After engaging in a dispute with amazon’s support staff, I was provided inconsistent information, and they ended up wasting much of my time, their service is normally quite rubbish, and with this appalling service combined with the frustrations caused by them in the past, I demanded they provide me a promotional credit to make up for wasting my time, I had to escalate it quite high before they agreed to give me £10 uk pounds because front line
agents were either too dumb to comprehend the nature of what I was saying or were stubbornly dismissive of my situation.
Since, I somewhat pressured them, and they agreed, these are their words:
“We have reviewed your account and given the circumstances, we would like to give you a gift certificate for 10.00 GBP as a gesture of goodwill in relation to the negative experience you have received”
Is this halal or haram to accept?
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
There are two issues in your query. Amazons bad service and the gift. You had a right to complain of the bad service of Amazon. However, your demand of promotional credit for the bad service was incorrect. It appears that you were successful in receiving the gift certificate of 10.00 GBP due to your pressure on them. Allah says;
{يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَكُمْ بَيْنَكُمْ بِالْبَاطِلِ إِلَّا أَنْ تَكُونَ تِجَارَةً عَنْ تَرَاضٍ مِنْكُمْ} [النساء: 29]
Translation:
“O you who have imaan, do not unjustly consume the (haram) wealth of each other (by stealing or by other unacceptable means), but (you may exchange wealth with each other) by way of trade (conducted) with your mutual consent”.
We advise you return the 10.00 GBP to Amazon and state that you have incorrectly demanded the compensation, as such a demand goes against the spirit of Islam. This attitude will be a form of dawah and representing the true spirit of Islam.
And Allah Ta’āla Kn1ows Best
Hafizurrahman Fatehmahomed
Student Darul Iftaa
Netherlands
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.