Paying for impound with $88.00 in pennies

[a_d_a_m]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nZLSMRH6cM

Cracked me up!

[justbob]

Good for them! It's legal tender!!

[O's Fan Rich]

I got threatened with a fine and paying the cost of having to count $22.00 in pennies.
I told the Kutztown Borough Business Manager to bring it on!
My lawyer's on speed dial.

I do believe I posted a thread about this.... like in 2002....

[MrBluGruv]

lmfao, so much win...

[Phrog_gunner]

That guy is my hero.....almost makes me want to get my car towed.

[DTRMiguel]

LMAO thats funny as hell.

[UncleLar]

When I bought the Tootsie Roll i went to the Illinois Secretary of States Office in Libertyville to get plates,registration and pay the tax on the car.They refused to take US Currency to pay the tax on the car and insisted I either use a Discover card or get a money order to pay it! Needless to say I was not happy and showed them where it's printed on the bills Legal tender for ALL debts public and private and they still refused.I guess I should've called the cops.The hell of it is I KNOW the Illinois Secretary of State.
From what I understand they're afraid to take the cash because one of them will probably steal it.

[Mike]

[quote=UncleLar;826480]When I bought the Tootsie Roll i went to the Illinois Secretary of States Office in Libertyville to get plates,registration and pay the tax on the car.They refused to take US Currency to pay the tax on the car and insisted I either use a Discover card or get a money order to pay it! Needless to say I was not happy and showed them where it's printed on the bills Legal tender for ALL debts public and private and they still refused.I guess I should've called the cops.The hell of it is I KNOW the Illinois Secretary of State.
From what I understand they're afraid to take the cash because one of them will probably steal it.

No doubt!!! :mad2:That's why Illinois is in the mess it's in!!

[martyo]

I'll go against the grain here.

These punk ass kids tied up several P.O.'s and wasted your tax dollars which you paid for.

Consider that.

[BobC]

I'm with Marty,

Somebody had way too much time on their hands!

And a classic case of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

[Phrog_gunner]

I'll go against the grain here.

These punk ass kids tied up several P.O.'s and wasted your tax dollars which you paid for.

Consider that.

But isn't it the police dept's fault for sending so many cops? It only required one, but they sent several. That just shows they had nothing better to do at the time anyway. I'm willing to bet a couple heard what was going on on the radio and thought "I have GOT to see this". And besides it's nice to see the cops being able to serve someone who actually puts some tax dollars into the pot, not just the ones who only take out of the pot.

[a_d_a_m]

But isn't it the police dept's fault for sending so many cops? Maybe. But on a dayshift, it was probably a slow day and a few other cops decided they wanted a laugh or two. That's how it'd go at my department.

[martyo]

But isn't it the police dept's fault for sending so many cops? It only required one, but they sent several. That just shows they had nothing better to do at the time anyway. I'm willing to bet a couple heard what was going on on the radio and thought "I have GOT to see this". And besides it's nice to see the cops being able to serve someone who actually puts some tax dollars into the pot, not just the ones who only take out of the pot.


That kid doesn't pay taxes. His daddy might, but he doesn't.

In any event, he dialed 911 for this. There are a limited number of 911 ports devoted to cell phone calls and there are a limited number of police.

Think about how you would feel if you or a family member missed out in a real emergency because he was consumming emergency services for this prank.

Also, think about the wasted cost the next time you b!tch about your taxes.

[Mote]

Pennies *are* legal tender, but are they really obligated to accept them as payment? I'm not so sure. The cops didn't look anything up, and they didn't seem to know for sure. They sure don't have every single law and statute memorized. I wonder if these kids would have had the same outcome if they tried to buy a new car with pennies. I bet not.

Snopes talks about it but this exact question isn't answered.

http://www.snopes.com/business/money/pennies.asp

[a_d_a_m]

I'm a 911 police/fire/EMS dispatcher. Just some thoughts on this in response to Marty's comments...
(not a personal attack by any stretch - I'm just offering some insight from my side)

In our department, we have 8 wireless-911 (W-911) trunks and 8 landline-911 (LL-911) trunks. We field every W-911 call in the county. If all the W-911 trunks fill up, they roll over to LL-911 trunks, and when those fill up, it rolls over to PBX lines. In other words, it is impossible to get a busy signal at our center. There is always a backup plan and always someone available and trained to handle the situation. We have dealt with major train derailments, 100-year floods where hundreds of people required evacuation, marsh fires, etc. Never had an issue.

I'm not supposing that all 911 centers are the same as mine, just saying that we have a failsafe plan in place for that.

Anyway, maybe you're thinking "sure, the phone lines roll over, but what if the dispatcher is taking a non-emergency call on 911, while one of the rollover lines is ringing?" Marty, this hits your "what if your family missed out in a real emergency" question.

In our center (and I assume most of them), this guy would get put on hold if there was another 911 call coming in because we understand the need to prioritize calls. So when someone dials 911 for keys locked in a car, barking dogs, parking violations, or other non-emergency things, we handle the call just as if they would be calling on a 7-digit non-ER line. But in the back of our minds, because we know our current caller is not in danger, we know they get put on the hold if it requires it.

In an ideal world, yes - 911 would be for emergencies only. But if you heard the dumbass calls that I sometimes get on 911 (asking when trick-or-treating/July 4th fireworks/parade are, asking the police to give you a ride to work, the number for the pizza place, etc), you'd probably look at this kid and go "No big deal."

Hell, the two worst calls I ever took were on "non-emergency" lines. One was a gun fight in one of the Metro Housing projects. The other was for a lady who woke up to find her 15 year-old son overdosed on inhalants, and insisted that I help her with CPR instructions even though it was painfully obvious he had been dead for at least 8 hours.

[MrBluGruv]

I think the real difficulty comes with the fact that they are withholding his car from him essentially due to a contract he didn't enter into willingly.

The "8000 Jelly Beans for a pair of shoes" analogy in that article would lead you to believe that indeed the towing company could outright refuse to accept pennies and be well within their rights. Then again, the "payment in gold for a car payment" analogy may also be applicable because, essentially not being informed that he wouldn't be allowed to pay with pennies when his car was towed and him offering them up and being denied would constitute valid payment being offered and refused, in which case they would have to surrender his car or take the pennies.


Like I said, seems real touchy just because of the involuntary nature on his behalf.

[martyo]

(not a personal attack by any stretch - I'm just offering some insight from my side)


No offense taken.

I was advised by one of teh architects of my county's system (a rural, relatively poor area) that if the W-911 ports fill up you will get a busy signal. I have not, of coyrse, tested this BUT his advice to me was convincing enough to make me keep a landline just in case due to my health issues.

Either which way, if I found out that my kid had much such a call to 911, he would have opened up a bunch of problems for himself.

We all ended up paying for his smart azz approach here.

[martyo]

I think the real difficulty comes with the fact that they are withholding his car from him essentially due to a contract he didn't enter into willingly.

No contract was formed.

At best this is a bailor/bailee situation and different rules apply.

[a_d_a_m]

I was advised by one of teh architects of my county's system (a rural, relatively poor area) that if the W-911 ports fill up you will get a busy signal. :eek: I can't imagine that - calling 911 and it being busy!

Other good reason to keep a landline phone: if you dial 911 from your cell, the dispatcher will not know exactly where you are. On a landline, your address shows up.

[martyo]

:eek: I can't imagine that - calling 911 and it being busy!

Other good reason to keep a landline phone: if you dial 911 from your cell, the dispatcher will not know exactly where you are. On a landline, your address shows up.


It is the only reason I have a house phone.

[Phrog_gunner]

Maybe. But on a dayshift, it was probably a slow day and a few other cops decided they wanted a laugh or two. That's how it'd go at my department.

EXACTLY, I'm def not blaming the PD by any means, it looks like it was a very slow shift, to me too.


That kid doesn't pay taxes. His daddy might, but he doesn't.

In any event, he dialed 911 for this. There are a limited number of 911 ports devoted to cell phone calls and there are a limited number of police.

Think about how you would feel if you or a family member missed out in a real emergency because he was consumming emergency services for this prank.

Also, think about the wasted cost the next time you b!tch about your taxes.

How do we know he dialed 911 and not the normal PD number? And since FL doesn't have state income tax, almost all moneys come from sales tax. So a good share of that counties money comes from sales tax, so if he has ever bought a pack of gum or a t-shirt, yes he has paid taxes. You shouldn't profile someone because of their age. ;)

How did this situation cost more than if the cop was sitting in a parking lot somewhere? Unless the cop stayed late on his shift and started accruing overtime, there would have been no extra cost to the taxpayer?? If anything, it saved the taxpayers a few pennies because his cruiser was idling that whole time instead of him driving it around.


The cops didn't look anything up, and they didn't seem to know for sure. They sure don't have every single law and statute memorized.

Apparently you missed the part where the officer said he was going to look up the statute, as he walked back to his cruiser.

[martyo]

How do we know he dialed 911 and not the normal PD number? And since FL doesn't have state income tax, almost all moneys come from sales tax. So a good share of that counties money comes from sales tax, so if he has ever bought a pack of gum or a t-shirt, yes he has paid taxes. You shouldn't profile someone because of their age. ;)

How did this situation cost more than if the cop was sitting in a parking lot somewhere? Unless the cop stayed late on his shift and started accruing overtime, there would have been no extra cost to the taxpayer?? If anything, it saved the taxpayers a few pennies because his cruiser was idling that whole time instead of him driving it around.


I have a hard time taking your post seriously, but....

If I recall correctly, you can hear the other end of the phone call and the operator says "what is your emergency?" I can not view the video right now, but that is my recollection.

As far as the taxes, someone is paying them. You, me, or someone. This was a waste of money. Period.

The cops were brought off post by this mental midget. That is a bad thing. Period. You'd agree if you or a loved one needed the cops and they were tending to this prank.

If you think what this punk azz kid did was smart, there is little I can do to educate you from here.

[Phrog_gunner]

I have a hard time taking your post seriously, but....

If I recall correctly, you can hear the other end of the phone call and the operator says "what is your emergency?" I can not view the video right now, but that is my recollection.

As far as the taxes, someone is paying them. You, me, or someone. This was a waste of money. Period.

The cops were brought off post by this mental midget. That is a bad thing. Period. You'd agree if you or a loved one needed the cops and they were tending to this prank.

If you think what this punk azz kid did was smart, there is little I can do to educate you from here.

You may be right about the 911, the audio on my comp is shady at best, that's why I asked and did not assume.

Off post? Patrolling the city is their post. Their job is to protect AND SERVE. There was obviously nothing going on because several cops showed up, apparently to watch the show. Maybe I am wrong for assuming here, but I assume that if a real emergency did arise, the officers would stop with this guy and respond. Apparently this qualifies me as ignorant, but I still fail to see any evidence that this added one penny to the daily operational cost of this police department.

[martyo]

Off post? Patrolling the city is their post. Their job is to protect AND SERVE. There was obviously nothing going on because several cops showed up, apparently to watch the show. Maybe I am wrong for assuming here, but I assume that if a real emergency did arise, the officers would stop with this guy and respond. Apparently this qualifies me as ignorant, but I still fail to see any evidence that this added one penny to the daily operational cost of this police department.

So on the police department that you run, the police drive around willy nilly with no deisganted patrol areas?

[Phrog_gunner]

So on the police department that you run, the police drive around willy nilly with no designated patrol areas?

Well I was hoping the well educated/experienced and well respected guy on this forum that you are would have been willing to produce some facts and or logical reasoning to show a punk azz ignoramus like myself how this truly did cost the taxpayers any extra money instead of resorting to name calling or completely avoiding the topic at hand. This is why my counter points were in the form of questions, so you could answer them and show me the err of my logic. So, I will, sir, play your silly little game and ask since I do not know the answer. How do we know that those officers were sent away from their designated patrol areas, and therefore put such a strain on the police department that was so obviously overwhelmed with other REAL EMERGENCY calls that they could only afford to spare 4 patrol cars to deal with this issue???

[SHERIFF]

This was totally about another person having their 15 seconds of fame on You Tube. That's why they had a video camera with them. They had every intention of posting the video on You Tube as soon as the transaction was over.

People win awards if their videos on You Tube are viewed enough. I know a guy up in DC that puts videos on You Tube all the time with the only intention being winning such award. I don't think he's ever won anything though. Probably never will.

[martyo]

Well I was hoping the well educated/experienced and well respected guy on this forum that you are would have been willing to produce some facts and or logical reasoning to show a punk azz ignoramus like myself how this truly did cost the taxpayers any extra money instead of resorting to name calling or completely avoiding the topic at hand. This is why my counter points were in the form of questions, so you could answer them and show me the err (sp. or word choice) of my logic. So, I will, sir, play your silly little game and ask since I do not know the answer. How do we know that those officers were sent away from their designated patrol areas, and therefore put such a strain on the police department that was so obviously overwhelmed with other REAL EMERGENCY calls that they could only afford to spare 4 patrol cars to deal with this issue???

First, I do not recall calling you a name. And, yep I had a spelling mistake in my post. I am a lousy typist but the forum has no spell check, so I do not always pick it up. Thanks for catching that. But, keep in mind though that you also used the wrong word or spelled it wrong.

In any event, you are right. It didn't cost the taxpayers a thing. There is plenty of money to go around to pay them to attend to actions of these fine young citizens.

It appears that you have an issue with the number of police that showed up. I am not saying that that was right either, but saying that this cost no money is, in my opinion, pure nonsense.

And, the suggestion that they had nothing else to do is equally nonsensical. The point is, what if there was an emeregency and they were at this call instead? That is like saying it is okay to pull a fire box because the firemen were just sitting in the station, isn't it?

[Phrog_gunner]

First, I do not recall calling you a name. And, yep I had a spelling mistake in my post. I am a lousy typist but the forum has no spell check, so I do not always pick it up. Thanks for catching that. But, keep in mind though that you also used the wrong word or spelled it wrong.

In any event, you are right. It didn't cost the taxpayers a thing. There is plenty of money to go around to pay them to attend to actions of these fine young citizens.

It appears that you have an issue with the number of police that showed up. I am not saying that that was right either, but saying that this cost no money is, in my opinion, pure nonsense.

And, the suggestion that they had nothing else to do is equally nonsensical. The point is, what if there was an emeregency and they were at this call instead? That is like saying it is okay to pull a fire box because the firemen were just sitting in the station, isn't it?

Main Entry: err
Pronunciation: \ˈer, ˈər\
Function: intransitive verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French errer, from Latin errare to wander, err; akin to Old English ierre wandering, perverse, Gothic airzeis deceived
Date: 14th century
1 archaic : stray (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stray)
2 a : to make a mistake <erred in his calculations> <erred on the side of caution> b : to violate an accepted standard of conduct


You are correct, you did not call me a name. I was including myself with those you did call names and I was bringing to light the fact that instead of replying with logic and facts you chose to mention that I was beyond the point of being able to be educated.



I don't have an issue with how many cruisers showed up to the scene. I trust the training and the experience of the police force to be able to properly delegate their workload. I was merely showing that it seems obvious that nothing else was going on and no police were being "distracted" from some issue that would be of real police importance.



We can sit here and "what if" all day. What if that impound yard was actually CLOSER to the emergency call than where they would have been on their patrol if those guys hadn't made that call? Logic would tell me the main principal of having a patrol area is that you would be able to respond within a timely manner to any call within your given area. So if he is within his area he will be able to respond within the proper amount of time to any call that he may receive. Are we really going to sit here and discuss if he was on the OTHER side of his patrol area because he wanted Wendy's today instead of McDonald's, therefore its Wendy's fault that it took him 45 seconds longer to respond to another call??



If it is nonsense to say that the police had nothing better to do, then under the same logic, that means the 3 "extra" officers that responded to the call DID have something better to do. If those officers DID have something better to do, they therefore shunned "real" police work to watch some guy pay a parking fee with pennies? I think that suggestion is a tad more ridiculous.


These guys didn't "pull a fire alarm", the police didn't show up with sirens on thinking a robbery was in progress. The guys asked for and received the services that were available to them. This seems to be more along the lines of having the firemen out to your house to get a cat out of a tree. I'd say that would be more frivolous than this penny issue. Shall we sit here and criticize little old ladies for wasting taxpayer monies for that??

[Mr. Man]

Classic geezers vs punk azzed kids!!!!

:popcorn::popcorn::popcorn::po pcorn::popcorn::D

[Phrog_gunner]

Classic geezers vs punk azzed kids!!!!

:popcorn::popcorn::popcorn::po pcorn::popcorn::D

Who pulled your string?? :D

[gja]

Pennies *are* legal tender, but are they really obligated to accept them as payment? I'm not so sure. The cops didn't look anything up, and they didn't seem to know for sure. They sure don't have every single law and statute memorized. I wonder if these kids would have had the same outcome if they tried to buy a new car with pennies. I bet not.

Snopes talks about it but this exact question isn't answered.

http://www.snopes.com/business/money/pennies.asp

Then let ME make this CRYSTAL clear for all:
Directly from the Access-Government site.
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[www.gpoaccess.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 3, 2007]
[CITE: 31USC5103]

[Page 280-281]

TITLE 31--MONEY AND FINANCE

SUBTITLE IV--MONEY

CHAPTER 51--COINS AND CURRENCY

SUBCHAPTER I--MONETARY SYSTEM


Sec. 5103. Legal tender

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. Foreign
gold or silver coins are not legal tender for debts.

(Pub. L. 97-258, Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 980; Pub. L. 97-452,
Sec. 1(19), Jan. 12, 1983, 96 Stat. 2477.)

Historical and Revision Notes
1982 Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5103.......................... ....... 31:392. July 23, 1965, Pub. L. 89-81, Sec. 102,
79 Stat. 255.
31:456. R.S. Sec. 3584.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The words ``All . . . regardless of when coined or issued'' are
omitted as unnecessary because of the restatement. The word ``debts'' is
substituted for ``debts, public and private'' to eliminate unnecessary
words. The words ``public charges, taxes, duties, and dues'' are omitted
as included in ``debts''.

1983 Act

This restores to 31:5103 the reference to public charges, taxes, and
dues because they are not considered to be debts. See, Hagar v.
Reclamation District No. 108, 111 U.S. 701, 706 (1884).


Amendments

1983--Pub. L. 97-452 inserted ``, public charges, taxes, and dues''
after ``all debts''.

[[Page 281]]

Effective Date of 1983 Amendment

Amendment effective Sept. 13, 1982, see section 2(i) of Pub. L. 97-
452, set out as a note under section 3331 of this title.

That business is COMPELLED by the aforementioned FEDERAL STATUTE CODE to accept the payment as it was presented, in the form of legal tender minted by our federal government.

Was this wasteful of police time and a shameless attention-grab, yes of course. But were the business to behave as it legally was required there would have been no video/waste of cop time, etc..

END OF DISCUSSION.

[duhtroll]

Part of a police officer's duty is to assist in disputes about the law. Heck, I called them for a parking dispute when my neighbor continually parked blocking my driveway and in front of my mailbox (well, and after I went over to talk to them twice and they gave me the "I no speak English" routine).

I don't consider it a waste of their time, even if they do. They enforce the law and part of enforcing the law is educating people about the law.

If there had been no dispute (i.e. the business not accepting pennies) there would have been no use of police time.

The business is at fault, not the kids. The kids were perfectly within their legal rights to do exactly as they did. They were not disrespectful from what I saw.

I'm the biggest "old geezer" around when it comes to kids doing stupid crap, but this doesn't fall into that category.

[rickey1987]

He was definately just being an ass and he definately tied up a few p.o.'s for no damn reason . Maybe he should make sure he doesn't park in the wrong spot next time. He probably deserved it because maybe he parked in front of a fire hydrant or something . Either way , that kid is an idiot. The point is , he probably could've easily just paid in cash or something but he wanted to get back at the company for HIS stupidity.

[-Matt-]

i hate pennies

[duhtroll]

He *did* pay in cash, in case you didn't notice that.

I'm sure it took much more effort to obtain the pennies than it would have to use paper. What a conscientious consumer!


He was definately just being an ass and he definately tied up a few p.o.'s for no damn reason . Maybe he should make sure he doesn't park in the wrong spot next time. He probably deserved it because maybe he parked in front of a fire hydrant or something . Either way , that kid is an idiot. The point is , he probably could've easily just paid in cash or something but he wanted to get back at the company for HIS stupidity.

[Motorhead350]

Can't we all just laugh and move on?

I'm all for it. Impounds are the scum of the auto world right by tow truck drivers. Even if they are towing you for a disabled car, the prices are stupid no matter what. They take advantage of people in distress no matter what. Impounds are worse. Talk to them the wrong way and you'll get another $50 on you bill just because. If your car is impounded I bet anyone would be P.O.ed, and the workers know that. So they will take advantage of you too.

Paying in pennies seems like total payback. I love it. I almost wanna pay the 100's of dollars I owe to the City for parking tickets in pennies now.

[Phrog_gunner]

Can't we all just laugh and move on?

I'm all for it. Impounds are the scum of the auto world right by tow truck drivers. Even if they are towing you for a disabled car, the prices are stupid no matter what. They take advantage of people in distress no matter what. Impounds are worse. Talk to them the wrong way and you'll get another $50 on you bill just because. If your car is impounded I bet anyone would be P.O.ed, and the workers know that. So they will take advantage of you too.

Paying in pennies seems like total payback. I love it. I almost wanna pay the 100's of dollars I owe to the City for parking tickets in pennies now.

Prove it....and make your own video.:beer:

[94_302]

I'll make a quick post as this happened in my neck of the woods. That tow company is known for being very shady. Peoples cars getting towed when they are parked legally e.t.c. Many tow places are like that in Tally. That's why I always suck it up and pay the parking garage fees if I'm going out. I don't want to risk my car getting towed even if it's parked legally.

Yeah they made it annoying by bringing pennies but pennies are still part of our currency. Yes they brought the camera because they wanted a good laugh for showing up the tow company. But when they refuse to take his money and give him his car when he is ready to pay them the tow bill what is he supposed to do? I don't have a problem with him calling the police, yes too many police showed up for this incident but still there was a problem. In the end the the kid had to pay about half of it in paper cash and the rest in coins. The police actually found it kind of funny/stupid/interesting. Not really pissed that they where at the tow yard for the call.

[justbob]

Can't we all just laugh and move on?

I'm all for it. Impounds are the scum of the auto world right by tow truck drivers. Even if they are towing you for a disabled car, the prices are stupid no matter what. They take advantage of people in distress no matter what. Impounds are worse. Talk to them the wrong way and you'll get another $50 on you bill just because. If your car is impounded I bet anyone would be P.O.ed, and the workers know that. So they will take advantage of you too.

Paying in pennies seems like total payback. I love it. I almost wanna pay the 100's of dollars I owe to the City for parking tickets in pennies now.
Thier prices are regulated by the Commerce Commission in the State that they do business in. They are told when they can hike thier rates all the way down to daily storage. Same with most tow companies and all relocaters. It's a a governed ceiling in what they can charge in order to obtain proper licensing. This is the way Illinois works as with most states.