My Unfortunate Encounter with Quirky Law

A lot are wondering where I went for I suddenly become unreachable even online but few only knew that I’ve been into a terrible mess out of sheer bad luck, and I, the prodigal son didn’t tell my ordeal to my family in a hope that I won’t spoil their happiness on my brother’s wedding.

I got busy looking and moving to a new apartment, almost cancelled my scheduled vacation but for some miracle I still have the energy to push through with it and now I’m back still recuperating from the trauma but more wiser.

I never thought I’ll encounter any legal issue nor resort to it in my life for I’m extra prudent not to mess or be reminded. When I decided I don’t want to be in a law profession simply because I don’t have the character and spine needed for such demanding job, I leave my country to escape the pressure of people pushing me and making me realize that I did a dumb choice for wasting my fancy degree.

It’s been years that I live in this country, I feel comfortable, considered it home and have high hopes of staying until my retirement. But that view change in an instant when I received a letter and it’s not just a letter, it’s a Notice of Interruption of the services of my apartment like use of swimming pool, gym facility and adjacent areas, disconnection of chilled water and air conditioning services, non-attendance to any maintenance issue and stoppage of the building parking services and etc. Wow! I’m doomed! It happens when summer is approaching and all because the owner of the apartment didn’t pay the service charges in spite of countless demands made by the property management.

Being a peace-loving person who don’t want the hassle I informed the agent about the situation and the agent promise that they’ll settle the issue. The agent did call back and informed me that no need to worry, it’s okay and it’s settled. A big fat lie, because one day, I’m supposed to call the maintenance guy but my instinct tells me otherwise so I first called the property management office downstairs to save me from further embarrassment and I was told that my landlord didn’t pay. Oh! Did I hear it right? So, I went to the office and ask the manager to verify it in the main office, hoping that the record is not updated. Yeah! I’m not dreaming .

I called the agent and surprisingly didn’t answer but he called me back, I guess he was already able to formulate a new lie which he did but I’m not anymore buying. I tell my intention of leaving but my crazy side still want to abide our tenancy contract  to stay away from trouble, which I quote that I can leave provided I give a month notice and one month rent as penalty even if my landlord violated our contract first by not paying the service charges. But he don’t want me to leave and give me some silly excuses until he give up for I’m firm with my decision and says that he cannot return the cheque for the remaining three months and even if I file a case it’s useless and the landlord is a very influential man and close to the Sheik (Ugh! Is it a treat?). Then I said, “he pays and I’ll stay if not I’ll leave and why would I allow myself to be tormented with this inconvenience”, and ask for the mobile number of the landlord.(Gosh! He has those fancy numbers which is more expensive than the phone.) But I’m not bothered knowing my options and my right and I’m always been the person who assert it by all means.

Reality sinks in, in a perfect world I have those rights and I forgot I’m in a bubble land where everything could be made in an instant and at their whims like those fake islands and all year round blooming flowers and my series of unfortunate encounter with their rules simply unfurl right in front of me and becoming a nightmare.

I learned that I cannot stop my own cheque and the irony of all, it is drawn in a bank where I work  and all of us are helpless to stop the injustice because there law only allows stop payment when it is either lost or stolen and in both instances they require police report and if lost a letter from the payee. Being optimistic and knowing that there’s always an exception to the rule, I went to the police station hoping I could still get one, for in all civilized country, a breach of contract is a valid ground for stopping a cheque, I even manage to prepare a written affidavit if it’s needed as well as the supporting document, the letter from the Property Management Company. But all efforts are in vain, I was ridiculed and worst they speak in a language I don’t understand and for them I look very dumb and I wasn’t even given the chance to explain my side.

I called the landlord directly and thinking I could still negotiate by pointing that I am allowed in our contract to terminate before the expiry and I’m willing to pay the penalty charge. To my surprise, he don’t speak English, so I ask the assistance of my colleague to speak to him in Arabic but still the same, he is very  hard to negotiate even if he already did breach our contract  and all he say is to pay him the three months remaining rent. (OMG! I’m dealing with an uneducated rich greedy booger.)

My mindset is always in a real world scenario having work in a bank for some time and rules are basically alike I forgot that I’m in a different world, I thought by simply not funding my cheque and just pay for the charges could save me from further loss. Yes! I’m wrong again, here it’s a criminal offense and you could be put behind bars by simply not funding your cheque and I don’t know if you could invoke your rights under Miranda Doctrine for the police simply picks you up and I doubt if there’s even an arrest warrant. Now it dawns on me what happened during the  2008 recession why people who have mortgages are scared and opt to abscond when they lost their job untimely and some are unfortunate to be put in prison.  Another weird thing, if police in other part of the world are busy chasing thugs, hoodlums and real criminals.Here  they are busy chasing people who can’t fund their cheque, a very pathetic scene for their profession simply because the law is somewhat absurd. So I fund the cheque and let the injustice pass on my very nose and all I could do is curse and wish for a slowly and painful death of that rich booger who just milked me AED10,000 (US$2,722.53) not to count the harassment I had where in a real world I could have collect the actual, nominal, exemplary and moral damages. The moment he cashed it, I went to Louis Vuitton shop tried the bag my friend highly recommended as carry on luggage for he bought one but I opted not to buy nor be tempted for my conscience couldn’t take it when a lot of people who could barely eat one decent meal in a day and good thing my shopaholic days are over. After 5 minutes of trying and checking the bag I returned it to the sales staff and went out and curse. Shit! he could just waste the money like that. I rather prefer being rob by a hungry poor or sick man at least that would help me feel better.

I told to myself, in your dreams you could claim for damages for truth says otherwise and it’s even impossible to claim my money back because when I try to seek for the proper recourse I was referred by the Real Estate Regulatory Authority to the Rent Committee unfortunately they require me a letter from the landlord that he agrees that I terminate the contract and leave the premises and  I think he’s not that totally dumb to make one so that I could file a case against him. I just don’t know where’s the logic of the framer of this law because a conflict arises when one party does not abide and like my case he don’t want me to leave and yet he’s not willing to pay his obligation  with the property management and the problem I’ll be the one affected by the sanctions. In a nutshell, it’s a win-win situation on the landlord, he could encashed the cheque for I don’t have the option to stop or not to fund because it’s a criminal offense and I couldn’t file a claim for I don’t have the elusive letter that he conceded for the termination of our contract. And one more thing, in most civil courts payment for bonds ( I don’t know if it’s the term used here) are base on the claims you prayed in your Complaint but here it is base on the original amount of the contract which is 3.5% I guess it’s difficult for them to compute the partial one and you are required to pay Dhs500(US$136.13) for each cheque.

Now, I’m weighing my option to pursue or not. But I don’t have high hopes, knowing my friend whose father is a victim of hit and run in a pedestrian lane cannot locate the perpetrator in spite of the car plate number given to the police but funny they could find the people who can’t fund cheque just by a mere mobile number. Hence, I concede to my defeat and write about it hoping a lawmaker or a child who’ll become a lawmaker someday will find this in the web and could shed light and get some logic and nerve to amend or repeal it, for after all laws are not made permanent and they need to keep with the time to meet the end of justice.

As to my silly thoughts when I first came here, why the Courts seal colored half of it red giving the illusion that the scale of justice is not balance is somewhat answered and I know which side I belong but my optimistic side is still hopeful that the course will change through time.