Woman rents car under fake name in Dubai, leaves Dh30,000 unpaid bill

Dubai - The student forged a rental contract, worth Dh75,000, and faked the complainant's signature on it.

A woman has stood trial in Dubai for allegedly posing as another woman to rent a car, accumulating Dh75,000 in dues, of which she only paid Dh45,000.
The Dubai Court of First Instance heard that the 33-year-old Emirati woman, a student, used the complainant's Emirates ID and driving licence. She sent copies of the documents via WhatsApp to an employee of a car rental agency.
According to Dubai public prosecution records, the student forged a rental contract, worth Dh75,000, and faked the complainant's signature on it.
She has been charged with fraud, forgery and use of forged document. The case was registered at the Bur Dubai police station.
"On June 24 last year, I got a call from the Dubai Police, notifying me about a bill in my name worth Dh30,000, due to a rental agency. They asked me to visit the police headquarters to show me that my personal documents were presented when renting the car," the complainant, a 46-year-old Emirati, told the prosecutor.
Upon checking the signature on the form, she immediately told the officers it was not hers.
"I told them the mobile number on the contract was the defendant's. I then remembered that I had sent copies of those documents to the defendant to buy a car from her. She had defrauded me then but I recovered my money. I don't know her apart from that deal."
An Egyptian employee at the rental agency said the defendant called him on February 18 last year.
"It was around 9.30pm. She wanted to rent a car and then sent an ID and a driver's licence on WhatsApp, along with her house location."
He went to her house in Al Quoz the following day to drop the car. "A veiled woman went out to meet me. She took the car and its keys after signing the rental contract."
According to the employee, the woman wanted to rent the car for a month.
"However, she kept it till May 8 last year and accumulated Dh75,000 in bills, of which she only paid Dh45,000. She said she would settle the outstanding dues, worth Dh 30,000, later but she did not."
As the car had a GPS, the employee noticed that, most of the time, it was parked outside the house in Al Quoz. "She claimed it was her friend's place. I picked up the car from an elderly woman, supposedly her mother. I filed a complaint later at the police station. I was surprised to learn that the documents used to rent the car belonged to another woman."
During police interrogation, the accused admitted she used the car.
The trial has been adjourned to March 1.
mary@khaleejtimes.com
 

• Dubai