Public Transportation - Avoiding Payment
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Question
Due to negligence/mistake of a public company in organizing routes to the destination, on the eve of a holiday, I had to order private transportation. It turns out that the company, apart from apologies, will not provide anything. Is it permissible for me to recover the expense by not paying several times until the amount of the loss?
Answer
Hello
According to the company's commitment to the Ministry of Transportation, it is obligated to pay for such expenses.
If the company does not fulfill its commitment, it is permissible to deduct the amount from the payment.
In practice, this can easily lead to a desecration of God's name, which is a significant prohibition, and every prudent person will act wisely.
[Technically, this is not simple at all, because what you pay on the bus does not go to the company, but to the Ministry of Transportation, which pays the company. The payment to the company is not based on a percentage of the payment, but on the net number of passengers, so they receive the same payment for validating a 'continuation' trip, for which you pay nothing, or for a free trip for the elderly, as for a trip for youth and regular adults].
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