‘So you want me to write you a check for two cents. And mail it?’ Tenacious Man Wins Petty Revenge Battle With Apartment Manager Over Literal Pennies

There are some people in this world who understand common sense and when to let something drop, then there are other people who absolutely would follow the letter of the law right over the edge of a cliff.

OP and his wife settled their final bill after moving out of an apartment and into a condo. Then, the received another bill…for two cents.

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 pro-rated 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 deparment didn’t catch the edge case of spending $0.50 in postage to collect $0.02 in revenue. But it happens.

They had a good laugh and OP stopped by the office with a couple of pennies and the invoice, expecting a good laugh and for the manager to wave him off.

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.”

That did not happen, and her lack of a sense of humor inspired him to get creative as far as revenge.

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 post cards in ridiculous sizes – up to around 18″x24″, figuring that’ll be my escalation strategy.

It wasn’t long before someone with common sense, at least – no word on the sense of humor – contacted him and waived the pennies OP “owed.”

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.

Alls well that ends well…right, Reddit?

Sometimes you just have to be extra.

Make it make sense.

This is just flat-out confusing.

I can’t believe this has happened to more than one person.

Then what is it?

These stories are so confusing.

Imagine how much money is being wasted sending out bills for nothing.