Nbc Investigation Into Coin-Counters Short Changing Customers

I watched the Today Show video. It's not clear if the counted every coin from every roll or assumed that the count from every roll was accurate? Anyone who buys bank rolled coins knows that the actual amount in every roll is sometimes off. How many times have you found a Dime in a Cent roll? I just found a Nickel in a roll of Halves and I had at least 3 rolls that were short 1 or 2 coins in the last 8 boxes I searched. I routinely use the coin counter at my local CU and it is mostly accurate. Now I do not actually count every coin, except Halves, and I can't tell you how many times I have been dumping Nickels and a Cent or a Dime will show up on the Total. Overall, I am happy with my local CU coin counter. I have never used a Coinstar.

I always know how much I'm dumping in.
Never have been short changed.

*** Edited by Staff to add quote tags. Please use them in the future. Posts are very difficult to read without them.***




Hi accordselux,

You are entitled to your opinion and I realize that. I'm not attacking you in my reply, I'm only expressing my opinion.

Let me begin with your last comment.




Not positive about exactly how you meant that but it comes across as one should consider the cost of this hobby based on "your" way of collecting coins and what "your" goal in collecting is. Considering that there are 8 yr olds & teens with little income collecting coins, perhaps a guy who has a family of four to support or seniors or anyone on a fixed income, does rethinking the hobby for them mean not collecting coins because of limited income?

Sorry if this sounds a bit crass but does that mean that if I'll never make it to Wimbelton I shouldn't bother playing tennis to begin with?

When my dad started collecting coins his collection consisted of what he got in loose change. It cost him no more than the face value of the coin, that was the way he went about collecting coins.

I also only collect coins at face value, it's just the way I approach the hobby, others have different approaches to it, I accept that. I don't do it for, as you said, "the prospect of making many times that in value of collectible coins." I leave that to those whose interest is in doing so and some of you have done very well indeed. Some of us simply enjoy the hobby for the sake of the hobby.

If the grocery store gypped you on your change from a purchase or didn't place some of the groceries in your shopping bag, do you consider that the cost of doing business and say nothing? Probably not.

Buy a pkg of t-shirts and if several of them have the stitching loosen up after being washed one time do you just consider that the cost of doing business? I'll speak up and return the shirts and get my money back.

The problem today is that many people have simply kowtowed to society and what society thinks is now normal. Years ago people stood up for their rights, now if you do, no matter what the issue is, someone criticizes you simply for speaking up.

The cost of doing banking these days is low interest rates for the customer, high priced fees and sometimes poor or no customer service. Over the yrs it's gotten worse and worse because not enough people spoke out about this. Now people just accept poor service and high fees as the cost of doing business, sad commentary.

The first three times I had issues putting coins through the machine I said nothing. But once it continued and I found others also were having the same issue, I spoke up. The end result of my speaking up is that I now have a good idea what causes the problem and how to try and avoid it.




Before I opened up an account I told each bank that I collect coins. One mgr asked me just how much would I be purchasing and dumping. When I told her 10-20 rolls of pennies or maybe 5 rolls of dimes, she smiled and said that was not an issue. She stated the bank wasn't suppose to "cater" to coin collectors but as long as I wasn't dumping hundreds of dollars several times a week there was no problem.

According to my banker, you "are" that guy with your large coin dumps. And being short "sometimes 3 figures" as you stated, "is" going to draw attention to you, not to me for asking for a trivial 50 cents or a dollar credit.

Other than $60 in halves in one shot, my average deposit into the machines is probably only around $15. I don't buy and dump huge amts of coins, it's just not the way I go about the hobby at this time. For the sake of the argument, if every week I use the machines once and each time I'm short 50 cents, that's $26 a year shorted. Yes, I can live with that but if I say, who cares, what else in life will I eventually take that approach with? Like I said before, I usually speak up for my rights, I don't care who might not like that. If you've been wronged, don't be afraid to speak up.

If we actually consider the news article that started this thread, it was about how the general public was being taken to the bank so to speak. By pointing that out, it puts the people who run these coin machines in a position where it was in their best interest to fix them. The machine owners can't be so dumb that they had no clue this could happen. People were losing money is the main story here, that's wrong whether it's only one penny or $100 dollars. Criticizing someone for complaining about this serves no purpose.

Speaking up is not usually a bad thing. Pick your battles, yes, but don't give up your rights little by little or eventually the coin machine operators might simply tell the public to stop using coins if they don't like the way their machines work.




I would offer to pay a fee to a bank to order me a bag of halves or dollars, that to me is an acceptable "tax" but being shorted is not.