Asslamu Alaykum,
I’m facing a dilemma in regards to an online purchase that I made. I purchased modest clothing worth $133 from an international website.
Upon receiving the order I noticed that the one of the garment was in a packing with dirt in it and the garment itself had a lot dust and dirt on it.
Also, the sizing was very off for half of the garments that I ordered. I contacted the company and requested an exchange for dirty item. However, they never responded to my email or text messages on their whatsapp. I sent them multiple requests and waited atleast two weeks for them to respond to my complaint. When no one got back to me, I filed a dispute on paypal (Because I paid via paypal and they protect both buyers and sellers in case there’s a scam from either party) and requested to refund me the price of $8 for the item that was packed in dirt. The company responded through paypal’s request and asked me to ship the garment back to them and pay for the return shipping cost myself, which would’ve been a very hefty fee. I further escalated the case, because as per the company’s policy, they take responsibility for the defected items. They refused to cover the return shipping cost and instead of refunding me for the defected garment Paypal refunded me the full amount of $133 because the company refused to take any responsibility for the defected garment.
I felt very uncomfortable at receiving the full refund. I contacted paypal and they offered to pay the return shipping for the garments I wanted to return.
I contacted the company and told them I’ll be returning the defected item as well as the ones with inconsistent sizing. I requested an invoice so I could pay for some of the garments that I was going to keep. However, they responded that they will not take any returns and they didn’t respond to my request for the invoice. I sent them another request asking them to send me an invoice so I can pay the difference. They only responded that they cannot accept returns or exchanges.
My question is, is it halal for me to still keep these clothes and wear them? If not, is it halal for me to donate them? What is the most appropriate thing to do in this scenario? As the company simply refuses to accept returns and never responded to my request about sending me an invoice.
I would very much appreciate a clarifying response. Jazakallah Khairun.
بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
الجواب وباللہ التوفیق
In this case, it is in fact the seller’s obligation to take back the clothes and PayPal company is actually not responsible to make that payment to you.
Since the Seller has refused to take back the clothes, and PayPal company being the Seller’s sponsor has offered you the compensation, you are allowed to take the money from them. But the use of clothes will not be allowed. You should return those clothes to the PayPal company, but if that is not possible, you need to donate those clothes as Sadaqa.
الْمَقْصُودُ بِضَمَانِ الْعَيْنِ أَوْ كَفَالَتِهَا: أَنْ يَلْتَزِمَ الْكَفِيل بِرَدِّ عَيْنِهَا إِنْ كَانَتْ قَائِمَةً، وَبِرَدِّ مِثْلِهَا أَوْ قِيمَتِهَا إِذَا تَلِفَتْ، وَلِلْفُقَهَاءِ فِي حُكْمِ كَفَالَةِ الأَْعْيَانِ تَفْصِيلٌ يَرْجِعُ إِلَى ثُبُوتِ الْحَقِّ فِي ذِمَّةِ الأَْصِيل أَوْ عَدَمِ ثُبُوتِهِ، وَذَلِكَ عَلَى التَّفْصِيل الآْتِي:قَدْ يَكُونُ الْمَكْفُول بِهِ مِنَ الأَْعْيَانِ الْمَضْمُونَةِ سَوَاءٌ كَانَتْ مَضْمُونَةً بِنَفْسِهَا أَوْ مَضْمُونَةً بِغَيْرِهَا۔۔۔ هِيَ الَّتِي يَجِبُ عَلَى حَائِزِهَا أَنْ يَرُدَّهَا إِلَى صَاحِبِهَا إِنْ كَانَتْ قَائِمَةً أَوْ يَرُدَّ مِثْلَهَا أَوْقِيمَتَهَا إِنْ تَلِفَتْ (الموسوعۃ الفقہیۃ: ۳۴/۳۰۳)
ذَهَبَ الْحَنَفِيَّةُ وَالْحَنَابِلَةُ إِلَى أَنَّ الْكَفِيل إِذَا كَفَل عَيْنًا مَضْمُونَةً بِنَفْسِهَا – فَإِنَّهُ يَلْتَزِمُ بِتَسْلِيمِهَا مَا دَامَتْ قَائِمَةً، وَإِنْ هَلَكَتْ أُلْزِمَ بِرَدِّ الْمِثْل إِنْ كَانَتْ مِثْلِيَّةً أَوْ بِدَفْعِ الْقِيمَةِ إِنْ كَانَتْ قِيَمِيَّةً.(الموسوعۃ الفقہیۃ: ۳۴/۳۱۱)
ومن اشتری شیئا لم یرہ فالبیع جائز ولہ الخیار اذا راہ ان شاء اخذہ وان شاء ردہ ۔(اللباب فی شرح الکتاب : ۲۳۴)
فقط واللہ اعلم بالصواب