QUESTION:
I sold an item on eBay that I thought was working perfectly fine. The buyer asked me if it works and I said that it does. He needed a new one, but after he received the item I was selling, he sent a message saying that it doesn’t work and proceeded to send a picture of it not working. He also sent a picture of his own that shows it’s working.
The issue is that it’s very possible that he took his own item that doesn’t work and took a picture of that and said “look, what you’ve sent me it does not work”, and, as a result he sends his original one back to me as well as receiving a refund. What should I do in this case since there are scams like this going around?
ANSWER:
You will have to prove that your item was working when it was sold. If you don’t have any proof, then the buyer will have to take a Qasm that the item wasn’t working when purchased, in which case he will be entitled to a refund or replacement. This procedure needs to be carried out before a Mufti. Now, if the buyer is not a Muslim, or he is from another country, then the said procedure will not be possible, hence you be left with no choice but to refund the customer. In future, you should test the items that you are selling before two male witnesses, and also send a picture of it working before despatching to the customer.
ALLAH TA’ALA ALONE IN HIS INFINITE KNOWLEDGE KNOWS BEST!
ANSWERED BY:
Mufti Mohammed Desai Saheb
Date: 04 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1446 / 08 September 2024
