Can I Ask PayPal for a Refund If I Receive Defective Goods and the Store Doesn’t Respond?


Hanafi Fiqh

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I placed an online order and received defective items, but the store has not responded; can I get my money back from PayPal?

Is it permissible to request a refund from PayPal if a store does not respond?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

I pray you are in good faith and health.

Yes, you may claim your money back. PayPal has a policy of returning your money if an eligible order is not significantly as described or doesn’t arrive at your doorstep. See the link below.

Here are some scenarios:

  • You received a completely different item;
  • You purchased two items but received one;
  • An item is defective but not immediately obvious;
  • You bought the original but received a counterfeit.

One can cancel if there is a defect in the item being sold. If you buy an item and find a notable defect, then there is a right of return. [Usmani, Fiqh al-Buyu’; Ibn ’Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Related:
PayPal Security for Buyers and Sellers
Buying and Selling Archives

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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.