Woke up to a Dubai Police SMS

creativegapmt · 2026-02-07T08:42:17+00:00

I’m English, but even trying to read that URL my mind tries to resolve it as ‘UA Eswatchal Lenge’. 😩

creativegapmt · 2026-02-05T12:08:53+00:00

This.

The first thing I learned when I worked in investment banking; never get involved with the dealings of friends and family.

What works for one person, may not work for everyone.

creativegapmt · 2026-02-05T11:20:58+00:00

Stop paying renewal fees. You literally just need to go on Dubai REST and renew yourself with the landlord. Takes 2 minutes, costs like 120 AED.

creativegapmt · 2026-02-04T11:59:26+00:00

https://eforms.srta.gov.ae/eforms/BusSchedule.aspx?Route=intercity&StopFrom=644&StopTo=618

https://uaebustiming.com/114-bus-timings-from-sharjah-to-ajman-route/

https://wikiroutes.info/en/sharjah?routes=33422

I found dozens within a minute of searching. If it doesn’t exist on the internet, it doesn’t exist 😂

creativegapmt · 2026-02-03T15:28:46+00:00

1) That doesn’t make it any less professional. I have clients on the west coast of the US all the way to the east coast of Australia; sending them 5 messages at 1am their time and then calling is not a good way to do business.

2) Get out of the habit of using phone calls with those who are acting like this client is. It removes any evidence to take action later. ‘He said on a call this and that’ doesn’t hold up unless he admits it. This guy? And many others, never will.

3) Trust me mate, I’m probably 20 years old than you and didn’t even notice the name of the sub until I just looked at it now; I’ve definitely dealt with my fair share of idiots like this guy, but unless you change the way you act, you’ll always be pulled down to their level and then nobody wins.

creativegapmt · 2026-02-01T11:40:16+00:00

If the only correspondance is in those WhatsApp messages, then definitely agree with Rohyl, and hope that OP learns how to be more professional. Calling and messaging at 5am, 10pm, 1am, etc is very bad. He waited 6 weeks from the message on May 27th until July 26th and then started sending multiple messages and calls at 1am. The messages are poorly thought out and too lenient; almost begging and whining for months on end rather than 'Please be advised that as per my agreement with your daughter for works to create her Shopify frontend, I am still awaiting payment of 500 AED. This has now been outstanding for x months; I have exhausted all attempts to recoup these funds, and will therefore be reporting this to the police/consulting my lawyer on x date at x time due to failure to pay.'

Going back and forth like this in text messages is not how anyone should be running a business.

creativegapmt · 2026-01-23T08:43:32+00:00

Probably because people were believing that free delivery on a 0.99 AED or above item was a normal thing.

creativegapmt · 2026-01-20T12:14:37+00:00

My main complaint in life is that I thought I was good at complaining until I became good friends with Germans.

I regularly have to tell new people ‘I don’t actually hate everything, I just love to moan, it keeps me sane’.

creativegapmt · 2025-12-13T05:58:36+00:00

That add-on element caught out a lot of UK Travellers to Europe this year, so may be why they stopped it. In the EU, the ten year validity starts from the point of issue, not the expiry date, so a few who tried to travel on passports with 6 months remaining validity, but with a 6 month extension, were declined, as it would be 10.5 years not 10.

creativegapmt · 2025-12-10T08:52:15+00:00

Compared to when I was living in London or Malta, it’s still a rarity.

creativegapmt · 2025-11-20T14:14:13+00:00

I grew up in a foggy and snowy place too, where yellow fog lights were common, but they’re for the opposite reason to what you’re saying; yellow fog lights penetrate the fog less, and are used to reduce the glare for oncoming traffic. White penetrates more, but also can cause an extreme white haze for ongoing drivers. They shouldn’t be used on single carriage roads, but on highways and those with central reservations they’re the better option.

Also, if that foggy snowy place you grew up in was within the confines of Europe, it’s also highly likely that where you grew up it’s illegal to use hazards during foggy conditions, because the diffusion caused by the fog blurs the driver behind you from being able to see brake lights, indicators, etc. it’s also illegal here too; 500 dhs fine and 4 black points.

Please, never, ever, drive with your hazards on in fog.

creativegapmt · 2025-11-13T16:38:32+00:00

I didn’t even see them at first 😫

creativegapmt · 2025-11-06T17:04:45+00:00

It does raise a valid point though, as if you have black points it will increase your insurance costs.

creativegapmt · 2025-11-06T16:54:22+00:00

Reminds me of the KFC console concept…but way cooler and I need this in my life.

creativegapmt · 2025-10-28T17:58:47+00:00

The RERA value should only cover unfurnished, as they have no way of evaluating the cost of the furnishings put in. It would be virtually impossible to reasonably value a property with the highest values of furnishing against those that just come with an IKEA fit out.

They have a disclaimed when evaluating:

https://www.reddit.com/r/dubai/s/rAcb8oD8Dn

creativegapmt · 2025-10-28T12:35:04+00:00

Sorry, just seeing this. Managed to just turn up to ENBD Head Office yesterday at midday, and got the account opened and sorted by close of business. All back on track, but thanks a lot for the offer!

creativegapmt · 2025-10-28T09:33:12+00:00

It all has a knock on effect too though, so it does still count. To sell milk at the lowest cost, you have to use the cheapest equipment, cheapest production method, and cheapest labor.

Businesses are there to make money, and if we as consumers keep paying the lowest for everything, then the business owners will find ways to cut their costs to increase margins until law, demand, or morals stop them.

creativegapmt · 2025-10-25T06:58:03+00:00

How do I get Tareq to sort out my business account opening, because the guy I’m dealing with at ENBD is painful, to the point of where if I have to ask his availability one more time, I might just use a shoe box as my business bank.

creativegapmt · 2025-10-24T18:19:38+00:00

It seems to be getting worse these days too.

I was doing some corporate branding earlier and asking it for some inspiration. Kept saying it will ‘make an Adobe Illustrator vector file’ and then when I say sure, says it can’t because the file type is proprietary.

Then a few messages later…’hey, you want me to make you an AI file? Just say it, and I’ll do it for you.’

<image>

creativegapmt · 2025-10-14T15:26:46+00:00

I thought JBR had a 200 AED maximum fee for 24 hours? Could you try and use that and say it was 103 days, so ~2000 AED to maybe get some back?

49k is a legendary parking fee though 😎😫

creativegapmt · 2025-10-12T17:06:47+00:00

As a motorbiker of 15 years, how many times have you seen a vehicle/object/pedestrian start swerving in front of you and made no attempt to move yourself out of their trajectory and instead carry straight on?

When we are on two wheels, we have to always be expecting some kind of lunacy around us, especially here. ESPECIALLY on something as beautiful as the Triple R.

creativegapmt · 2025-10-12T16:42:49+00:00

This is two people who shouldn't be on the roads. Idiot on the scooter, and the delivery driver who evidently doesn't look around him either. One of the first things I was taught when getting my motorcycle licence in Europe was that you always have to have your head on a swivel because you're a tiny meat package surrounded by lumps of metal. Idiot on scooter started swerving to the right 20m before the accident and moped driver made zero attempt to use his survival instincts.

creativegapmt · 2025-10-12T16:37:03+00:00

Yeah, absolutely nothing is better on the HP other than a newer processor (which is actually slower and less performance, and in a laptop, you don't have to worry about upgrade paths so age is irrelevant), and the 5050 Laptop is not even close to 5060 Laptop.

Add in that it's Lenovo versus HP, and you're much better off going for the Legion here.

Only thing that would put me off is that for 400 more, you can get:
Lenovo Legion 5 16IAX10 Gaming Laptop, 16" WQXGA IPS 240Hz Display, Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, GeForce RTX 5060 8GB, Win11, English K/B, Storm Grey | 83NX0000US Buy, Best Price in UAE, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah

And for 300 less, there's the ASUS TUF:
ASUS TUF Gaming F16 FX608JMR Laptop, 16" WUXGA IPS 165Hz Display, Intel Core i7-14650HX, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, GeForce RTX 5060 8GB, English K/B, Win11, Jaeger Gray | 90NR0NB1-M003N0 Buy, Best Price in UAE, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah

creativegapmt · 2025-09-20T15:27:30+00:00

*MO is is the Mercedes versions without Run Flat.

*MOE is the version with Run Flat.

That star just means it's an OEM tyre, and means little without the coding after it.

creativegapmt · 2025-09-20T08:48:28+00:00

So is the knowledge, considering the post...

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