Some bills are hardly worth the paper they’re printed on, especially when the bill is mere cents.

But after a property management company demanded literal pocket change, one former tenant gave them a crash course in petty interest.

You’ll want to read on for this one!

Apartment manager “doesn’t take cash” for $0.02 bill. Malicious compliance ensues.

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.

But turns out, that wasn’t the end of 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.

At first the couple laughed it off as a silly mistake.

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.”

But it soon became clear apartment management was quite serious about the balance.

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.”

The manager completely shuts down any further debate.

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 now the renter is determined to send a message.

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.”

They spared no expense in making this lesson as painful as possible for apartment management.

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 renter’s actions quickly caught the attention of the higher-ups.

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.

The renter doesn’t regret a darn thing!

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.

They want exact change? They’ll regret that!

What did Reddit think?

Paying cents is hardly worth the effort.

Some companies are just doing entirely too much.

Colleges aren’t above this petty nickel-and-diming either.

$0.32 doesn’t get you far at all in this day and age.

All this effort may sound excessive to some, but sometimes the principle is worth every penny.

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.