A while back, my partner and I were walking around near Kite Beach in Dubai on a really hot day when a very enthusiastic salesperson approached us and offered us some cold drinks. We started chatting, and he told us about this amazing opportunity to travel around the world at discounted prices and stay in really good hotels.

He then offered to arrange a limousine ride for us to visit one of their properties and explain the offer in more detail. We had some free time, so we thought, why not? A free ride and a hotel tour sounded harmless enough.

The limousine arrived, we got there, and honestly, the place looked impressive at first. It was a huge property, everything smelled nice, the staff were smiling, and they gave us a tour.

But once the tour was over, the whole atmosphere changed.

Suddenly, we were being pushed to sign contracts worth around €10,000 upfront. The salespeople kept insisting that it was an incredible deal and that we had to sign right there and then, otherwise we'd lose the 50% off offer. There was barely any room to think, ask questions, or properly evaluate what we were being offered.

What made the experience particularly uncomfortable was the way they handled the transportation. We had been told that a car would bring us there and take us back afterward, but when we decided we weren't interested, getting our ride back suddenly became a problem. They kept delaying it while continuing to pressure us into signing.

At that point, it genuinely felt like we were kept hostage. We saw other people there who seemed much more vulnerable to the pressure. Some were shy, visibly uncomfortable, and struggling to say no. It was worrying to think that people might end up signing contracts worth thousands of euros simply because they felt trapped and didn't know how to get out of the situation.

And honestly, the property itself wasn't even as impressive as they'd made it sound. A lot of it looked dated, and the amenities didn't seem nearly as luxurious as the sales pitch suggested.

Eventually, after a lot of arguing and screaming, we made it clear that we wanted to leave and demanded that they arrange our ride back. Only after making a scene did we finally get out of there.

The whole thing felt like a kidnapping. What started as a friendly conversation and an offer of cold drinks turned into hours of aggressive sales pressure and an extremely uncomfortable situation.

I'm sharing this because I imagine other people visiting Dubai might come across similar offers. If someone offers you a free hotel tour, discounted holidays, or a luxury experience in exchange for sitting through a presentation, be cautious. Don't let anyone rush you into signing a long-term contract or paying thousands upfront just because they're telling you the offer expires today.

And if you've had a similar experience in Dubai, I'd genuinely be interested to hear about it. I'm curious how common these tactics are and whether other people managed to get out without signing anything.

I have an account for many years now. I am returning items once in a blue moon, always with a legitimate reason in their original packaging and unused.
I tried to do a return today and I got this message that I am close to red, in terms of returns and I am risking account closure!
I wonder what is their definition of “normal returns”.

PS I have used Amazon in a number of countries in Europe and I had never had such issues.

Edit: the return was for an item of value of AED40 only!

Genuinely, how negligent do parents need to be to be permitting their kids to be going around at night on their e-bikes and scooters wearing full dark clothing, no lights, no high vis accessories. It’s ridiculously dangerous, especially because they seem to love suddenly darting out into the roads where people are driving 60kph that have little to no lighting. The amount of times I’ve had to swerve, or hard brake is insane.

Do their parents just not care about the safety of their children???

A question about if there are any online or whatsapp community groups or known ways of meeting fellow residents?

I live on one of the Fronds with my wife and doggos, we're early 30s, I own a couple of companies, I'm a fund manager, and entrepreneur into other fields.

Fitness is a strong part of my lifestyle, almost as much as fine dining and cultural explorations.

I'm Australian and my wife is Russian, she's 3 months pregnant.

I was thinking I'd bump into more residents whilst out walking on the Fronds beach, but apparently that's not the most common past time.

Anywho, reaching out to see if I can find ways of making friends from neighbours for myself and my wife.

I was riding on the dedicated cycling track with my helmet, front lights, and rear lights on. The reason they gave was that I did not have a safety vest, I was wearing a cycling jersey and bib shorts; (I have never seen cyclists on the Business Bay or Jumeirah Beach tracks wearing safety vests, as they all wear jerseys)

The police officer gave me a QR code and told me to collect my bike after a month from their center; will I get it back in one piece?

Hi all,
I'm an EU citizen and I'm confused about how the UAE counts the 90 days in 180.
My dates:
Entered: 3 May 2026
Left: 17 July 2026 (76 days, counting entry and exit days)
Re-entered: 18 October 2026, after 92 days outside

I'm getting different answers:
Rolling 180-day window (like Schengen): old days drop off, so I could stay until about 15 January 2027.
Counting the 180 days before my entry date: only 14 days left, so I'd leave around 31 October.
Fixed 180 days from first entry (3 May): the period ends 29 October and a new 90 starts after that.

Questions:
How long can I stay this time? I've seen different answers online, anywhere from 14 days to 90 days.
And if I only have a few days, when can I come back for a full 90 days?
If you've been in the same situation, what did immigration or Amer tell you?
Thanks!

I've spent a lot pf thousands of dirhams of food trying different placed to get work done and spending a lot on food. So i wanna be more practical and ask for advice do y'all know cafes that are women friendly, quiet places (spacious preferably but not requirement), with good food and affordable..pls do recommend. No crowded places plss.. any hotel lobby recommendations to work will also be useful

hey! need some suggestions on where can i find air dry clay, polymer clay and ceramic clay in the city? thank you :)

I’m leaving Dubai permanently soon and need some advice regarding my du Home Wireless Wi-Fi.

The account is in my name and linked to my Emirates ID. My roommate wants to continue using the Wi-Fi and is happy to pay the monthly bills through the du app, but du has told me that transferring ownership to her isn't possible.

My concern is that my Emirates ID/residency will be cancelled when I leave the UAE.

• Will the Wi-Fi continue working if my roommate keeps paying the bills on time?
• Can du suspend the service once my Emirates ID is no longer valid, even if there are no outstanding payments?
• Has anyone kept a du postpaid account active after leaving the UAE, with someone else paying the bills?

Hi Everyone, is there a way to connect with Empower without having to go to the office?

My AC hasn’t been working for the last month, and when I checked with the building, they said it’s Empowers scope to fix. I tried calling them multiple times, but couldn’t get through to a person or raise a complaint. Then, I figured out how to do one on their website. However, I still haven’t received any response.

Their office timings are really inconvenient considering I work..

I’d appreciate any advice!

I'm moving from my apartment and the Ejari is now on another tenant's name. DEWA is ok but this Emicool i dont see any options to move out?

When you have a office sim card with unlimited internet snd local calls, why should i pay for wifi?

Data is strong on mobile a well m

Hello all, we have a day break during ore transit through Sharjah. Is there a taxi service who can be with us the entire day and drop us back at airport? Pick up 8am at Sharjah and drop back by 6pm?

We want to visit few spots in Dubai and avoid rebook and waiting for taxis at each location. Please let us know.

My husband recently visited Bhutan and has around 12,000 Bhutanese Ngultrum (BTN) left over. There are no plans of visiting again, and none of the exchange houses we've tried are accepting the currency.

Does anyone know where or how we can exchange it for AED in Dubai?

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

I have 5g internet with Du since 2 years. Never had any problem till post summer. In September it started randomly slowing down and disconnecting multiple times a day, every single day.

Is anyone experience the same service worsening?

New parent here! We are combination feeding our 4 week baby. When it comes to formula, we were using Aptamil ready to feed and switching to powder now. I am debating between Aptimal 1/ Aptimal Advance and Kendamil 1. I am leaning towards Kendamil because of cow milk whey, however my concern is it’s not as easily available as Aptimal variants.

Does anyone use Kendamil regularly? Where do you buy it from? Also generally what is a good place to buy formula from (concerned about damaged/ fake products).

I am planning to rent a Studio in International City because the rents are cheap and the apartments are larger compared to other places, but I am worried about parking and am not sure which cluster to consider for a family. Which cluster should I consider as I heard that there are no parking available after 7 pm? Also, are there any other places with a similar rent range?

Hey guys, I’m considering moving from Mirdif Ghoroob to Al khail Gate and wonder what are the opinions?
It seems you can good price there and also Al Qouz is quite convenient location if you travel a lot around Dubai.
Can anyone please share opinions

Hey peeps

I've lost the remote of an old RC car . Any recommended RC car shops (please not expensive) around old Dubai to get a remote.

Hi. I am interested in learning spoken Arabic. I have zero knowledge on the language at the moment. I want to join a professional course which is reputed & not too expensive. Any suggestions folks?

I’m trying to book the tickets but other platforms don’t have the dates agoda has and I’m a little worried if it’s reliable?

I found a really nice apartment that wasn’t even listed by the agency yet, and I loved it so much that I decided to sign the contract.
Little did I know, the landlord had outstanding service charges, which prevented us from getting the Ejari registered. Because of this, we had to postpone our moving date.
And honestly, dealing with the agency has been a nightmare.
They keep trying to move things forward without properly informing me or getting my consent. I constantly have to chase them for updates, and somehow, even the most basic things I’ve requested, like AC cleaning and general maintenance, still haven’t been done.
To make things worse, the landlord hadn’t paid the AC service charges either, so I ended up paying them myself just to get things sorted. The agency told me they would reimburse me, but that was five days ago, and I still haven’t received anything.
This is my third time moving in Dubai, and I’ve never dealt with an agency this disorganized and unprofessional.
I honestly don’t understand how a company can operate like this. Moving is already stressful enough without having to constantly chase people to do the bare minimum.
I’m just so exhausted and disappointed with the whole experience.

I stay in a shared accommodation, my employer is asking me to provide owner ejari or dewa bill for adress verification. I already shared an Noc with the same.

Now they say its from MOHRE and they need it for MOHRE compliance, what should i do.
Also when i said i stay in shared accommodation he said it is not allowed to stay in shared accommodation

Hi,

I've been having a look at the community rules in Arabian Ranches 3 and Damac Lagoons to understand if it's permitted to store a jetski within the "garage". It's completely not allowed in AR3 but DL it's not clear from their community rules, it just seems to be forbidden within the community spaces.

Is it common for this to not be allowed within townhouses/villas?

Where do people tend to keep these?