Thanks again folks. I'll follow this advice. I hope it doesn't come to court action but I suppose I'll have to cross that bridge hen I come to it. I'll keep you updated on the progress (or lack thereof - fingers crossed). Namaste, JR

Thanks for the feedback folks. It's much appreciated as this is a difficult time. Do you have any advice about how to stop the debt collectors harassing me on my return? Is it best to deny that I am am who I am and hope they go away or should I say I am who I am and get a solicitor involved if they harass? Do you have any links to some template letters I could send to help alleviate the situation? Thanks again! JR

Dear CAG, I am a UK citizen who is resident in Dubai, UAE. I lost my job a couple of weeks ago and am not having success in finding employment. I have a personal loan for AED 180,000 (around 30k Sterling) and in 10 days, the next payment will default. I am acutely aware of the penalties of this. My security cheque will be bounced criminalising me and making me eligible for a prison term. I have booked a flight back to the Scotland and I am looking for some advice. I have been crawling the web for the last week non-stop to find any case of a UAE bank successfully recovering a debt from a UK citizen when they have returned home. I have recently started emailing UK debt collection agencies under the guise of representing a (non-disclosed) UAE bank to probe their powers in collection but have yet to receive a response that tells me they have any legal jurisdiction. They tell me that they have 'legal rights to pursue' but that just sounds like they are allowed to chase the money, not actually legally recover it through a court. Can anyone confirm this? I know this question has been posted before, but I would like to provide more detail. I am an Emirates NDB customer and they are one of the largest banks out here. Has anybody been in my situation with this bank before? I am fully aware that once I return to the UK, my debt will most likely be sold to a collection agency. Does the UAE bank have any other option to recover the monies? Once the debt is sold, what is the best course of action to get the debt collectors off my case? I will be moving back to my elderly mother and I don't want them turning up making threats. Any advice on this would be hugely appreciated. A worried Scottish gent. JR