UAE legal Q&As: Company charging me for service I didn’t agree to

One reader asks about oral consent after he says he said no to a service upgrade but got one anyway, while another reader is concerned about how her child's nursery operates.

Q: Someone from a telecoms company called me offering to upgrade my subscription but I declined and ended the call. So I was surprised to receive a message from the company the following day informing me of the upgrade and its activation, since March, at Dh58 a month. I visited its branch at Mall of the Emirates in Dubai and told them I did not request the upgrade and would like to cancel it. A member of staff agreed to do so but said I had to pay Dh58 for March, and that I could get my money back only by filling out a complaint form. What does the law say about giving one's oral consent over the phone? Do establishments, firms, have the right to approve a request, for instance for an insurance card, merely by obtaining a customer's approval over the phone?

A: Just like written consent, oral consent is considered an expression of will. A contract is entered into once both parties express a common will subject to the conditions set forth by the law for entering into a contract, and this can be achieved either orally or in writing. Accordingly, oral consent given face to face or over the phone is just as valid as written consent. So if you did agree orally to the upgrade, you are compelled to pay the subscription fee. However, if you did not agree orally, file the complaint and request that the company listens to the recording of the conversation. If the recording confirms your position, the contract was not entered into and the company cannot force you to pay the amount.

Q: I send my few months old baby to a nursery but I discovered that they keep her with the older children in one room. I'm concerned because this may cause infection as babies' immune systems are not that strong. What can I do?

A: There is no legal basis to this question. It is purely a matter of the nursery’s policy on how it operates. I would suggest you speak to the nursery manager and explain your fears to them. If you find they are not responsive, you can always move your child to another nursery of your choice.

If you have a question for our lawyer, Yousef Al Bahar, please email it to [e-mail] with the subject line “Know the law”.