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Filipina expatriate Andrea* could hardly imagine what Dh1.7 million looks like, let alone fork out such an amount — or even a tenth of it — to pay that credit card debt she had incurred over the last 10 years.

#debt #debtfree #financialfreedom

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00:00I came to Dubai year 2003 as a visitor only, not planning on staying, but then I decided
00:11to stay because I've always had this dream of becoming someone big in another country
00:17and be a proud Filipino, very successful in a different country, not on her own land.
00:26And then, I tried to look for a job and then I got a job and opportunities just flowed.
00:39And then eventually, because of that, I had a client who offered me a different job in
00:47real estate.
00:49So when the financial crisis hit, I was also the one let go.
00:53I was one of those employees who was let go by the company.
00:57And then problems started when I, of course, I didn't have a job that time, so I can't
01:04pay for the monthly payment for my credit cards and loan.
01:09I had credit cards and loan, car loan and a personal loan, plus the credit cards.
01:17As for the credit card alone, it's not an exact amount, but I think all in all, it
01:24would be around 150, 150, because most probably 50,000 for my car.
01:33What happened next was the banks, they started calling me because they can't see any payments
01:39from me.
01:41So they started harassing me, even calling back home, the Philippines.
01:48And then eventually, my mom knew about it and I told them that I lost my job.
01:54First, I didn't tell them I lost my job because I thought I can get a job after that.
02:01But I had a hard time.
02:03I had a hard time, and I don't know, nobody was, no company was really hiring that time.
02:10And then, good thing, my friend was here.
02:13She was a flight attendant, and then she recommended me to people she knows.
02:19So a company was willing to hire me, but the bank was not, what do you call this?
02:25They wanted a guarantor, but the employer didn't want her as a guarantor for me, for
02:33the bank.
02:35But she gave me a job for almost three years.
02:38That's how I was able to, of those 10 years, three years she gave me a job, so I was able
02:44to survive at least for my rent, for my food, and then, yeah, just for the daily expenses.
02:51And then, after that, I got another job.
02:55She recommended me to her friend because she closed the company.
02:57She recommended me again to a friend of hers.
03:00Again, they're willing to help, but not as a guarantor.
03:03So I stayed in that job for almost five years.
03:08So that's how I was able to survive.
03:11I think the biggest mistake those past 10 years was that during those times that I was
03:16having a hard time, I had a lot of discussions with people who also had debts or liabilities
03:25even bigger than mine, like half a million or a million dirhams, who's also the same
03:33as mine.
03:34But they kept telling me, the banks will not adjust the amount.
03:41You have to do the one-shot payment.
03:44If the amount is 500,000, you have to pay twice as that.
03:48So I was really afraid, so I went into hiding for those 10 years.
03:52So I was really afraid, so I don't really go out.
03:59I just go to work, to and from work, and that's it.
04:02And then, I got depressed for three years, and eventually, I got out of it because out
04:12of nowhere, my mom called me.
04:15That call, just one call.
04:21Then, yeah, everything seemed easy.
04:27And then I told her about how I found out about Gulf Law.
04:31I think I missed a lot of amnesties that time.
04:35I went to the consulate and embassy, but they told me I can't apply for the amnesty because
04:40I have a police case.
04:48So I was disappointed that time.
04:52I missed a lot of amnesties.
04:53Even the legal aid, I was not able to get one.
04:58So I started searching for pro bono lawyers online, and then came across a lot of articles
05:04about Tutor LeBarney, who was able to help a lot of Filipinos who has more complicated
05:11problems than me.
05:12And then that article really helped me.
05:14I think that article, they said, you wrote that article.
05:17So it really encouraged me and made me more informed the right way, the legal way.
05:25Because all I knew that time, all those 10 years, I was misinformed.
05:31But then, because as I've said, I read the article, there were a lot.
05:36It gave me hope and courage.
05:39So that hope and courage helped me take the first step.
05:44The first step was to contact Gulf Law.
05:48I even wrote a letter to Attorney Barney asking for legal assistance.
05:55And then, God knows, Ms. Yvonne called and told me to have a meeting with them.
06:06So that meeting really helped me a lot.
06:10It took away all the misinformation that I know from all those years.
06:17Imagine, 10 years, I've wasted those 10 years.
06:21I've wasted those 10 years with misinformation, being misinformed.
06:28And then that discussion helped me a lot.
06:34They told me how Attorney Barney was able to help a lot of Filipinos with problems like
06:40mine.
06:41And then I thought, okay, if I don't move forward, if I don't take a step, even just
06:46a baby step, even just a little step, I won't go anywhere.
06:51My credit cards ballooned up to 1.7 million due to the interest for those 10 years.
06:57And then the bank helped with the Gulf Law's negotiation with the bank.
07:03They reduced it to 15,100 for both the cards.
07:08If you're an OFW, if you want to be a worker abroad, you have to take into consideration
07:16that you can live the life here, meaning in living the life here, you can eat their food,
07:25you can spend on basic items like paying for your rent, your basic necessities.
07:33At least it should cover your monthly capacity, your earning capacity.
07:40Always, always, I always tell others, check your earning capacity first.
07:47If you can really open up a credit card or a loan, or if you really want to, of course,
07:55everyone wants to drive their own car in a different country.
08:00Always check your earning capacity first.
08:03And always, always save up money.
08:07You have to save money.
08:08At least 40% of what you're earning, you have to save up.
08:14That was what I learned in working abroad.
08:18When Andrea went to us, it was just a regular case asking for an assistance.
08:27But then when we looked into the details, we found out that it's been more than 10 years
08:32that the account was not paid.
08:35And then when we look at the amount, she had no idea.
08:39She doesn't have any of the, even the account number, she doesn't know.
08:43So we have to trace everything.
08:45And then when we found out that the two cards would have about 850,000 each, totaling about
08:521.7 million, and I was really thinking, hmm, maybe settlement is not, I mean, we could
09:00still make a settlement, but on a practical level, most likely the banks would be asking
09:05also a considerable amount of money.
09:08I mean, based on experience, if we are able to cut it into half or we are able to waive
09:12about 60 to 70%, that would be a good settlement.
09:18So but let's say 70% of 1.7, it's still a big amount.
09:23So then I said, it's a bit challenging because we don't have any papers, we don't have any
09:29statement of accounts, where do we start?
09:32How do I know how come it ended up into 1.7 million?
09:38But then I said, I cannot tell this person that, well, you're stuck here.
09:43I cannot tell her that, you know, you will not be able to go back home.
09:47So we have to look for solutions.
09:50And then I said, okay, even though we don't have the history, then we should ask.
09:58It's a good thing that I have been working with several banks for almost about 6-7 years.
10:07And because of that relationship, they know that if we approach them, they know that we
10:12are not playing around.
10:14They know that we really want to settle, and it's an opportunity for the banks to recover
10:19what they have lost.
10:21So it's not like we are there to make them appear bad or to play with them.
10:26We really want to settle the case of our clients, and if that will happen, then the
10:34banks would also benefit.
10:36So they were very cooperative, and they know that if they don't cooperate, we know the
10:42steps to do, you know, so that they will cooperate, which later on I can share with you the step-by-step process.
10:50So we found out that most of these are interests, most of these are finance charges, and this
10:59year being the year of tolerance, maybe it's also a good position for the bank to have
11:07this settled.
11:08You know, let's all be practical for 10 years already.
11:13If you will give me a ridiculous amount, and I will just tell you, okay, we'll just not
11:17make the settlement, because I don't want the bank to waste their time, and we don't
11:21want to waste our time as well, and I don't want to give false hope to Andrea.
11:28So they ended up asking for, actually it started with 100,000, and then they said it's impossible,
11:38ended up with 25,000, until we reached 25,000, and then they said, I will not be able to,
11:45you know, even if I would help the client, I would not be able to raise 25,000, it even
11:50went to 17,500, and then, oh, this is really the money coming from the Philippines, which
11:57is really true, you know, and I said, you know, the mother, she's already old, and then
12:03she will just use this money, and then we agreed, 15,100, and I said to Andrea, you
12:12are holding the money already, go to the bank tomorrow, this is the account number,
12:17we already have your settlement letter, sign it, and have the police case cleared.
12:24So now, we have the clearance, after the date, it's weekend tomorrow, on Sunday, we can have
12:33the police case withdrawn.
12:36You know, this case, it's special, because considering the amount, and the reduction,
12:43we can highlight the fact that there is always hope, you know, people who got depressed,
12:52people who think that their lives have, you know, have ended, and how will they face the
12:57world again, that this story, if they would learn about this story, they would know what
13:03happened, this should enable them to be determined, you know, stay focused, and with the help
13:12of the right people, and there are so many people who are willing to help, they just
13:17have to also open up, you know, don't think that you are the only one with this problem,
13:26it's not really a, I mean, it's not good that you're not able to pay your debts, but
13:34it doesn't make you less of a person, you know, you still have your dignity, you will
13:42not lose it, and the fact that you want it resolved only shows that you are really a
13:47good person, that you are not running away from your obligation.
13:56For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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