Dubai resident says he lost thousands in beachside locker ‘scam’

A resident of The Palm was conned out of more than Dh26,000 in money and equipment after paying to rent a beachside locker, only to discover the developer was not receiving the fees.

Chris Spong stands in front of what used to be his surf gear locker on Nakheel’s private Palm Jumeirah Beach. Reem Mohammed / The National

DUBAI // A paddle-surfing enthusiast in Dubai has lost equipment worth Dh20,000 because of a beach locker rental scam at The Palm.

For the past four years Chris Spong has paid Dh1,500 a year to rent the locker for his equipment.

Instead of passing the money on to the developer Nakheel, however, a beach employee pocketed it. Now Nakheel has confiscated Mr Spong’s paddle-surfing equipment because the company says he has not paid the locker rental.

Mr Spong said he moved to Shoreline four years ago with his wife to enjoy the beach and watersports there. Although his rental agreement allowed beach access, no storage was included, so he asked about renting a metal beachside locker to securely store his two stand-up paddle boards, board bags and other equipment.

A Nakheel employee tasked with beachside transactions told him it would cost Dh1,500 a year to rent a locker, which Mr Spong said he has paid every year since.

In April this year, he returned from work abroad to find that his locker had been opened and the boards put into their cases. Alarmed that the unit had been opened without his permission, he complained to the beach reception desk.

The man who had been collecting the money for the rental locker said not to worry, and to continue paying as normal, said Mr Spong, who works in construction. But two months later, he found that his paddle-boards and other equipment had been confiscated.

Nakheel said the company could not investigate as Mr Spong did not retain receipts for his payments over the past four years.

“We have explained to Mr Spong that proof of payment for the locker is needed in order for us to investigate this matter,” a spokeswoman said.

The developer urged residents and visitors using beach facilities to follow correct procedures and keep receipts of any payments made.

“Those wanting a locker should approach the reception desk in the first instance, who will guide the client to the appropriate booking area. There are several so it depends which building you want to rent it in,” the spokeswoman said.

“The client will be informed of the rates for the sizes and timeframes before being shown the lockers available. If they choose to go head, they will be asked to complete a form and settle the payment before being given a copy of the receipt.”

Mr Spong said ne never received a receipt for his payments from the Nakheel employee.

“I was given an invoice for the storage lockers when I first handed over money four years ago, but it was in my beach bag and has since disintegrated,” he said.

“When I complained, Nakheel said they knew what this man was doing and said he had been suspended as a result. Everyone who had equipment on the beach was directed to go through the same man.

“It was a nice little cottage industry being run by staff on the beach. You see people are taking money when it should be going through Nakheel offices.”

Mr Spong said he received no information on the beach policy when he moved in, and relied on word-of-mouth from neighbours. He said he felt frustrated by what he called a lack of cooperation from Nakheel.

“It is very frustrating to have zero response. Money is constantly changing hands on the beach and there is no record of where it goes or who it is from,” he said.