Buying a Voucher During the Nine Days; a Mistake in a Candy Machine
Question
1. Is it permitted during the Nine Days to buy a shopping voucher at the yeshiva for stores, if I will actually buy the suit (a new garment) with the voucher only after Tisha B’Av?
2. In the vending machine at the yeshiva, they sell Klik (a dairy chocolate snack). In all the rows the price is 8 shekels, but this week I saw that in one row the price was 4.5 shekels. I bought from there and paid 5 shekels, because paying by Visa involves a half-shekel fee.
Did I act properly according to halacha? Do I have to return the difference to the owner of the machine? On the one hand, it is possible that the person in charge made a mistake when entering the price; on the other hand, it was written as 4.5 shekels, and I paid the price that appeared. Was I obligated to suspect a mistake, especially since I knew that Klik usually costs 8 shekels and that this was also the price in the other rows?
2. In the vending machine at the yeshiva, they sell Klik (a dairy chocolate snack). In all the rows the price is 8 shekels, but this week I saw that in one row the price was 4.5 shekels. I bought from there and paid 5 shekels, because paying by Visa involves a half-shekel fee.
Did I act properly according to halacha? Do I have to return the difference to the owner of the machine? On the one hand, it is possible that the person in charge made a mistake when entering the price; on the other hand, it was written as 4.5 shekels, and I paid the price that appeared. Was I obligated to suspect a mistake, especially since I knew that Klik usually costs 8 shekels and that this was also the price in the other rows?
Answer
Shalom u’vrachah
1. It is permitted. Buying a voucher is not considered buying a garment.
2. If it is clear that this is a mistake, such as when the same product is sold in other rows at a higher price, one must inform the seller of the problem, due to the obligation of returning lost property. And one must pay him the full price.
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