Clerical errors happen, though some are funnier than others.

What would you do if a company insisted on going into a deficit just to prove a point to you? One guy shared his devilish response to this on Reddit. Here’s what went down.

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.

More upstanding behavior than most tenants.

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.

Oh, the irony.

But it happens.

My wife prints out a copy of the bill.

I grab two cents from the change jar.

That’s one way to do it!

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.”

He definitely wasn’t expecting that.

The manager says “We don’t take cash”.

Nothing else.

There was an awkward pause.

You could probably hear a pin drop.

I say “I don’t expect you to take cash”.

“I expected 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”.

There needed to be a record scratch there.

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.

This guy located the fun police precinct!

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”.

Now that’s how you commit to a bit.

“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.

The first of the next month, I get a call from the apartment company’s regional manager.

Can’t imagine she was too happy.

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?

It would appear he did.

Yes.

Was it worth it?

Absolutely.

That company was surely kicking themselves after that one. Let’s see how the good folks of Reddit weighed in.

Most jumped in to immediately share their own experiences.

And shared a perspective from the other side.

Others went for straight congratulations.

And left some quippy remarks.

This is the final boss of “penny wise, pound foolish.”

Thought that was satisfying? Check out what this employee did when their manager refused to pay for their time while they were traveling for business.