UAE Bank Ordered To Refund Dh92,854 Over Unproven Credit Card Charges

An Abu Dhabi court has ordered a bank to refund Dh92,854 to a customer, close his credit card account and confirm that he has no outstanding liability after the lender failed to provide documentary evidence supporting the interest and fees it had charged.

 

The court also ordered the bank to pay annual interest of 3 per cent on the refund from the date the lawsuit was filed until payment, subject to a cap equal to the principal amount.

 

The customer told the court that he had applied for financing from the bank in 2013 and received a credit card with a Dh50,000 limit. He maintained that he had settled all his dues, including payments exceeding the amount owed, but the bank continued to demand further sums.

 

A court-appointed banking expert examined the account statements and found that the bank could not produce the original credit card application or documents establishing the interest rate and fees agreed with the customer. The bank attributed the absence of these records to a fire at the premises where its documents were stored.

 

The expert recalculated the account using simple legal interest, excluding compound interest and charges that the bank could not demonstrate had been agreed. The review showed that the customer had made withdrawals totalling Dh1.403 million and payments of Dh1.605 million. After adjusting the account, the expert concluded that the bank owed him Dh92,854.

 

Court Accepts Expert's Findings

 

The court accepted the expert's conclusions, finding that the assessment was based on the account statements and supported by adequate technical reasoning. It noted that the expert had addressed the bank's objections and that the lender had produced no evidence sufficient to undermine the report.

 

The court also found that the bank had repeatedly delayed payment despite the amount being due to the customer. It ordered the lender to refund Dh92,854, pay the stipulated interest, clear all outstanding credit card liabilities, close the account and issue a certificate confirming that the customer had no remaining debt.

 

The bank was further directed to bear the court costs and pay Dh200 in legal fees. The court dismissed the customer's remaining claims.