Abu Dhabi court orders renter to pay Dh105,000 after verbal deal claim rejected

Abu Dhabi: A young man who claimed he had negotiated a verbal agreement to rent a car for Dh350 per day instead of the Dh750 stated in his written contract has been ordered to pay more than Dh105,000 after the Abu Dhabi Commercial Court found no evidence supporting his claim.

The dispute, according to Emarat Al Youm, began when a car-rental company filed a lawsuit demanding Dh105,424 for 146 days of unpaid rental fees, including VAT, and an additional Dh917 for alleged traffic violations and Salik charges. 

The company argued that the customer had breached the terms of the signed contract and submitted the rental agreement as evidence.

In response, the defendant insisted that a verbal arrangement with a company representative set the daily rate at Dh350, reducing the total owed to Dh41,000. 

He said he had already paid Dh10,500 and was willing to pay Dh18,000 more, proposing to settle the remainder in installments. 

He asked the court to recognise the alleged verbal agreement as the binding arrangement and reject the company’s claim.

The court dismissed the argument, noting that the defendant had signed a written rental contract clearly stipulating a daily rate of Dh750. 

Based on the 146-day rental period, the total due amounted to Dh114,975 including VAT, of which Dh10,500 had already been paid, leaving Dh105,424 outstanding.

The judge ruled that the defendant could not rely on a verbal claim to contradict a written contract he acknowledged signing, calling his request to compel the plaintiff to take an oath “an abuse of process.” 

The court also rejected the company’s request for reimbursement of fines and Salik charges, ruling that no evidence had been submitted to support them.

The court ordered the defendant to pay Dh105,424 plus a 3 per cent delay interest rate, along with legal fees and court costs, while dismissing all other claims.