Claiming the value of stolen goods
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The first question of Fatwa No. ( 4997 )
Q1: We import some goods from abroad, and these goods may reach us incomplete for several reasons, including: being stolen from
the deck of the ship, or from the dock at the port, or being lost or delivered to others by mistake.. or other damages, such as the ship's captain throwing the cargo or part of it into the sea because he considers it safer for the ship (according to his judgment), up to many of the damages we face when importing goods. To claim compensation for the damage from the port authority, or from the ship owners, or from the foreign port of loading, or from others responsible for those damages, is a difficult task for us and involves high costs, and we need a long time. Therefore, the company here (which has agents in all parts of the world and specialized lawyers) claims on our behalf and recovers the value of the stolen, lost, or damaged goods from the party responsible, in exchange for a small percentage reaching approximately 3 \ 1 % (one-third of a percent) of the total order value. This agreement is made when the shipment is requested before it is loaded; they take their mentioned fee on the order, whether there is a shortage in the goods after arrival or not. Is this type of agreement permissible? Knowing that we are safe from being cheated by others, or from our rights being lost domestically or abroad if we make this agreement with that company.
A1: If the situation is as described regarding the agreement with the company, the contract
is not valid; because it contains excessive uncertainty and gambling, as the company agreed to claim the value of the lost or damaged goods and recover it will take the agreed amount when the goods are safe and reach their owners without compensation, and it may incur costs in claiming the value of the goods when they are not safe that are more than the agreed amount or less. The claim of the goods' owners that they are not cheated by anything is not accepted, as they pay the agreed amount to the company tasked with collecting the value of the goods without compensation in case of safety, and they do not feel safe that the company will fail to collect the value in case of damage to the goods, except if it commits to paying it from its own funds if it fails to collect it, and this is another gambling added to the previous one.
Q1: We import some goods from abroad, and these goods may reach us incomplete for several reasons, including: being stolen from
the deck of the ship, or from the dock at the port, or being lost or delivered to others by mistake.. or other damages, such as the ship's captain throwing the cargo or part of it into the sea because he considers it safer for the ship (according to his judgment), up to many of the damages we face when importing goods. To claim compensation for the damage from the port authority, or from the ship owners, or from the foreign port of loading, or from others responsible for those damages, is a difficult task for us and involves high costs, and we need a long time. Therefore, the company here (which has agents in all parts of the world and specialized lawyers) claims on our behalf and recovers the value of the stolen, lost, or damaged goods from the party responsible, in exchange for a small percentage reaching approximately 3 \ 1 % (one-third of a percent) of the total order value. This agreement is made when the shipment is requested before it is loaded; they take their mentioned fee on the order, whether there is a shortage in the goods after arrival or not. Is this type of agreement permissible? Knowing that we are safe from being cheated by others, or from our rights being lost domestically or abroad if we make this agreement with that company.
A1: If the situation is as described regarding the agreement with the company, the contract
is not valid; because it contains excessive uncertainty and gambling, as the company agreed to claim the value of the lost or damaged goods and recover it will take the agreed amount when the goods are safe and reach their owners without compensation, and it may incur costs in claiming the value of the goods when they are not safe that are more than the agreed amount or less. The claim of the goods' owners that they are not cheated by anything is not accepted, as they pay the agreed amount to the company tasked with collecting the value of the goods without compensation in case of safety, and they do not feel safe that the company will fail to collect the value in case of damage to the goods, except if it commits to paying it from its own funds if it fails to collect it, and this is another gambling added to the previous one.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.