I work in a semi- government company based in Abu Dhabi and I have a family friend who started a business a few years ago and asked me for help. She asked me to get credit cards for her so that she could use them for online purposes. This was almost three years ago. She has now started defaulting on the minimum payments and the bank is now calling me when payments are not made. It is rather embarrassing as they call my office. I have told her to pay off the cards so I can cancel them but she is not willing o do this as she has some financial problems. I need some advice. Is there any chance that the cards can be transferred to her on some legal basis so the banks will stop harassing me? MM, Abu Dhabi
When someone takes out a credit card it is for their own use and they are not permitted to give the cards to a third party. Even a spouse should not have use of it, and supplementary cards for second account-holders are available in that scenario. It is contrary to the legal terms and conditions of any card to hand it over to someone else for their use and the signing of this paperwork when applying for a card is taken as agreement to the specified terms. While the precise wording will vary between the providers of credit cards, they will all include a phrase along the lines of, “The usage of the card is restricted to the cardholder and for their personal use”. It will also state something like, “the cardholder shall not allow any third party to use the card for any purpose.” MM has therefore broken the terms of the agreement with the bank and if they find out they will be within their rights to cancel the card and demand immediate repayment of the full outstanding balance.
MM is solely responsible for all repayments, no matter if he has permitted someone else to use the cards, and he will have to bear the liabilities and consequences of defaulting on repayments. He should also be aware that defaulting on repayments will affect his personal credit record with Al Etihad Credit Bureau and this can affect the ability to take out future loans, mortgages and credit cards.
An existing credit card cannot be transferred to another person, so MM will need to arrange to cancel these cards and obtain payment in full, although as his actions are contrary to the credit agreement he has no legal recourse with the family friend to whom he gave the cards. The lesson here is never to allow other people to run up debts where the responsibility for repayment lies with you, and not to let any third parties use any credit cards in your name.
Keren Bobker is an independent financial adviser and Senior Partner with Holborn Assets in Dubai, with over 20 years’ experience. Contact her at keren@holbornassets.com. Follow her on Twitter at @FinancialUAE.
The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only.
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