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Man cited for disorderly conduct after paying bill with 2,500 pennies

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Liberal_in_LA Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 04:49 PM
Original message
Man cited for disorderly conduct after paying bill with 2,500 pennies
Man cited after paying bill with 2,500 pennies

A Utah man has been cited on a charge of disorderly conduct after paying for a disputed medical bill with 2,500 pennies.

The Deseret News of Salt Lake City reports Jason West went to Basin Clinic in Vernal on May 27 prepared to dispute an outstanding $25 bill.

Assistant Vernal Police Chief Keith Campbell says that after asking staff members whether they accepted cash, West dumped 2,500 pennies on the counter and demanded that staff count them.

Campbell says the incident upset staff because pennies were strewn about the counter and floor, and West's action served "no legitimate purpose."


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/06/05/national/a134610D16.DTL#ixzz1ORNt41pm
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RandomThoughts Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 04:54 PM
Response to Original message
1. In metaphor.
Edited on Sun Jun-05-11 05:09 PM by RandomThoughts
Those are those that think those that are due, are actually paying. It comes from opposites.


For instance some would say what I share with people is me 'paying something' I do not owe, nor do I have a debt that has not been paid, what ever I owed was paid long ago. Although I don't think of such things in money concepts.

Although in money concepts, I am due beer and travel money, and many experiences.

As far as pennies strewn all around without a use, prisoners unjustly held grow flowers not food, so it can not be used for wrong.



Intro to Pilot of Hogan's Heroes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJfSI4cKWLY


Christopher Cross - Ride Like The Wind
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur8ftRFb2Ac
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Liberal_in_LA Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 04:57 PM
Response to Reply #1
3. .
:beer:
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JVS Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 04:56 PM
Response to Original message
2. What kind of asshole gets so pissed off over a $25 medical bill to pay it in pennies?
I understand paying with pennies if you feel you're really getting ripped off, but most people would be tickled pink to find out their hospital bill is so low.
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cdsilv Donating Member (883 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 05:01 PM
Response to Reply #2
4. actually, pennies are not legal tender in amounts over $20
...don't remember where I read that, but it had to do with someone trying to pay the IRS in pennies...
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skepticscott Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 05:15 PM
Response to Reply #4
7. Well, there is also a law against
filing a "frivolous" return, which would probably include that, as well as a number of other things people have tried just to make things difficult for the IRS.
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Capitalocracy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 09:00 PM
Response to Reply #4
20. $20 in pennies and a fiver, then, I suppose. nt
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pansypoo53219 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 05:03 PM
Response to Reply #2
5. it might have been for ONE suppository.
i want the REST of the story.
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JVS Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 05:17 PM
Response to Reply #5
8. Where's Paul Harvey when we need him?
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Orrex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 10:27 PM
Response to Reply #8
30. I can't imagine that we've ever needed Paul Harvey
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InkAddict Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 05:06 PM
Response to Original message
6. Wrong to have dumped them; also wrong not to accept them
either bagged or rolled, if they would have accepted cash, since it is legal tender. If short, they could certainly have billed him further for the shortage/overage and the service to ascertain their true value - t*t for tat - Seems a bill for $0.02 would have been really difficult not to pay in pennies but for the gasoline to go the miles to get to the office, LOL.
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Ian David Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 07:23 PM
Response to Reply #6
13. I once got a collection notice that I owed $0.00
Edited on Sun Jun-05-11 07:23 PM by Ian David
The letter threatened legal action unless I paid.

So, I sent them a check for $0.01 and asked them to credit me the overpayment.
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Hippo_Tron Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 10:16 PM
Response to Reply #13
27. .
:spray:
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CJvR Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-06-11 04:52 AM
Response to Reply #13
40. Lazy programing.
Stupid things like that tend to happen when you use float numbers rather than integers in economic programs.
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bbgrunt Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 05:24 PM
Response to Original message
9. given the price of copper, he might be better off selling them as scrap.
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RC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 08:54 PM
Response to Reply #9
18. Penney's are only coated in a thin layer of copper since 1982
Some kind of pot metal in the core.
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TroglodyteScholar Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 10:18 PM
Response to Reply #18
28. Zinc in the core
It's cool...you can melt it out with a Bunsen burner and it's cooled and solid before it hits the ground.
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RebelOne Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 05:25 PM
Response to Original message
10. My ex-husband did that to a bill collector.
When we were younger and not very good managing our money, we were hounded by a loan company. We owed $35. So my ex went to the bank and got $35 worth of pennies. He walked into the loan office, plopped down the bag of pennies and said, "Here is the payment. Now, count them." They counted them. We had no problems thereafter.
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xchrom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 05:38 PM
Response to Original message
11. If you can spend a penny - you should be able to pay in pennies. Fuck them. . Nt
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ChrisBorg Donating Member (411 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 06:42 PM
Response to Reply #11
12. Paying with pennies wasn't the problem, being an asshole
and throwing them all over the counter and the floor was. Disorderly conduct.
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xchrom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 07:55 PM
Response to Reply #12
14. He paid it, didn't he? Is there a legal requirement not to be an
Asshole to pay a bill?
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ChrisBorg Donating Member (411 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 08:06 PM
Response to Reply #14
16. Yes. If you significantly disrupt the business then you can be arrested.
Disorderly conduct.
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xchrom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 08:41 PM
Response to Reply #16
17. So making a payment disrupts business? Nt
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ChrisBorg Donating Member (411 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-06-11 02:01 AM
Response to Reply #17
33. fail Nt
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RC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 08:56 PM
Response to Reply #14
19. Yep. There is something in the law about loose coins verses being rolled.
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LanternWaste Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-06-11 08:16 AM
Response to Reply #14
43. Actually, yes-- it's called Disorderly Conduct.
"Is there a legal requirement not to be an Asshole to pay a bill..?"

Actually, yes-- it's called Disorderly Conduct. :shrug:
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TheKentuckian Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 08:01 PM
Response to Original message
15. I'd nullify if I was a juror and would further encourage others to do the same.
Don't want pennies then cancel the debt, bloodsuckers.
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pipoman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 09:44 PM
Response to Original message
21. $25 sounds like an insurance deductible...his beef may have
actually been with his insurance company or employer.
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Occulus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 10:00 PM
Response to Original message
22. Some sad responses on this thread.
Ten years ago we would all have agreed that this was his right.

Only another sign that the DU tent has become much too big.
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tammywammy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 10:06 PM
Response to Reply #22
24. I have no problem with people paying in coins
But they're supposed to be rolled and not thrown about on a counter.

I do think citing him seems a bit much, but we don't know exactly how he was acting in the clinic. If he was yelling and throwing things about then it would be appropriate. If he had just placed a bag of coins on the counter then it's a bit ridiculous.
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Nailzberg Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 10:26 PM
Response to Reply #22
29. I think the situation is unclear because the "dumping" pennies description.
Its all a journalist's choice of words.

If the guy gave them a sack full of pennies, then that is fine with me.

But if he walked in with a sack of pennies, turned it upside down on the counter and let them rain all over the place, then that is poor form.

I think paying in pennies should be fine. Who hasn't thought about paying a parking ticket, fine, or late fee in that fashion? But there is a difference between making a point and being an ass. And without knowing what this person did, I have no opinion.
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999998th word Donating Member (555 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 10:40 PM
Response to Reply #22
32. It was a MEDICAL BILL.
If we had single payer- that wouldn't be necessary.
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nadine_mn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-06-11 02:08 AM
Response to Reply #22
34. Really? have you ever had anyone throw coins down at you?
I don't think anyone is disputing his right to pay in pennies, I think what the problem was he was an asshat by throwing them on the counter.

I used to work at a gas station - we would have people pay in change all the time - some brought it in rolls and others slammed loose change so it went all over the place like they were doing me a favor.

attitude is everything
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greyl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-06-11 02:15 AM
Response to Reply #22
35. "After" is not equal to "because". nt
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TwilightGardener Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-06-11 08:22 AM
Response to Reply #22
44. I agree. Since when is the MANNER in which this guy placed the pennies on the counter
Edited on Mon Jun-06-11 08:23 AM by TwilightGardener
a reason to get charged with a crime? So he "dumped" them, according to the story, possibly in anger or frustration--and maybe they rolled off the counter. Why is that illegal? Did he physically threaten anyone, harm anyone or any property with his pennies? Did he throw them at the clerks? If not, then there's no basis to cite him with a crime, that I can see. Being angry, and showing it, is not a crime.
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cherish44 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 10:02 PM
Response to Original message
23. I paid a parking ticket in pennies
it was $2 and I stuffed the envelop with 200 pennies and dropped it off. They took it. Hey I needed to get rid of the things
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Obamaforthewin Donating Member (40 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 10:14 PM
Response to Original message
25. Sounds like the asshole
dumped them on the counter in a violent way. He did not simply give them $25 in rolled pennies.
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Abq_Sarah Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 10:16 PM
Response to Original message
26. I someone wants to pay me in pennies, I've got no problem with it
I'd rather be paid in pennies than not be paid at all which is a legitimate concern in this economy.

It must be nice to have so little concern about getting paid that you have the luxury of turning down legal tender.
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Orrex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-05-11 10:28 PM
Response to Original message
31. Ironically, he proved only that he has no sense
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greyl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-06-11 02:16 AM
Response to Reply #31
36. Cheapest joke you ever made. nt
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Orrex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-06-11 07:53 AM
Response to Reply #36
42. Well, I was due for a change.
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greyl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-07-11 12:38 AM
Response to Reply #42
47. I oughta slug you! nt
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bighughdiehl Donating Member (284 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-06-11 02:32 AM
Response to Original message
37. Anyone else....
Thinking of Kramer paying for the calzone?:spray:
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Raine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-06-11 03:47 AM
Response to Reply #37
38. LOL yeah that came to my mind too
I remember him with all that change in his pockets, slipping and sliding and falling down ... so funny! :rofl:
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hfojvt Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-06-11 04:28 AM
Response to Reply #37
39. bighughdiehl?
One of my great-great grandfathers, John Peter Diehl was said to be 6' 6" and 260 pounds. Of course, he only lived to be 53 before he died of a heart attack.

But otherwise, no, I don't remember that episode of Seinfeld.

I do remember an episode of Mary Tyler Moore where Ted owes Murray $10 that he keeps refusing to pay back because Murray does not have change for a 500 dollar bill. Finally at the end of the episode, Murray asks again and Ted says, for the tenth time "Do you have change for a $500?" and Murray hoists up a big bag of coins "actually I do" Ted says "not quarters" amd Murray says "nickels, Ted, nickels".
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Prometheus Bound Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-06-11 05:01 AM
Response to Original message
41. I wonder what they would have done if he had thrown five fivers on the floor.
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ladjf Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-06-11 09:52 AM
Response to Original message
45. The medical office could have (1) accepted the 2500 pennies
as payment of his bill and (2) billed him for the service of gathering up and counting the pennies.

The payer was wacky to try to pay in pennies, particularly if he scattered them on the counter. The med office felt insulted and reacted in a personal way by charging him with disorderly conduct.
Both parties diminished their reputations by their actions.
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Heywood J Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-06-11 05:57 PM
Response to Original message
46. Since when does DU
take a police chief's word for what happened? The same chief says he "dumped them on the counter", then strew them about the floor, in the same breath. Which is it? Since when did the police chief become the sole determiner of whether the man's actions had "no legitimate purpose"?

When did hurt feelings become grounds for fining someone?
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