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Roo · 18 Sep 2004

These are the kinds of questions that we are told to ask our rabbis as every case differs. Plus they spend years studying all kinds of situations.

martin brody · 13 Sep 2004

[quote="clueless"]Maybe my question should then be:

I've heard that every hiding of information that causes others [material] harm is regarded a betrayal (or lie) and is forbidden.

Therefore if one hides, e.g. the fact that one is unemployed in front of bank officials, is a sinful betrayal or lie. I have to add here that one could go bankrupt, and thereby cause damage to the bank. Is that statement true or false?

[Don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to be overly friendly towards banks. This is just because the law applies to every one, regardless of merit, I think. So the example of the bank may be provocative, esp regarding the amounts involved and the fact that banks have cost quite a bit of public moneys recently. But it is still a valid example and ought to be decided according to the law. Plus the question appeared in my private life recently][/quote]

I'm not sure of the chronology here. If one is unemployed and wants a loan from a bank, if the bank asks you your occupation/employer, yes it is a terrible sin to obscure the truth. But if one has a loan, or a line of credit, and one becomes unemployed, unless stipulated in the loan agreement, one is under no obligation to disclose one's employment situation. That is the risk the bank took in extending the credit, and that's why they charge fees and interest.

Best,

Martin B

clueless · 06 Nov 2009

The chronology was:
(0) Obtained employment in Prague /2005
(1) opening of bank account with citi Prague /2005
(2) obtained mortgage from citi/hypotecni banka /2005
(3) lost job /2009

Contracts are partially in Czech and are confusing. I can't tell if there was a condition attached to it - I don't speak Czech - but the whole thing is not as urgent as may seem as I have already informed the bank.

People around me have told me "you need to become more clever", when they heard I had told the bank. So I am now researching if that really needed doing.

Kira · 14 Sep 2004

You signed a contract that you didn't understand?

Anyway: may you find a job very soon, and no longer have any problems with the bank.

-Kira

clueless · 06 Nov 2009

[quote="Kira"]You signed a contract that you didn't understand?

Anyway: may you find a job very soon, and no longer have any problems with the bank.

-Kira[/quote]

Yes, I hope I will find a job soon, although the job market is not in a good state.

Regarding the contract: I may have heard a verbal translation of the contract at the lawyers office (or at the bank), but that is long ago now. I can't remember the words being said at the lawyers (and the bank), because so much was said and you can't remember all of it. To remember even only a small percentage would be almost a miracle as this was years ago.

These are the realities of working abroad, in a country where the preferred foreign language was Russian not so long ago. Contracts have to be in Czech here, and only rarely are there translations available. Laws here and in other countries like that are quite different from what one is used in English speaking parts of the world.