How our readers’ lives have been transformed

▶ We caught up with some of the readers whose cases we highlighted to see what happened next

Case one: Single mother of four was hounded by collectors over Dh43,000

Helping UAE residents resolve their debt issues has been the mission of The Debt Panel from its launch in April 2016.

Our experts have offered financial advice to more than 130 debtors, to help those struggling with chronic liabilities find a way out of their financial mess.

But what happens after the advice is delivered? We meet four of the people who turned to our panel this year to find out how their situation has moved on: Sumera Hasan, a single mother of four, from Pakistan, wrote to The

National in May because she was receiving up to 10 calls a day from collection agents over a Dh43,000 liability. The Dubai resident signed up for a loan and credit cards to help pay for the delivery of twins in April 2013. But her life took a downward spiral after she and her husband lost their jobs and he later left her to raise their children – a son, 14, daughter, 7, and twins, 5, – on her own. She managed to secure a job as a researcher earning Dh16,000 a month and started repaying her debts. However, by then the bank had outsourced the debt – which had mushroomed to Dh90,000 due to fees and charges – to a collection agency.

After her story was published, the bank agreed to accept a settlement against the debt of Dh25,000, which was generously paid off by two British readers as part of their zakat payment during the holy month of Ramadan

The situation now:

Ms Hasan says her finances are “very much under control since the debt burden was lifted off my shoulders”. She is now managing to make ends meet and says she will stick to her “commitment to never take on any debt in the future”.

“The Debt Panel taught me the importance of managing finances more carefully, avoiding as much as possible getting trapped in debts and the importance of saving money for tough times,” she says.

However, she admits that balancing the books is not always easy. She still earns a salary of Dh16,000, which is eaten up by the expenses of everyday life in the UAE, such as the Dh5,000 she spends on rent and Dh6,000 for school fees.

“It’s not easy for a single-income household to survive anymore, as inflation in Dubai continues to be on the rise,” she says. “My budgeting is pretty much inflow/outflow, salary to salary, with no room for extra expenses but we are able to survive within our means.”

However, Ms Hasan is now considering moving to another country to ensure her children’s future security. “I don’t foresee my stay in Dubai long term as expenses are on the rise and my salary increase is minimal,” she says.

“I would not want to go back to borrowing to survive in Dubai, I’ve learnt that the hard way.”