Dubai: Lending a helping hand to a long-time friend has left a Pakistani man neck deep in trouble.
Hafiz Mubeen Ashraf, 33, borrowed Dh128,000 from five banks using his credit cards in the mistaken belief that it will help his friend land a job.
But as it turned out, the money was never returned and Ashraf’s debt mounted to Dh170,000.
“I have been wronged and I want is to see those responsible brought to book,” says Ashraf, who forked out over Dh8,000 in monthly instalments towards credit card dues, hoping he would recover the money someday.
From bad to worse
His situation worsened when he lost his Dh20,000 finance manager’s job at a Dubai trading firm three months ago.
“I just couldn’t carry on paying someone else’s debts,” adds Ashraf. According to him, Dh100,000 from the loaned amount went to meet a ‘pre-condition’ by an Arab woman who offered his friend Syed a Dh15,000 job at her interior design company in Jumeirah Village Circle. “Syed took the rest for himself,” recalls Ashraf. “I didn’t suspect a thing. The woman said she needed Dh100,000 to seal a deal for her company and could only offer the job to Syed after she had that money. She gave me a post-dated cheque of Dh100,000 to make it all look credible but when it came to actually cashing it in January, the cheque turned out dud,” said Ashraf, who has since registered a criminal case after the woman reneged on her promises to pay back. “Every time I asked for my money, she’d send me text messages saying she would pay shortly. But the money never came,” said Ashraf who became a father for the first time in May.
“It was a double whammy for me as Syed, my friend for 18 years, went absconding. All he had managed to pay me before going into hiding was Dh12,100. After that he changed his mobile number and every other contact detail. I am told he continues to live and work in the UAE. Today I am in no position to either pay the banks or even afford a lawyer to fight my case,” says Ashraf.
YOUSPEAK: Has a friend or relative taken advantage of your kindness?
