Q&A: Halakhic guidance regarding reporting delivery mistakes
Halakhic guidance regarding reporting delivery mistakes
Question
Hello, honorable Rabbi,
I wanted to ask about the obligation to report cases of small mistakes in deliveries received from online orders.
I often order products online to save time and effort. Many times it happens that products arrive that are different from what I ordered, and that makes it hard for me to always check what was ordered against what was received.
Latest example: I ordered two medium salted pickles at a price of 8.9 NIS each, and instead received pickles in vinegar priced at 9.9 NIS. After checking, I realized that this was their mistake, and I sent an email to settle the difference.
However, a more general question came to mind: do I have a halakhic obligation to check for and report small mistakes that are not my fault? For example, if I paid more and received a cheaper product, I would waive it because my time is worth more to me, or does a perutah have the same law as a hundred?
I prefer not to check the small things, whether it works in my favor or against me.
I would appreciate general halakhic guidance on this issue, so I can know how to act in similar cases in the future.
Thank you in advance!
Answer
You have no obligation at all to check. If they make a mistake, that is their mistake, and they should have checked. Only if they had stipulated in advance that you must check would the law perhaps be different.
However, if you discovered mistakes, there is an obligation to correct them. But you only need to inform them. The obligation to make the effort and replace it for you is theirs, not yours. If you are willing to pay them the difference, then there is no problem, but you are not obligated to. In my estimation, usually they will tell you to keep the goods, even when it is not a mistake of just one or two shekels but much more than that (I just recently heard of such a case).
Discussion on Answer
Usually that same company answers the emails I send them,
and I do not intend to call and spend five minutes on the line with them.
But if I understand the Rabbi’s words correctly, if I sent them an email saying I am willing to pay the difference and they do not answer the email, that’s their problem, and I have no obligation to do anything more beyond what I already did, and I can use those pickles.
Correct?
As for checking, if I suspect something, I also have no obligation to check?
In the case of our example, the moment I unpacked the package I saw that they were different pickles from the ones I ordered.
But in my head I said maybe I made a mistake and ordered the wrong product, though I also had the thought that maybe they made a mistake.
In that case, did I have an obligation to check?
If you have a reasonable suspicion, you must check. From that point on, you need to notify them, and if there is no response within a reasonable time, then they apparently waived it.
Thanks for the answer.
It’s a bummer to check; the checking itself is a hassle. I order online so I do not have to work hard.
Especially when it’s just a shekel that I would have waived if the situation were reversed.
But the answer is clear, and that is how I should act.
A while ago I ordered 6 units (packaged portions) of salmon, and 6 frozen, weighed kilograms arrived. They gave me credit immediately and sent a courier to collect it within a few hours.