Refund on lost luggage
Question
Q. One of my suitcases on a flight got lost. After weeks of calls and emails and a great amount of inconvenience, the airline has decided to pay me. They are asking me for the value of the contents of the suitcase and the cost of some replacement items that I would have purchased.
There is no way of accurately or even guessing the value of the lost suitcase. I did not purchase any replacement clothing either.
How do I provide them with a value?
Can I claim the maximum that the airline offers?
Can I claim for replacement cost even though I haven’t bought any replacement items?
Answer
Can I claim for the inconvenience caused?
The value to provide would be the replacement cost of the luggage and its contents. If you do not know the exact cost, you may provide your best, honest estimate. Whether you replace the items or not is your choice.
You may not claim the maximum value unless the replacement cost amounts to this.
You may not claim for the inconvenience. [Hindiyyah 4:359]
And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
- Answered by
- Mufti Moosa Salie, Mufti Taahir Hansa
Fatawa SA is an independent, read-only index of fatawa already published by Jamiatul Ulama KZN. It is not a fatwa service. For your own situation, ask the issuing Darul Ifta directly.