Process at Supreme Judicial Council/Rent Dispute
Dear experienced QL'ers
I am hoping I can find some direction from someone that may have experience in this area. A bit of brief history:
I was in rented accomodation, and unfortnately the company that were renting to me were not playing fair. The end result was they gave me 3 days notice to vacate the property I was renting (my rent was fully up to date and I owed them nothing). This happened during Ramdan. I vacated and we (Myself, my wife and kids) managed to find something within the eviction time frame they gave us... It wasnt easy at all, but we managed. The naughty part is the agency refused to return my security deposit. So using this site, I found the Rental Disputes Office and eventually managed to raise a case there. I went the Rental Disputes Office, typing centers and translators backwards and forwards raising my case. Eventually I managed to get a hearing (phewwww!!!). I turned up for the hearing (the agency didn't), they asked me if I spoke Arabic, which I cant, and then told me to come back on a date and the verdict would be given. I wasn't able to provide any kind of further information nor explain the situation or the problems I had been put through. Anyhow I returned on the verdict date (again, the agency didnt) and I was given a paper with a verdict on it in Arabic. I had no idea what it meant. The guy that gave it to me told me to go to 'Dafna Court'. He was telling me something about the red colour stamp on the verdict that meant the 'company' cannot leave Doha until a payment has been made to me and told me I now had to register the verdict at 'Dafna Court'. I didnt understand what he meant by 'company cannot leave doha until company pay you'.
So... once again I winged it and ended up at a building in Dafna called The Supreme Judicial Council... Found someone who could speak a little English and then the process started again going backwards and forwards between the Supreme Judicial Council, typing centers and translators... finally I managed to raise the case here and was told to come back and go to the 7th floor on a given date. I turned up and the Judge here asked me if I could speak Arabic, again I said no, so he told me to sit and wait. After everybodys cases had been heard he then called me into the office and wrote a date on a piece of paper and told me to come back. 4 weeks later I come back and he asks me again if I can speak Arabic, I say no, and then he tells me to sit again until the end. At the end when everybody has gone I sit and wait to be called, but this time the Judges assistant comes out and tells me to come back later. I ask when and he says later. I tell him its already been 4 weeks and he starts shouting at me and tells me to go away... I ask to speak to the Judge, who seemed a reasonable person who could understand English but I guess didnt feel confident in speaking it with me, but the assistant tells me the Judge has gone and then walks away... I'm now left not knowing what to do... I cant seem to find anyone in the Supreme Judicial Council that is willing to speak to me in English.
Does anyone here have experience at the Supreme Judicial Council? Judging by the above description do you think anything is happening with the money I am owed? Any ideas how I can find out the status of my case? On the ground floor of the Supreme Judicial Council, there seems to be a room in each corner which has a ticketing system in it, but everything is written in Arabic and I have no idea where to go to now get an update. The gus that helped me in this building initially I cannot find so I am a bit lost now.
Any help or direction will be much appreciated.
