Man Cited For Trying to Pay $25 Doctor’s Bill in Pennies

[Lifted]

you've completely missed the whole thread, so i'll just paste this here again:

There is no Federal statute that FORCES private businesses, persons, or organizations to accept any specific tender as payment for goods and/or services.

Retail store owners can determine which form of payment they will accept and which ones they will not accept. They own the business and can conduct it as they wish, to an extent. Some choose not to accept checks, others do not accept credit cards, while some may choose to not accept rolled coins.

Yes, BUT that is before there is a debt. Once there is a debt, you cannot refuse payment that is legal tender. This man had a debt with the clinic. The man paid in legal tender. End of story. Of course if he rolled the pennies up and placed them on the counter instead of throwing them all over he would not have be cited for anything and the clinic would not be able to say squat.

United States coins and currency are legal tender for all debts.

Did the clinic have a sign that stated they do not accept pennies? I highly doubt it. And even if they did I don't think it would matter in this instance since he is paying a debt, he is not buying a product.

 

[CycloWizard]

The federal government won't always allow you to pay with its own currency. Try buying a ticket to ride to the top of the St. Louis Arch with cash and see how far it gets you.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Reminds me of that guy who paid Best Buy with $2 dollar bills and got arrested.

 

[JMapleton]

To everyone who got fooled by the poor journalism skills in the article, he was arrested for the WAY he tried to pay for the bill, not because he used pennies to try to pay for it.

Bad article and same on the news agency just trying to get attention with an inaccurate headline.

 

[yankeesfan]

Yes, BUT that is before there is a debt. Once there is a debt, you cannot refuse payment that is legal tender. This man had a debt with the clinic. The man paid in legal tender. End of story. Of course if he rolled the pennies up and placed them on the counter instead of throwing them all over he would not have be cited for anything and the clinic would not be able to say squat.

United States coins and currency are legal tender for all debts.

Did the clinic have a sign that stated they do not accept pennies? I highly doubt it. And even if they did I don't think it would matter in this instance since he is paying a debt, he is not buying a product.

I agree with this.

 

[paperfist]

just because something is a legal form of payment, doesn't mean someone has to take it.

If i'm a business, i can make it my policy to accept payment in only Dollar Bills.

This is my legal right as a business. I don't have to accept your $20

Sounds like discrimination to me.

If a business won't accept a certain form of legal tender then they aren't much of a 'business'.

 

[Fayd]

Perfectly legal for them to REFUSE to count it... and even more legal for them to REFUSE to accept it.

Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," states: "United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."

This statute means that all United States money as identified above are a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor.

There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise.

This is why you often see signs in businesses which state "No Bills Larger than $20"

pretty sure all my money says for all debts public and private.

 

[xSauronx]

wtf i hope he fights it

he should win. this is idiotic

i dont have a problem with him getting in trouble for being a dickbag over it

 

[dabuddha]

Perfectly legal for them to REFUSE to count it... and even more legal for them to REFUSE to accept it.

Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," states: "United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."

This statute means that all United States money as identified above are a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor.

There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise.

This is why you often see signs in businesses which state "No Bills Larger than $20"

So they'd have to accept the pennies unless they have a sign stating no pennies?

 

[slag]

lol where did you pull that bullshit from?

Your ass? It makes sense to me and would to you too if you thought about it. Policy is policy, but businesses shouldn't be free to make rules up as to whether they accept cash from person X, chickens from person Y, checks from person Z, etc. Either you accept the money or you don't and if you don't accept certain denominations of money, you better have it posted.

That being said, paying in unrolled pennies is pretty low, but if someone presented me $25.00 in rolled pennies, big whoop. It is legal tender and my bank will process it just like paper money. The only reason the guy in the story got in trouble was due to how he presented it.

 

[Raduque]

When I used to work at a gas station, I used to have drunks come in a slam a cup full of change on the counter to pay for whatever they were buying. I usually made them count it, as it was generally in the very early morning (1am -4am) and it wasn't busy.

 

[SP33Demon]

just because something is a legal form of payment, doesn't mean someone has to take it.

If i'm a business, i can make it my policy to accept payment in only Dollar Bills.

This is my legal right as a business. I don't have to accept your $20

Nowhere in the article did it say they didn't accept pennies.

 

[Locut0s]

When I used to work at a gas station, I used to have drunks come in a slam a cup full of change on the counter to pay for whatever they were buying. I usually made them count it, as it was generally in the very early morning (1am -4am) and it wasn't busy.

My fav when I worked at 7-11 was a scam that some street people would pull. You take a paper tube meant for dimes and fill it with pennies then place two dimes at the end. Then go in and try to exchange a bunch of these for bills.

 

[alkemyst]

My fav when I worked at 7-11 was a scam that some street people would pull. You take a paper tube meant for dimes and fill it with pennies then place two dimes at the end. Then go in and try to exchange a bunch of these for bills.

how did they fit pennies in a dime roll, reinvent physics or stretchable paper?

 

[Locut0s]

how did they fit pennies in a dime roll, reinvent physics or stretchable paper?

Can't remember exactly. They may have printed their own or may not even have used dime rolls now that I think about it. All I can remember is that you could see two dines at the ends and it was pennies all the way through.

 

[Locut0s]

Can't remember exactly. They may have printed their own or may not even have used dime rolls now that I think about it. All I can remember is that you could see two dines at the ends and it was pennies all the way through.

I remember this one guy came in and I told him "sure I just need to crack them open to check". He very quickly snatched back the rolls and said "NO, I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT" and ran out. lol.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

WTF? Pennies are legal tender. Maybe if he hadn't "dumped it" onto the counter he would have gotten away with it.

Ya, that's what disorderly conduct is.

BEER!