‘Please don’t do this, we’ll never contact you again.’ This Man Maliciously Complied When His Apartment Manager Wouldn’t Take Cash for a Measly Two Cent Charge

The Malicious Compliance page on Reddit is always packed with great stories about people who get incredibly fed up and just don’t feel like dealing with BS any longer.

So they decide to do things in a way that other folks never see coming…

And it throws them for quite a loop!

Here’s a great example of malicious compliance that we think you’ll love.

Take a look!

“In 2019 I moved from an apartment complex in Celebration, Florida, to a condo. As usual, when you move out of an apartment, you get a final bill, which includes your last month’s prorated rent, deductions for damages, security deposit refunds, and the like. We paid it.

The next month I get a call from my wife who says we’ve got a follow-up bill in the mail from the apartment management company, for $0.02. We’re both in the tech field, so we laughed that this company’s IT department didn’t catch the edge case of spending $0.50 in postage to collect $0.02 in revenue. But it happens.

My wife prints out a copy of the bill. I grab two cents from the change jar. The apartment complex is on my daily drive, so I swing by the office. I walk in and tell the manager that I want to pay my last bill.

I say “It’s two cents. Here’s the bill, and I have the two cents if you want it.”

The manager says “We don’t take cash.” Nothing else. There was an awkward pause.

I say “I don’t expect you to take cash. I expect us both to have a laugh about how silly computer systems are, and for you to write off the two cents, because it’d cost you more to process the payment.”

She says “I’m not going to do that.” Again, awkward pause.

I say “So you want me to write you a check … for two cents. And mail it? And you’re going to process that check?”

The manager says “Yes, send us a check and we’ll process it.” and then WALKS BACK INTO HER OFFICE to end the conversation.

So I go home and set up an automatic, monthly bank payment to my apartment complex. For three cents.

And then, because I’m a programmer, I write some code to send a letter once per month, saying “I’m so sorry – I’ve overpaid my bill. Please send me a check for the overpayment.” And I use an online service that sends postcards in ridiculous sizes – up to around 18″x24″, figuring that’ll be my escalation strategy.

The first of the next month, I get a call from the apartment company’s regional manager. After introducing himself, the next two minutes were the most sincere, “Oh god, we made a mistake – please don’t do this, we’ll never contact you again” apology anyone could’ve hoped for.

I stopped the mail and never heard from them again. Did I spend several hours on MC for two cents? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely.”

Check out what people had to say about this on Reddit.

This reader had a hilarious story about a similar experience.

Another Reddit user had to deal with ATT about something like this.

And this individual shared a wild story that happened to her husband.

Serves that apartment manager right!