As part of ‘The Debt Panel’, The National published an article about a Dubai resident who took on debt of AED 386,000 to send money back to India and to support his family in Dubai, and is now struggling to keep up with the repayments.
I currently owe Dh386,000 for one personal loan and four credit cards. I work in Dubai as a sales planning manager and earn Dh14,240. With my current salary I am finding myself unable to make all the payments. I stopped using my cards a few months ago. I took the loan to buy a home in India and the cards I used for some medical treatment, my child’s school fees and other expenses. The outstanding balances on my cards are high because I was not able to make my payments on time and the banks charged me late payment fees and other fines. I have signed up for an easy payment plan for my all cards but still I find it hard to meet the payments. To reduce expenses I have sent my family back to India. I owe about Dh250,00 on the personal loan, and the rest is on my credit cards. One of the four has an outstanding balance of Dh56,000 another of Dh40,000 and another of Dh32,000. Is there any way a bank can help me consolidate the debts into one payment? This will make my life easier, as I am in too much stress at the moment.
Here is what Ambareen Musa, one of the debt panelists and Founder & CEO of Souqalmal.com, had to say.
Based on the total debt you currently owe and your monthly salary, it would be difficult to qualify for a conventional debt consolidation loan. However, it is worthwhile to check with your primary bank to see if the credit card debt on your four cards can be consolidated. Alternatively, you can approach the four credit card providers to discuss how the outstanding balance on the cards can be restructured and converted into a fixed-interest fixed-tenure loan. This would also stop the accumulation of monthly interest and penalties…
For full article go to The National.
