Question
'A' was buying dollars from 'B'. 'B' sold R 30 000.00 worth of fake dollars to 'A'. When 'A' realised this, he took B's vehicle and advised 'B' that until he does not pay back the R 30 000.00 he will not get his vehicle back. 'B' however did not know that the dollars were fake as he was buying from 'C'. In order to get his car back he approached 'C' and demanded the money in order that he may pay 'A' in exchange for his car. When 'B' met 'C' at a time when 'C' was in her vehicle, 'B' took C's car keys and demanded the money. 'C' however fled and abandoned her car. 'B' then gave 'A' C's car in exchange for his car. 'A' has now been in possession of C's car for 9 months with no indication of 'C' ever returning to collect her car despite attempts to contact her. Furthermore 'A' discovered that the car is not registered on C's name. This could possibly be because 'C' is a foreigner. The vehicle was however never reported stolen. Can 'A' sell the vehicle to recover his R 30 000.00. If he can, what must he do with the balance of the money assuming the car is sold for more than R 30 000.00?
Answer
'A' has the right to sell C's car to recover the R30,000 which he had lost. If the vehicle's value is more than the amount owing to 'A', he has to keep the excess in trust. It will be Waajib for him to search for 'C'. He has to retain the excess in trust until there is no longer any hope of tracing 'C' or C's heirs.
If 'C' fails to turn up after having waited for three years, then 'A' should give the excess as Sadqah. But should 'C' suddenly surface after the money has been given to Sadqah, and she does not approve of the Sadqah, then 'A' will have to incumbently refund her from his own pocket. He will then gain the thawaab of the Sadqah.
It is best that 'A' gives the excess to a reputable charitable organization. He should explain the circumstances. Then should 'C' turn up, the charitable organization will have to hand over the amount to her.
- Source
- themajlis.co.za
- Published in
- The Majlis Vol 24 No 02
- PDF page
- 5
Verbatim verified against the source PDF
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