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 Replies: 40 / Views: 11,417 |
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Valued Member
United States
477 Posts |
Hi everyone,
I was wondering if some of you could share your experience with paying large sums of money in pennies. I believe that businesses have the right to refuse selling merchandise to any individual that they choose, regardless if they pay in pennies or not. Debt however can be paid in any matter of legal tender possible, to not accept pennies to pay for a debt is considered a federal crime? I've seen some people claim that pennies half to be rolled, but the law doesn't state this. So if I was in a situation where I was paying a debt and the person refused to take my unrolled pennies what do I do? I've heard that you can call the police because it's considered a federal crime. Do you call the emergency police for the crime, or the non emergency police?
How exactly does the law define debt? Is it anything in which a service is provided to you or against you before accepting tender? So if I eat at a resturant and pay the bill in pennies is that OK? Technically I'm paying for the food and eat the food before paying. I've heard of people getting fined for disorderly conduct for paying in pennies. If you are very polite and not rude, don't make a scene than are you all set? Can organizations discriminate against you because of the type of legal tender you used to pay your bills? Is paying your college bills in pennies illegal if you pay for the semester before the semester begins? Technically that's not debt?
Any experience you have paying with pennies and any advice would be great help thanks.
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
4411 Posts |
Politely I have to ask what kind of a pain in the bum would pay for anything over $1 in pennies? I have seen youtube and dont find it funny. If I was the owner of a business and someone tried it I would take it but ensure the person paying had to wait whilst it was all slowly counted out.
In Australia there is legislation restricting the use of small denominations as legal tender transactions. All denomination less than 50c can be used to pay debt up to $5. Denominations from 50c - $10 notes can be used to pay a debt 10x their face value eg $50 of $5 notes. $20, $50 and $100 notes can be used for any amount.
This is a good system and prevents smart (you know what)s from being a giant pain in the (you know what).
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5172 Posts |
Not exactly pennies  but I remember paying for bread (worth 15.60 roubles - about $0.50 in your money) with a huge pile of 10 and 5 copeck coins. That particular place was friendly - they apparently needed those (logical with the 15.60 price which meant everyone without a 10 copeck coin on him had to get four in change). Most others aren't, and won't accept even 10-20 of those (heck, some would rather forgive me that rouble or two than get it from me in 10 copeck pieces). Then again, 10 copecks isn't a penny - it's 1/3 of one. 5 copecks is half that. We used to have a 1 copeck coin (which, at 0.03 of a penny, was probably the smallest face value coin ever made), but while apparently still legal tender it's not in general circulation anymore (and hadn't been minted since 2009). |
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Valued Member
United States
397 Posts |
It never turns out well. I've seen lots of news stories about people paying fees and fines they find unfair in pennies... and usually they are turned away.
ONE time I saw a news story where it was a bank fee, something like $400 in overdraft fees but he swears he signed up for overdraft protection and the money was in his savings account, and the guy was smart enough to call the local news first. He went to several banks with cash, "bought" boxes of pennies, and then took them all to his bank and tried to pay it off. The bank ended up waiving the fee, and I am pretty sure it was due to the news coverage.
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Moderator
 United States
14463 Posts |
If you paid a $5 bill in the newer zinc cents, that means carrying at least 2.5 pounds around with you (more weight if some are pre-82 coins). Why you want to pay any bill over $1 in cents, rolled or not? Are they from roll searching? find a coinstar machine to cash them in, or a bank that will accept them, or find someone to swap cents for currency.
EDIT - I almost felt bad paying $30 for gas using $1 coins.
Edited by Fuzzy317
06/03/2012 03:11 am
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Valued Member
United States
192 Posts |
I payed $192.00 in rolled up quarters for a diagnosis on my jeep, they already diagnosed it... the guy had to ask his boss if he "should" take them...what kind of crap is that? I already had my keys in hand, and I told him if I choose to use their garage for the repairs be prepared for more change! You maybe could have put the pennies in wrappers...but they probably would have had to count them...
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Moderator
Australia
16805 Posts |
Unlike many other countries, there are no US laws preventing someone from "paying their bill in pennies". Just like there's no law against defacing coins, it seems to be a cherished right. Quote:
Debt however can be paid in any matter of legal tender possible, to not accept pennies to pay for a debt is considered a federal crime? Refusing to accept legal tender for a debt is never a crime. Here's how the "legal tender scenario" pays out: You offer to pay your debt in pennies. The debtee refuses your payment and requests an alternative form of payment. If you claim you have no alternative form of payment and insist the debtee accepts it, the debtee either (1) accepts it with great reluctance or (2) calls the cops to try to force you to be reasonable. But if you end up getting taken to court for failure to pay your debt and the judge finds you did indeed offer to pay in legal tender (pennies), you can't be found guilty. Now, specific circumstances can change this. In the restaurant example, the restaurant has the right to set conditions of entry, including the appropriate payment methods for their goods and services. If they say, in advance, "You can't pay for your restaurant bill with pennies" and you try to anyway, it'll be you that's in breach of contract, for failing to adhere to the conditions of entry - if you didn't have the correct money, you shouldn't have ordered. Quote:
I've heard of people getting fined for disorderly conduct for paying in pennies. If you are very polite and not rude, don't make a scene than are you all set? Yes. The in-duh-vidual who made the headlines last year who was charged with disorderly conduct "made a scene" when the cashier attempted to enquire about alternative forms of payment. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
996 Posts |
There is what is legal and there is what is right.
Is it legal to pay for something in a mass quantity of pennies to tick someone off? Sure.
Is it right to do so? Not unless you are OK with being a jerk.
As said before, in the USA one is not obligated to accept pennies like this for a purchase, but due to the legal tender status to settle a debt they would. I think Canada has the right idea, pennies are legal tender only up to 25 cents, thus if you wanted to pay a bill in pennies they can legally refuse it and not have to worry about losing the indebtedness.
Edited by n9jig
06/03/2012 06:52 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2661 Posts |
Greenprint, be very careful if are planning to do something like say...............pay you State or local taxes this way. In some states you can be cited for causing a public nuisance or some other misdemeanor crime if they happen to spill out. Here is one documented case of such. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/...pennies.html |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3278 Posts |
Somebody has a cross to burn
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Moderator
 United States
6563 Posts |
I've been in retail for over 12 years. Anyone wanting to make a scene by paying in cents to make a point only punishes the poor employee that has to count it. It serves no purpose. I've turned down someone that wanted to pay $20 worth of cents because I just didn't have anywhere to put it. Not illegal and we can turn down Any form of payment we'd like. "Legal Tender" doesn't mean I'm required to take it  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1817 Posts |
Uhh, you should just bring the coins to a bank that has a coin counter or a Coinstar machine to exchange for bills. To bring such a quantity of coin into a business would mean making sone kind of point, and if you live in a small community, you start getting known as the kook with coins. To pay any kind of government owned debt with a pile of coins would only get you scrutinized that more closely on seemingly something unrelated, messing with them over usually has some kind of consequence.
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Valued Member
United States
187 Posts |
I think that there are more important issues in life than thinking about paying with pennies or not. Common sense is common sense. Paying with pennies as you suggest in your post, would not be viewed as common sense.
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Pillar of the Community
978 Posts |
the worst I have done is I have paid for $11.00 dollars worth of stuff in dimes. luckly there was nobody behind me and the counted it all and took it without comment.
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Quote:
I payed $192.00 in rolled up quarters for a diagnosis on my jeep, they already diagnosed it... the guy had to ask his boss if he "should" take them...what kind of crap is that? I already had my keys in hand, and I told him if I choose to use their garage for the repairs be prepared for more change! You maybe could have put the pennies in wrappers...but they probably would have had to count them...
I honestly hope this is a joke. How about some consideration for the place of business you are using the service of? If I was the owner I would have taken it then told you never to come back to my store again. Quote:
There is what is legal and there is what is right.
Is it legal to pay for something in a mass quantity of pennies to tick someone off? Sure.
Is it right to do so? Not unless you are OK with being a jerk. Exactly. Its one thing to drop a roll here or there if you REALLY dont want to pay coin star fees, its another to just start making entire large transactions and making those peoples life miserable having to deal with your massive amounts of change. If youre fine with slowly dumping them over time that fines. But if you want to get rid of them as fast as possible pay the coinstar or bank fee and have some consideration for others |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3294 Posts |
I have paid out $100 in rolled halves before, but it was at my coin shop where the owner often gave out halves as change, and he preferred payment that way as opposed to me using plastic.
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Replies: 40 / Views: 11,417 |
Posted 06/03/2012 02:55 am
