufficient funds alone is no longer a crime: the bank pays the available part, and the bounced cheque is an executive instrument enforced before the execution judge with no police report. It stays a crime only in bad-faith cases: ordering non-payment without cause, closing the account or withdrawing the funds on purpose, or signing it in a way that prevents payment (Article 675, Commercial Transactions Law 50/2022) — and the case ends with full payment or settlement.
When can they ban me from travelling?
The Civil Procedure Law (42/2022, Article 324): the creditor may request a travel ban — even before filing the case — if the debt is AED 10,000 or more, certain in amount and due, with serious fear of flight. The ban lapses with a guarantee, a deposit of the amount, or if the creditor doesn't file within 8 days of the order.
How much are late fees on an instalment?
Central Bank caps: credit card late fee at most AED 230, personal loan 200, car loan 500, home loan 700. Any delay beyond 90 days shows red on your Al Etihad Credit Bureau report for three years and hits your score (300–900).
Rent: when can the landlord evict me?
In Dubai (Law 26/2007, Article 25): if you don't pay within 30 days of a notice served through the notary public or registered mail, the landlord can request eviction at the Rental Dispute Centre. A WhatsApp message is not a legal notice.
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