Abu Dhabi Court orders bank to refund Dh149,467 to retiree after unlawful salary deductions

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation has upheld a lower court ruling ordering a bank to reduce a retiree’s monthly loan instalment to no more than 30 percent of his pension and to refund a total of Dh149,467 that had been unlawfully deducted from his salary, Al Khaleej Arabic daily reported.

The decision leaves in place a Court of Appeal judgment requiring the bank to cut the retiree’s monthly payment on an Ijara financing contract to Dh4,270.50, a 30 percent of his Dh14,235 pension. The court also ordered the bank to return the excess deductions of Dh9,964.8 a month for 15 months. The court also ordered the bank to pay court fees, expenses, and Dh1,000 in attorney’s fees to the retiree, and to forfeit its security deposit.

According to court documents, the retiree sued the bank, claiming he had entered a shared-ownership Ijara contract with an eventual transfer of title four years earlier. Under the agreement, he was to pay monthly instalments of Dh13,897, deducted from his then-salary of Dh23,900. He said he was later surprised to find the payment raised to Dh22,000.

The situation worsened when his employer referred him to retirement, cutting his monthly income to Dh14,235. Despite this, the bank continued deducting the full amount of his pension each month. The retiree said he never defaulted on his payments but was left without any remaining income, prompting him to file suit.

The Court of First Instance ruled in his favour, ordering the instalment reduction and refund. The Court of Appeal upheld the decision. The bank then filed a cassation appeal, which the Court of Cassation rejected on the grounds that the case fell below the minimum value threshold for such appeals.