Abu Dhabi Court orders bank to refund customer Dh189,873 for unjustified credit card interest

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Commercial Court (First Instance) has ordered a local bank to refund Dh189,873 to a customer after ruling that the amount had been unjustly charged as interest on a credit card over a period of ten years, despite the absence of any agreement between the two parties on an applicable interest rate, Emarat Al Youm reported. 

The court also directed the bank to pay the plaintiff an additional Dh25,000 in compensation for the financial and moral damage suffered, and to close the disputed credit card account permanently.

Court records show that the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the bank, seeking repayment of Dh189,873, the amount he claimed the bank had wrongfully collected, as well as Dh100,000 in damages. 

He also requested that his credit information be corrected, including the removal of a “weak” credit classification, and asked the bank to bear the legal costs and attorney’s fees.

The plaintiff explained that he had obtained a credit card from the defendant bank and had been making regular payments since 2015.

However, he was later surprised to find that the bank continued to demand payments exceeding the card’s value and had charged excessive amounts in interest. 

Despite having paid substantial sums over a ten-year period, the bank still claimed that he owed Dh115,185, an amount he described as unjustified.

The bank’s legal representative responded by seeking the dismissal of the case, arguing procedural defects and lack of standing, while also requesting that the plaintiff be ordered to cover legal fees.

In its ruling, the court cited Article provisions from the UAE Commercial Transactions Law, which define a bank loan as a contract under which a bank provides funds as a loan to a client, who in turn agrees to repay the principal and interest according to the agreed terms.

The court-appointed expert examined the customer’s credit card account, covering transactions between December 2014 and July 2025, and determined that there was no written agreement or documented consent between the bank and the customer regarding the interest rate or the specific terms of the credit facility.

The expert recalculated the interest based on a simple 9 per cent rate, eliminating all unauthorised charges and additional interest fees imposed by the bank. 

According to the revised figures, the customer had withdrawn a total of Dh1,064,879 and had repaid Dh1,265,484, leaving the bank owing him Dh189,873.

The court said it was “satisfied with the expert’s findings and the soundness of the methodology adopted,” emphasizing that the bank had failed to present any valid documents disproving the debt or establishing that the interest was lawfully agreed upon.

Based on these findings, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, ordering the bank to pay the Dh189,873 in unlawfully collected funds, Dh25,000 in damages, and cover all court fees and legal costs. The judgment also confirmed the customer’s full discharge from any outstanding credit card debt and the closure of the card account.

In its reasoning, the court stated that the bank had caused harm to the customer by withholding funds to which he was entitled, making compensation necessary to “restore the financial balance” between the parties.