Penny offense: Man fined for paying fee in pennies

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upsho...y-offense-man-fined-for-paying-fee-in-pennies

Penny offense: Man fined for paying fee in pennies
By Claudine Zap

...The story, reported in the Salt Lake City Deseret News, describes the "penny offense" this way: West, 38, did not believe he owed the medical clinic $25 but came in to pay the fee in person. He first asked the clinic staff if the facility accepted cash payments, and then dumped 2,500 pennies onto the counter and demanded that they be counted....

I believe his mistake was dumping the pennies on the counter. If he had left them in a bag and asked for a receipt I don't think they could have charged him.

If I recall my high school business law class correctly, if a business refuses to take American currency then what you wanted to buy becomes free.

that is total BS. As long as pennies are considered legal tender and the establishment or agency claims to accept cash payments they should have to accept his pennies.

Money is money, is money....period!

I think the problem here is he dumped them on the counter and demanded they be counted. He can pay in pennies but can't cause a disturbance. JMO

Well, if they insist he pay the ticket and he wants a receipt of proof of that payment, then somebody is gonna have to count it, lol. Guess it really depends on the guys attitude when he went about it. If he was a smartbutt or raised a rucus then I can see them refusing to accept it and asking him to leave of be removed.

tlcox said:

Well, if they insist he pay the ticket and he wants a receipt of proof of that payment, then somebody is gonna have to count it, lol. Guess it really depends on the guys attitude when he went about it. If he was a smartbutt or raised a rucus then I can see them refusing to accept it and asking him to leave of be removed.

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There may be a part of the law that says they have to be rolled or the people behind the desk may have had a line behind him and didn't have time right then.

It's funny but it's misdirected IMO. He isn't punishing the clinic he's punishing a worker for the clinic who probably had nothing to do with the decision. A guy I know refuses to tip the wipers at Delta Sonic car wash because he had worked there and hated it. Why punish the poor kid wiping down your car? If you hate the company so much then don't go to Delta Sonic at all. JMO

As far as using change... One time we had a really rough month and my husband had to use change to get his prescriptions. $70.00 worth (for his heart) We had it all nicely rolled up and he took it to the courtesy counter. I mean it was even mainly rolls of quarters but a few rolls of dimes. She flat out refused to take it. She pointed us to one of those star machines.. Which we refused to do. It was the principal behind it. Change should work the same way as paper money. SO my husband tried to bypass that and went to the pharmacy and they refused to take it too. So... then the manager came and my husband wasn't very happy at that point. The manager 'let us do this just once' .. jerks.. I hate walmart lol ... it was embarassing enough as it was... Unfortunately alot of banks wont even take rolled up change unless you bank with them!!

I think it was childish of him to pay in pennies.

WARNING SOME MAY FIND THIS ARTICLE OFFENSIVE;


Good Idea!: Man Submits Drawing Of Spider Instead Of Payment For Overdue Account


http://www.geekologie.com/2008/11/13/spider-1.jpg


More at link.

This is funny too! http://www.snopes.com/autos/law/handcuff.asp

Babyslims said:

The manager 'let us do this just once' .. jerks.. I hate walmart lol ... it was embarassing enough as it was... Unfortunately alot of banks wont even take rolled up change unless you bank with them!!

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Ironically, Wal*Mart and the banks are two of the biggest reasons why the dollar and the penny are so worthless to begin with. Wal*Mart has sold so many imported goods and is the #1 single biggest culprit for our trade deficit. Meanwhile, the banks gave all of those home loans to people they knew couldn't pay the mortgage, creating the housing bubble. This moneyprinting, otherwise known as QE, is largely a result of the bursting of the housing bubble which wouldn't have happened if the banks had been responsible.

About the guy who got in trouble in the article, I heard he had already gone home and the police went to his home to punish him for his actions at the clinic. I'm sure we've all worked in a service industry at some point and regularly dealt with customers who are angry. The police shouldn't be used to punish every jerk who slams a door, pounds his fist on the bar demanding faster service, etc.

The USA has 5% of the global population but 25% of the world's prison population. If rude customers are being prosecuted now, it looks like we'll run up the score and become a real 21st century gulag archapelago.