Collaterals

Selling an unclaimed collateral to retrieve one's money

Q: A year ago, I had a customer who wished to purchase an item for R1200. He only had R800. So he opted to leave his spare wheel with me. I told him that if you don’t come, I’m going to sell your spare wheel, he said yes, no problem, but I’m going to come. 

It’s been a year; I can’t get hold of him and he hasn’t come back. The spare wheel is worth about R2000. What should I do? Should I sell the spare wheel for R2000, take my R400 and give the remainder in Sadaqah, or should I sell it for R400?

Advance Payment Guarantee

Q: We are in the construction industry and we use a contract known as an Advance Payment Guarantee and I want to know if this is acceptable please.

Basically, we pay a large percentage of a subcontractor's scope upfront. A third party acts as a guarantor that if the subcontractor fails to deliver (either works or materials) they will pay us back what we have paid upfront.

Please advise if this arrangement is acceptable