Pay With Pennies Go to Jail!

Pay With Pennies Go to Jail!

wcbstv.com

Gilberti showed 112 rolls of pennies to CBS 2 HD. He said he thought he could use the coins to pay a traffic fine at the Bloomfield Municipal Court.

"I went to the bank and got $56 worth of rolled pennies and went down to the court house and they refused to take it. They had told me to bring cash. I was under the assumption this was cash."

Non-cents? Not really. Pennies are legal tender. In fact, at the courthouse CBS 2 HD found a sign saying cash is accepted.

(visit the link for the full news article)

But the 22-year-old said there was a condition -- that he write his driver's license number on each roll.

"I simply asked them if I would have to do just this if I were handing in $56 bill. Would I have to write my driver's license number on each bill? They had no response," Gilberti said.

And even more shocking he said: "Then I found out there was a warrant out for my arrest."

On one hand he knew what he was getting into when he paid in pennies. On the other hand, give me a break, take the rolls of pennies.

But to issue a warrant after he attempted to pay in a currency that they opening advocate accepting, well I think the kid could fight back and win.

Imagine if you got a erroneous parking ticket and just wanted to feel better about paying it.
]
AAC

wcbstv.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

What a fantastic idea!

The next time I get some bogus traffic charge I will be paying in rolls of pennies. I hope they try to pull the same stuff on me.

I'm betting the ACLU will get involved if this isn't resolved shortly. This sort of police-stupidness is right up their alley.

Legally they could get into a lot of trouble for not accepting the pennies. That is assuming that that's what the warrant was for and not something else.

But on a more personal note what moran doesn't accept pennies especially already rolled. I use to collect pennies and would turn in tons of the ones I didn't need or already had to any of the local banks for either deposit or cash and they always accepted them. Not to mention they would have a coin bag they could place all their coins in when taking it to the bank for deposit or cash.

Paying with pennies... lnconvenient? Yes. Legal? Yes.
Pennies are legal tender. Being that they came from a bank, they should be in the machine stuffed rolls, either 'shrink' or the crimped cardboard tube. Were this to be a restaurant or private establishment, I can see denying accepting the pennies, but for a municipal government to not accept them, then issue a warrant for non-payment is rediculous.

The funniest part is he plans to take the pennies to his court date... hope he gets through the metal detector.

[edit on 15-12-2008 by abecedarian]

though my new screen name makes me look like a rookie to this site; I have actually been around for about eight years. mysteriously when i moved my pass-word no longer worked--and i could no longer recieve emails on my old account to re-instate my membership.

that aside, i run into a similar situation about 10 years ago. I tried to pay for $10 of fuel with pennies (rolled with my name and phone number on them). I was told that I could not by the break-time clerk. I argued that they were legal us tender and she said her business did not recognise them as such. she called the police on me for failing to pay for fuel and they disregaurded the claim and made the attendant take the coins.

moral is: legal us tender is legal us tender.

reply to post by abecedarian


The more I think about it the more I see it as a couple human egos refusing to compromise. The unfortunate part is that the police officers are going to end up losing. This is just stupidity at its best.

AAC

www.snopes.com...

Title 31 (Money and Finance), Subtitle IV (Money), Chapter 51 (Coins and Currency), Subchapter I (Monetary System), Section 5103 (Legal Tender) of the United States Code 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. Foreign gold or silver coins are not legal tender for debts.
What this statute means, in the words of the United States Treasury, is that "[A]ll United States money . . . is a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal law mandating that a person or organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services."

That's it. All this means is that the Federal Reserve System must honor U.S. currency and coins, not necessarily anyone else. U.S. currency and coins can be used for making payments, but a debtor does not have to pay in legal tender, nor does a creditor have to accept legal tender. If a shoemaker wants to sell his products for 8000 jelly beans per pair, he's entitled to do so; the buyer cannot demand that he accept the equivalent value in legal tender instead. However, legal tender is the default method of payment assumed in contractual agreements involving payments for goods or services unless otherwise specified. So, for example, if an automobile dealer signs a contract agreeing to sell you a car for $8,000, but when you begin making monthly payments he rejects them and insists he wants to be paid in gold instead, you can go to court and have your debt discharged on the grounds that valid payment was offered and refused.

So, I think that answers the question.

I used to work at a service-station (gas station to you Americans) here in Australia. They had a rule that if the person tried to pay with more than 8 coins I was to refuse it and demand alternative payment. I argued the point with them and ended up having the manager fired over it.

Sounds like this person was just being a Jerk and he got treated like one. When I deposit rolled coins in the bank I have to write my account number on all the rolls and I'm a Merchant. If I don't roll them they charge me to count them, so I write the number on them. Seems simple enough, unless of course a person is just an attention seeking Jerk.

I'll be interested to see how this turns out.
I'll also be interested if the municipal clerk faces any kind of legal trouble for refusing to take the payment.
I can't wait til the next time I have to go pay a parking ticket now. what a good idea.

reply to post by Blaine91555


Banks are private they can do what they want. The US Government has to abide by their OWN rules. There's a difference.

AAC

reply to post by Blaine91555

I think if I was the one taking the money I would have found humor in what the man was doing. It was obvious he wasn't pleased with the citation. I also would have gave him a break on the warrant and let the cops catch him another day. It wasn't like he was a serial killer or anything.

As far as I understand it, coins are legal tender and if you pay in coins whether it be all pennies or quarters, the merchant has to accept the payment. If they refuse the payment then you get if for free.

I was always under the belief that there was a limit on how many of each coin could be used to pay for items.
In Australia anyway, something like $5 dollars of 5 cent pieces
$10 dollars of 10 cent pieces
$20 dollars od 20 ect..............

reply to post by Hastobemoretolife

Why the assumption the warrant had anything to do with the pennies?

The station called a judge to file an arrest warrant for this? I seriously doubt a warrant would be issued for paying in pennies or even could be issued during the period of time he was at the station. Don't you think it's a bit more reasonable to believe he had an outstanding warrant and was fool enough to believe he could stick it to the man with his little game. His stunt gave them time to run a check.

I'd call this one stupid criminal tricks.

[edit on 12/16/2008 by Phage]