Every payment system I've been involved with we had sanity checks to prevent sending $0 or "less than $0" bills. One would think this would be common sense.
This happened to me in the US with the IRS. It took a full year to resolve. In the end their investigation found out I had previously overpaid and they sent me a check for $300.
This legitimately works, make sure to send it certified and include the cost of doing so in your invoice. I've done it with Telcom and Utility Companies that failed to deliver adequate service. Gets results QUICK...
I think someone did something like this. They sent out random invoices to large companies to see if they will pay. I think suprisingly, some companies just pay these invoices as it’s not worth their time to investigate what it’s for.
Seeing this reminds me of an old trick with paying traffic tickets... You would call in Guilty, pay using the automated phone system, and pay 2 or 3 cents more than needed. The system would accept payment, but due to a balance on the account, would not transmit as finalized to be sent to DMV for Processing of Points. Says you paid in Full, but never got sent to DMV for point penalization.
There was a parking lot near my old work that hadn't been modernized, it accepted credit cards but didn't know how to handle gift cards. If you put any gift card in it with a balance less than the amount needed to park (but not 0 balance), it would print you a receipt and open the gate but it couldn't deduct the from the balance.
It would depend on the county. I would imagine most systems would be programmed to flag that as an exception, and a human would end up reviewing the transaction. Your county’s system sounds like the exception, not the rule
Something kind of similar happened to me, I got a parking ticket. I dragged my feet on paying the fine until the last day before it was due, I got a confirmation and everything. Well months go by and I get a notice that my license had been suspended because I didn't pay my fine. Going into the system, they didn't have anything for me to pay. I had to go to the court date to get it all cleared up. The look on the judge's face when I told him I already paid and my license was still suspended was priceless.
Reminds me of the time I paid off my credit card in full - plus one penny. For a couple years they sent me a statement every month with a balance due of -$0.01. Then one day it magically went to 0.00 and they never sent me a statement again.
Had that recently. Over paid by like 43c. It sat there as a negative amount. Checked it monthly and it was always there. Then boom. They stole my 43c >:(
There was just that one guy in reconciliations who has a brain who one day was going through and was all "What's this here. Oh, a credit of 1 cent? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.... Yeah, let's scrub that. Lunch break!"
it happened to me with American Express, I was at -6¢ or something, for years, after closing my account, every now and then I received a statement. After, like, 3 or 4 years, I called them to fix this, and they sent me a check for 6¢ :)
I can see this actually being in their code, lol. Although a variable would need to be called to be included in the amount that's over/under 0. Something like If (amountDue != 0) SendBill(amountDue); I'm guessing.
You should send them a demand letter and threaten to refer them to collections. Don't forget your obligatory bold disclaimer notice that this is an attempt to collect a debt.
I agree with another post here send them an interest statement. At a maximum reasonable rate for cash only. they’ll notice when it hits the double digits. Probably offer you some credit or discount.
That is frustrating. Once I got a check in the mail for a penny. Can’t recall what it was for, but I just pitched it. Even though you can deposit a check with your phone nowadays, it still takes a couple minutes and that’s just not worth it for a penny. I could go outside and find a penny on the street in less time.
I work in accounts payable. We routinely cut checks for $0.01. it's absolutely stupid but the mandate comes from the highest of our legal team and in the name of accounting, we do it. It absolutely costs us more in labor and materials to cut and send each of these checks but a big public company cares more about the accuracy of books than losing out on a dollar making it right.
I would compare this to the bills I get for $0.00, complete with an envelope to return payment. Except, I could actually mail back the bill in the envelope with nothing in it. I could even include a check for $0.00 for extra sarcasm effect.
I guarantee on top of it it says "credit, do not mail a payment" or "no payment is due at this time". But hey lets cover that and post it on Reddit for some upvotes 🤪.
I don’t think it says that right on top, but the rest of the bill makes it explicitly clear that it’s a credit. My last credit was all of 11 cents. I just took it off the next bill’s balance and referenced both invoice numbers. All done.
I got this too, like for -5 cents. I was so worried about corporate incompetence putting me in collections by accident for money they owe me that I actually called their 800 number to confirm next steps, as I obviously cannot send them negative 5cents.
My credit union once sent me a certified letter to inform me that I owed $0.06 in interest from my car loan although I had just paid off the balance. The postage on the letter was $1.08. I drove there on my lunch break and paid it and even the manager said it was stupid but the system automatically prints the invoice and they have to mail it to satisfy the books.
When I was little, my grandpa used to take me around digging up old silver coins, Indian and wheat cents all around town wherever there was old houses with his huge metal detector. Said that back in the old days, the post officers would leave letters like this for overdue postage, or the person who wanted to mail a letter without stamps just put it in with some money into their mailboxes and that the post officers often dropped it into the grass or dirt or whatever. Clearly he was right because he had two giant jars full of old wheat, Indian, buffalo and V nickels and one full of silver dimes, quarters and half dollars. He also had a lot of modern change as well he just tossed into a rock tumbler in his garage and would respend. I used to love dumping out those jars on his floor and look at all the old weird designs of US change I had no idea existed. I dunno why this felt relevant to post. I guess it just reminded me of a magical time as a kid. And, I didn’t know the post office still did this.
Gives a collection agency 2 cents for the amount. Collection agency adds $2K in fines, comes after you for $1999.91, ruins your credit, you can’t buy a car, lose your job, can’t buy or rent a home.
I can’t pay stuff like that on principle. I had a TD bank account a while back and I never knew they charged $15 a month for “maintenance” but when I stopped using that account I saw it adding up to -$100 and I just lol. They are never getting that money.
Send them a check for $1.09 so they have to process the check, carry a balance then send you a &1.00 check costing them more in time, labor, and postage than the 9 cent forgiveness would have cost them.
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They sent you a piece of paper, informing you that they received your piece of paper. Sounds like an equitable exchange to me!
Every payment system I've been involved with we had sanity checks to prevent sending $0 or "less than $0" bills. One would think this would be common sense.
you should have charged them £100 as a penalty for harassment
This happened to me in the US with the IRS. It took a full year to resolve. In the end their investigation found out I had previously overpaid and they sent me a check for $300.
Shit like that is how you end up with Vogons from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Hermes Conrad exists!
Is HMRC is staffed with Vorgans?
I was going to pick on you for calling HMRC HMCR but disappointingly it doesn't change what it stands for at all
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Have you seen the film Brazil?
I feel like you are pitching a Monty Python sketch
Nobody knows bureaucracy like the British...
Damn, I’m a CPA (chartered accountant equivalent in the US) and I thought the IRS was bad…
You should have sent them an invoice for not sending you a zero dollar check. Their system is so lacking in sense, they may have paid it.
Send them an invoice with an interest rate on it
And add a late fee of $20.. and a processing fee of $5.99
Yep 100% interest compounded daily till the loan is paid back
I'd just send them a check for negative nine cents. See how their system handles that.
This legitimately works, make sure to send it certified and include the cost of doing so in your invoice. I've done it with Telcom and Utility Companies that failed to deliver adequate service. Gets results QUICK...
I think someone did something like this. They sent out random invoices to large companies to see if they will pay. I think suprisingly, some companies just pay these invoices as it’s not worth their time to investigate what it’s for.
Wouldn't a negative 9 cents mean they owe you 9 cents?
Yes. No matter how many return envelopes they send me, there is no way for me to clear this debt on my end.
If they made you pay interest would that number go up or down?
Maybe interest will make the debt lower and you'll be rich over 20 years!
Happy cake day! 🍰
write a check for:
Write the check but for the amount put it like so:
I believe that's called an "invoice."
Seeing this reminds me of an old trick with paying traffic tickets... You would call in Guilty, pay using the automated phone system, and pay 2 or 3 cents more than needed. The system would accept payment, but due to a balance on the account, would not transmit as finalized to be sent to DMV for Processing of Points. Says you paid in Full, but never got sent to DMV for point penalization.
Heard about that for insurance too. Figured it doesn’t actually work cause why the fuck would it be that easy.
There was a parking lot near my old work that hadn't been modernized, it accepted credit cards but didn't know how to handle gift cards. If you put any gift card in it with a balance less than the amount needed to park (but not 0 balance), it would print you a receipt and open the gate but it couldn't deduct the from the balance.
It would depend on the county. I would imagine most systems would be programmed to flag that as an exception, and a human would end up reviewing the transaction. Your county’s system sounds like the exception, not the rule
This definately did not work for me when i tried it. But maybe different states use different systems.
Something kind of similar happened to me, I got a parking ticket. I dragged my feet on paying the fine until the last day before it was due, I got a confirmation and everything. Well months go by and I get a notice that my license had been suspended because I didn't pay my fine. Going into the system, they didn't have anything for me to pay. I had to go to the court date to get it all cleared up. The look on the judge's face when I told him I already paid and my license was still suspended was priceless.
Leave them a piece of paper inside that says "You owe me 9 cents."
Write "you owe me 9 cents!" on a slip of paper and send it to them in the envelope.
A first class stamp is $0.60 these days. That alone will put you deep into the red. 🤣
They should have sent you a magnetic bottle to safely transport your anticoins.
Reminds me of the time I paid off my credit card in full - plus one penny. For a couple years they sent me a statement every month with a balance due of -$0.01. Then one day it magically went to 0.00 and they never sent me a statement again.
There was a bank that used to take all those credit card overpayments and distribute them as bonuses to their upper ranks. They got in big trouble.
Had that recently. Over paid by like 43c. It sat there as a negative amount. Checked it monthly and it was always there. Then boom. They stole my 43c >:(
Credit card company owed you money
There was just that one guy in reconciliations who has a brain who one day was going through and was all "What's this here. Oh, a credit of 1 cent? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.... Yeah, let's scrub that. Lunch break!"
it happened to me with American Express, I was at -6¢ or something, for years, after closing my account, every now and then I received a statement. After, like, 3 or 4 years, I called them to fix this, and they sent me a check for 6¢ :)
If (amountDue != 0) SendBill();
This, except it's almost certainly written in COBOL, not JavaScript.
I can see this actually being in their code, lol. Although a variable would need to be called to be included in the amount that's over/under 0. Something like If (amountDue != 0) SendBill(amountDue); I'm guessing.
Send them an invoice with tons of processing fees
If they question it, just say "I'm sorry, my hands are tied".
Send back a letter that says: “Per your demand, send me nine cents.” And enclose a photocopy of their letter.
With all the extra fees and administrative stuff you've had to do, I reckon they owe you... let's see... carry the 1...
Go to the UPS store and try to purchase a packing peanut on your account.
My dad had a bank do this to him years ago, he had closed his account but they sent him some petty bill for $0.23.
Send them a Schrute buck
How about a billion Stanley nickels?
Absolutely you should
Report it to collections. File a case against their debt.
Maybe they're asking for you to forgive it? Tell 'em "ay it's cool don't sweat it". Lol
You should send them a demand letter and threaten to refer them to collections. Don't forget your obligatory bold disclaimer notice that this is an attempt to collect a debt.
Ask for a payment plan. 9 installments of $0.01 per month seems fair.
It makes no cents!
Take a picture of a nickel and four pennies and send them the negative.
“We are contacting you to let you know that we owe you 9¢. Please correct this immediately.”
Send them nine cents, so they owe you 18.
I agree with another post here send them an interest statement. At a maximum reasonable rate for cash only. they’ll notice when it hits the double digits. Probably offer you some credit or discount.
Or they'll ignore it because why wouldn't they?
When you owe so much the integer overflows.
The cheese to debt
Send them the exact same thing back but they give you 9 cents.
They should have asked for $-.15. Seems like a wasted opportunity to literally nickel and dime you.
If what's due is negative, then THEY owe you 9 cents
So… you put an invoice for 9 cents in the envelope?
Contact them, explain that they owe you money, ask for it in pennies. Then hand it back it "put it in a charity box"
That is frustrating. Once I got a check in the mail for a penny. Can’t recall what it was for, but I just pitched it. Even though you can deposit a check with your phone nowadays, it still takes a couple minutes and that’s just not worth it for a penny. I could go outside and find a penny on the street in less time.
I work in accounts payable. We routinely cut checks for $0.01. it's absolutely stupid but the mandate comes from the highest of our legal team and in the name of accounting, we do it. It absolutely costs us more in labor and materials to cut and send each of these checks but a big public company cares more about the accuracy of books than losing out on a dollar making it right.
I saw a penny today on tails.
Some utility used to hound my dad for a balance of 1 cent. Every letter came with a first class stamp.
I doubt you can find a penny on the street in less time
Send them an invoice for 9 cents.
Use the envelope to send them an invoice for 9 cents.
Send them a dime so you can get a cheque for a penny.
Send them an invoice for 9 cents. You're welcome
Call them up and insist they send you a check for 9 cents.
there's the apocryphal story of the person who received multiple bills and collection notices for $0.00
I would compare this to the bills I get for $0.00, complete with an envelope to return payment. Except, I could actually mail back the bill in the envelope with nothing in it. I could even include a check for $0.00 for extra sarcasm effect.
Send a dime.
Humor them, tape nine one-cent pieces to the piece of paper and wait for their automated machinery jam all to hell.
Send 18 cents back. Keep the cycle of fun going.
I guarantee on top of it it says "credit, do not mail a payment" or "no payment is due at this time". But hey lets cover that and post it on Reddit for some upvotes 🤪.
I don’t think it says that right on top, but the rest of the bill makes it explicitly clear that it’s a credit. My last credit was all of 11 cents. I just took it off the next bill’s balance and referenced both invoice numbers. All done.
And kids, that's why companies have a QA department.
Send in nine upside down pennies
If the amout due is $ -0.09 , then you should get 9 ct from them... !
Send them an invoice for 9 cents
Send them a bill for 9 cents. That is negative nine cents.
Add something heavy inside as they’re charged by the weight and size of the envelope
Put a dime from your left hand into your right hand. You'll just have to forgive yourself for the remaining -0.01 cents.
Send them a photograph of nine cents with the coins cut out.
Wait until they throw YOU in collections because you owe negative nine cents.
I got this too, like for -5 cents. I was so worried about corporate incompetence putting me in collections by accident for money they owe me that I actually called their 800 number to confirm next steps, as I obviously cannot send them negative 5cents.
If only there were a way to actually send them negative money...
Just send them a Venmo request for 0.09
Send them a quarter and a letter of with the due date and late payment charges with interest rates.
Put in IOU of $-0.09 in the envelope and send it
Mail them back a picture of a nickel and four pennies with a circle around them and cross through it. 🚫
I couldn’t graduate high school until I paid the school $0.53 for a textbook or something. The stamp on the notice they sent alone had to be $0.43.
Mail it back, ask for change and a receipt.
if (balance != 0) { sendBill( - balance); }
Send a check for .9 cent and watch the chaos unfold
Send them coins made of antimatter.
Write a note that says "Give me $0.09" and send it to them in the envelope provided.
Send them a dime, screw their whole system up.
No, then he'll get a bill for negative nineteen cents.
Ironic that UPS sent it via the postal service.
The government overpaid my student loans by 1 penny and sent a letter to the school to get it back.
If you don't pay it would the late fee and interest also be negative?
Just put 9¢ in the envelope and return it. One of two things will happen:
This means they own you money.
Send them a bill for nine cents.
Let it lapse and interest build. It'll be interesting to see how low it goes.
Man. The paper they used to invoice you and the ink costs more than 10 cents.
Send them 16 cents in the envelope and ask that they remit a quarter back. Balls in their court.
eBay has been reminding me about a $1 invoice for like 5 years now. I'm kind of just waiting to see how that plays out.
See… I don’t understand how shit like this happens.
Put a quarter in the envelope and send it back. Make them send you your change.
Give them 10 and send them letter with another letter asking for 1 back
Mail them back an invoice for 9 cents.
I mailed my sister a piece of cheese in July with no return address and USPS charged her $4 for it. She hasn’t paid and nothing has happened since lol
Send them an invoice for 9 cents in the envelope they sent.
Send them a dime, and see if they reimburse you the extra penny.
Sue those turkeys for the 9 cents, distress, and lawyer fees.
My credit union once sent me a certified letter to inform me that I owed $0.06 in interest from my car loan although I had just paid off the balance. The postage on the letter was $1.08. I drove there on my lunch break and paid it and even the manager said it was stupid but the system automatically prints the invoice and they have to mail it to satisfy the books.
send them a dime so they have to mail you change back
You are now entitled to 9 cents worth of service from UPS.
midlyinfuriating
This is legit the most I’ve laughed in…a long time. Thanks OP and every single commentator.
Send them back nine empty envelopes
They want you to provide them the money they owe you.
doesn't that mean they owe you?
When I was little, my grandpa used to take me around digging up old silver coins, Indian and wheat cents all around town wherever there was old houses with his huge metal detector. Said that back in the old days, the post officers would leave letters like this for overdue postage, or the person who wanted to mail a letter without stamps just put it in with some money into their mailboxes and that the post officers often dropped it into the grass or dirt or whatever. Clearly he was right because he had two giant jars full of old wheat, Indian, buffalo and V nickels and one full of silver dimes, quarters and half dollars. He also had a lot of modern change as well he just tossed into a rock tumbler in his garage and would respend. I used to love dumping out those jars on his floor and look at all the old weird designs of US change I had no idea existed. I dunno why this felt relevant to post. I guess it just reminded me of a magical time as a kid. And, I didn’t know the post office still did this.
Write a check for negative $500.00 and ask them to Zelle you the difference.
Send a dime, and an invoice for -.01 cent they owe you.
This is a job for
Send them a dime so they have to send a penny back
Related: I once overdrew my highway toll account by 5 cents.
Tape nine pennies to a piece of cardboard. Extra tape for security, and send return receipt.
Gives a collection agency 2 cents for the amount. Collection agency adds $2K in fines, comes after you for $1999.91, ruins your credit, you can’t buy a car, lose your job, can’t buy or rent a home.
I want to give them more of my money to misappropriate, urgently!
Will send you a late fee invoice for $25 - 0.09 next month
Ask for a 9-month payment plan
"To err is human. To really screw things up takes a computer". Did they PrestaShop the envelope?
Send a dime. Force them to send a check of .01c
I like to over pay a few cents extra to accounts that I know will be closing so they have to spend money to send me a check for $.05 later.
Send them a check for 9 cents
Send a dime. Then they have to mail you back a penny.
“Felony Envolope Evasion”
Send them back a dime. Make them give you change.
Make them chase you for an amount less than 2 dimes.
Send them a check for .10 cents and let the fun begin.
Tell them you need to make multiple payments and request 8 more envelopes 🤷
Send them an invoice +$1 to fuck with accounting.
Send pennies with a lead weight. The shipping cost should outweigh their .09
Just send a letter that says "Pay me."
Lol at all the people that don’t understand that a -9¢ balance means that UPS owes OP nine cents.
Send a dime and see if they send you the change
Get back 19 cents
Mail them a dime. Then they have spend money to refund 1 cent
I can’t pay stuff like that on principle. I had a TD bank account a while back and I never knew they charged $15 a month for “maintenance” but when I stopped using that account I saw it adding up to -$100 and I just lol. They are never getting that money.
Send them a a dime and an envelope for your change
Give them a dime. So they have to mail back another check for 1¢
Put in a dime and ask for them to send change back.
Mail them a dime or check for $.10, and make them refund you a check for a penny.
But THEY own OP 9 cents...
Dare you bro. Send them 10 cents and make them send back the 1 cent.
Play hardball. Send them a dime and ask for the penny back in a check.
Send them a check for $1.09 so they have to process the check, carry a balance then send you a &1.00 check costing them more in time, labor, and postage than the 9 cent forgiveness would have cost them.
You’re interpreting it backwards. They owe him 9 cents, or -0.09. If he sends a check for 1.09, that’s now -0.09 + - 1.09 = -1.18.
Tape a nickel and four pennies to that thing then mail it back with a giant smiley face.
Then they’ll just send me another invoice next month, this time for a negative eighteen cents.
The return envelope is so you can send your bill for 9 cents plus processing without having to pay your own postage!
Send it to them with an envelope for them to send you 9 cents.
Send an invoice for $.09
if (balance != 0) { send_letter(); }
The books must balance!!!
Mail back an UNO reverse card
Write them a -$0.09 check and crash their systems, and the banks systems.
It must be automated whoever has set their computer system up has selected "Get every penny mode"
That reminds me I owe the gov 7 bucks for my taxes.
Send an invoice
So send them a bill for 9 cents.
Sue them