A Nightmare Experience of EOI refund with BINGHATTI DEVELOPERS SKYRISE PROJECT: Lessons for International Investors. ( No Refund yet)

As a resident and citizen of Finland (EU citizen), I decided to invest in Dubai’s real estate market due to the positive impression it left on me. After conducting extensive research, I chose to invest in a project with a reputed developer. Following my due diligence, I selected Binghatti’s project named Skyrise, with a budget of 1 million AED.

I approached the developer through a lady agent, Pari Hazarika, who claimed to be a registered agent with her company, WARSON REAL ESTATE LLC. However, upon further investigation, it turned out that she was not registered under her name but with another person. The agent introduced me to Binghatti’s sales representative, Abbad Siddiqui, and sales head, Mr. Naresh Gollapalli, stating that she had good professional relations with them.

After initial discussions and detailed due diligence, I received both written and verbal communication from the sales representative, Abbad Siddiqui, and agent Pari Hazarika, assuring me that the EOI (Expression of Interest) money of 40,000 AED (approximately 10,000 Euros) would be fully refundable if I decided not to proceed with the allotted unit in the second phase of unit allotment. Based on these assurances, I transferred the money on November 17, 2024, directly to Binghatti Developers’ account to avoid any potential issues.

Prior to this, I had communicated my budget, unit requirements, floor preferences, and size specifications clearly via email and WhatsApp. Despite this, I was not offered any unit that matched my requirements. Consequently, within one day, I officially emailed their sales team and informed them via WhatsApp to initiate the refund process for my EOI money.

What followed was a highly stressful and unprofessional experience. The sales representative misled and misguided me multiple times. He failed to inform me about the correct process or the need to contact other internal departments which wasn't even mentioned in EOI, for the refund until the evening of November 30, 2024—just one day before their national holiday. From November 22, the day I sent the initial email requesting a refund, I had to persistently chase them, but no meaningful progress was made.

Additionally, the EOI issued to me was for a higher amount of 1,130,000 AED, exceeding my stated budget. Upon reviewing the EOI terms and conditions, I discovered that they were heavily developer-friendly and unnecessarily complex. Due to this, I opted not to sign the EOI, and the developer agreed to proceed without my signature, reiterating that the EOI amount was refundable.

As per the EOI clause, the refund was supposed to be processed within four weeks. However, it has now been over eight weeks, and I am still waiting for my money. The agent, who appears to be fraudulent, has blocked me, and the sales representative kept me in the dark with false assurances that refunds are usually processed earlier than the stipulated four weeks. This lack of transparency and professionalism has been deeply disappointing.

As an international client from the EU and a lawyer by profession, I never expected such an appalling experience from a reputed developer like Binghatti. It is incredibly stressful and frustrating to deal with such practices. I cannot understand under what right the developer continues to hold my hard-earned money when I made it clear that I was not willing to proceed with their project.

The EOI process is fundamentally flawed. Clients have no control or clarity over what units they will be offered, leaving them entirely at the developer’s mercy. When clients are dissatisfied with the options provided, they must endure months of chasing to recover their funds. I strongly believe there should be stricter regulations governing the EOI process, and refunds should be made mandatory within a week—similar to other Dubai Land Department (DLD) regulations designed to safeguard clients’ money during the project development phase.

I am sharing this review to highlight my experience and caution others about the practices I encountered with Binghatti Developers. It is essential for potential investors to exercise caution and be aware of these issues to avoid similar situations.