DUBAI // Dozens of homeowners in Discovery Gardens have been hit with unexpected fees after their mortgage company contracted out management of their buildings.
Several dozen signed a letter last month addressed to Tamweel, which financed many buyers, protesting about what they claimed were excessive fees and opaque business practices.
They said they had chosen Tamweel on the premise that it had bought buildings in Discovery Gardens with the intention of continuing to manage them, while selling individual units. However, months after handing over downpayments, many said they were surprised to learn that the buildings had instead been sold to third-party individuals and companies.
The flat owners say that when they approached Tamweel with Rera's ruling, it responded that the fees were out of its hands, telling them to take it up with the new building owners.
Michael Aldendorff said he was asked in a letter from Tamweel late last year to pay more than Dh51,500 (US$14,000) in charges to a company he had never heard of. His bill included a building registration fee, and an affection fee, for the documents that define the area of the flat. Rera has since said that both of these charges should be met by building owners, not flat owners.
"Since Tamweel took out full-page ads in newspapers in 2007 about Discovery Gardens flats, there was never any mention of these third-party building owners," he said.
"We're paying exorbitant charges that even Rera says we don't have to pay, there's a lack of clarity, and nobody's taking responsibility.
"At the end of the day, my mortgage is with Tamweel, and they're all I've ever dealt with on this issue - so, in my opinion, they're the responsible party."
However, in an e-mail statement, Tamweel disputed the accusations, saying that its "[c]ustomers were aware that Tamweel sold the property in its capacity as the agent acting on behalf of the investor/building owners".
The company also said the fees it listed in its letters were "guided by the fee structure communicated by the building owners and Nakheel. None of the fees have been retained by Tamweel."
The reason Tamweel had instructed homeowners to pay third-party building owners, the statement added, "was to facilitate the handover process [of the flats]".
But there seemed to be confusion between Tamweel and Nakheel as to where queries about fees should be directed.
If customers had any issues regarding fees, the Tamweel statement said, "they should take [up] the matter directly with the building owners and Nakheel who have actually received the fees."
Yet in response to similar questions, Nakheel said in an e-mail statement that such concerns should be directed elsewhere: "Any queries of matters between building owners and their purchasers need to be addressed directly to the parties involved."
Krishna Vura, 35, an Indian national, made a Dh60,000 downpayment for a one-bedroom flat in June 2007.
In a letter late last year, Tamweel instructed him to send it a cheque for Dh31,101.72; it was for fees, to be made payable to an unfamiliar third-party building owner.
"I received a message on my mobile from the new building owner saying, 'Congratulations, your flat is ready,'" he said.
"He said I had to pay a certain amount in order to get the keys, and all I was thinking was, 'Who are you? I literally have no connection with you.'"
Mr Vura approached Tamweel and Nakheel about the issue on several occasions, but received mixed responses from each. He then decided to pay the fees because he feared he would not receive the keys to his flat.
"I feel like I've fallen into a trap, like there's no light at the end of the tunnel," he said. He said he paid around Dh8,900 a month in fees and mortgage instalments.
Bhaskar Gollapudi, 43, from India, complained that his building owner asked him to pay more than Dh44,000 in fees last year.
The charges included a building registration fee of Dh5,000, and an affection plan fee of Dh2,000.
"We were never told about these third-party building owners," said Mr Gollapudi. "All the documents we've signed with Tamweel are rubbish now.
"If you have a complaint, Tamweel just tells you to go and talk to the building owners."
hnaylor@thenational.ae
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2016 - 279
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2014 - 143
2013 - 63
2012 - 384
2011 - 883
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- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
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- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
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Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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Inter Milan 1 (Martinez 18' pen)
Juventus 2 (Dybala 4', Higuain 80')
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
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SPECS
%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%20Supercharged%203.5-litre%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20400hp%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20430Nm%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Now%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh450%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
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Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
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Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
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Kelela
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Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
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Prophets of Rage
(Fantasy Records)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
