Company Pays Settlement in Buckets of Loose Change

[SecularMotion]

Source: NBC

An unexpected delivery of loose change has a 73-year-old man in California giving his own two cents.

Andres Carrasco filed a lawsuit in 2012 against Adriana’s Insurance Service, Inc. alleging he was physically assaulted by one of the company's employees.

After agreeing to a settlement with Andres Carrasco in June, Adriana’s Insurance decided to deliver the funds in the form of a check -- and buckets and buckets of quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies.

The coins amount to more than $21,000, said Carrasco’s attorney Antonio Gallo.

Read more: http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/national-international/Insurance-Company-Delivers-Settlement-in-Buckets-of-Loose-Change-269896301.html?_osource=SocialFlowFB_CTBrand

[bhikkhu]

1. Here's their email

[e-mail]

I think they deserve a message or two letting them know what a stupid and spiteful move that was. I've had my share of problems with insurance companies, but I've never seen one stoop that low.

[Jerry442]

2. Stupid and spiteful, but not actually illegal.

Back around 1970, someone I knew wanted to post another person's bail in pennies as a protest but was told that coins above a certain amount were not legal tender. The 1965 Coinage Act, however, specifies that all coins are legal tender. Businesses are not required to accept all forms of legal tender (or even any) if they specify the terms before a debt is incurred, but if a debt is incurred without any stated restrictions on remuneration, it's implied that legal tender must be accepted and if refused, the debt is nullified.

Interesting story at the link about a guy who tried to pay a $25.00 disputed medical bill with 2,500 pennies. He got charged with disorderly conduct when he dumped the pennies on a counter and they spilled all over. He would have been OK if he'd been tidy about it, and if they'd refused the pennies, he would have been free of the debt. Oh well.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2011/0606/2-500-pennies-Is-it-legal-to-pay-a-bill-in-pennies

On edit: More specifically, all domestic coins still being circulated are legal tender.

[JackRiddler]

4. Hey, it's money.

Drive it to the bank, come out with a small stack of bills, have the last laugh.

[Psephos]

12. Interesting post. n/t

[Ruby the Liberal]

22. Keep in mind - banks charge for change counters

You are welcome to walk in with $21k in loose change, but they will charge you an arm and a leg to run it through and wrap it because it is very labor intensive for the CSR/teller staff.

Edit to add - and to add insult to injury, legal MMJ/MJ shops in Washington and Colorado still can't open bank accounts. For the privilege of accepting their monthly/quarterly cash tax payments for income, FICA, Medicare, etc..., the IRS is charging a 10% cash handling fee and requiring them to schedule their deposit appointments in advance. This is because of the security risk of handling large volumes of cash without secure/vault facilities on premises. Wouldn't surprise me if state and local authorities were adding penalties as well.

[demwing]

23. "he would have been free of the debt" = the opposite of what the article says

Last edited Wed Aug 6, 2014, 02:07 AM - Edit history (1)

"there's nothing in the law that says that private businesses have to accept it (change) for all transactions. If a merchant wants to sell her products in exchange for gold bullion, nothing but dimes minted before 1946, Swedish fish, or Monopoly money, that's her right under the law. The absence of such a law is how bus lines can legally refuse to accept your dollar bills (OR) gas station clerks can turn their noses up at your $100 bills..."

[MiniMe]

25. As long as they specified what the terms were before the debt was incurred

If they only stated it when you tried to pay in pennies, they would have been out of luck.

[Jerry442]

26. But the creditor can't change the terms AFTER the debt is incurred.

If the medical practice had a sign posted that could be read by patients before treatment that said "coins not acceptable for payment" then they would have been able to refuse the pennies without nullifying the debt. Since there was no sign, it was implied that any legal tender was acceptable.

[petronius]

3. With very few exception, 'being an asshole' is not a selling point

in the service industries; insurance is never one of those exceptions. I'm sure a lot of their fellow spiteful assholes will cackle at this, but it's not going to help their business... (<-- in the gladiatorial sense)

[JDPriestly]

7. Yes. The name of the insurance company has been spread across the internet and

everybody has duly noted it. You can't do things like that in the internet age.

[nykym]

5. Go through

each and every coin - there's gotta be one worth some money.
Then send the Insurance pigs a thank you note.

[safeinOhio]

20. That's what I thought

turn lemons into lemonade

[Evasporque]

6. They tried....

To nickel and dime him to death and were forced to return the coins.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. Surprising - about what is legal tender, as well as the company saying "we're assholes"

In Britain, there are limits for what is legal tender for small coins:

£1 and higher - for any amount

20p & 50p - for any amount not exceeding £10

5p & 10p - for any amount not exceeding £5

1p & 2p - for any amount not exceeding 20p

http://www.royalmint.com/aboutus/policies-and-guidelines/legal-tender-guidelines

I'd have expected the US to have inherited the similar concept - or wanted to adopt it.

But very strange for the insurance company to do something they know will get them in the news as spiteful gits.

[Wolf Frankula]

10. No, In the US

ALL currency is legal tender for all debts, public and private. Every now and then somebody pays his taxes, or a bill in cents.

You can refuse to accept, but that absolves the debtor who can say, "I offered to pay in legal tender, and the creditor refused."

Wolf

[demwing]

24. That's not really the case

Which is why establishments can refuse your $100 bills.

I quote Snopes:

"Up until the late 19th century, pennies and nickels weren't legal tender at all. The Coinage Acts of 1873 and 1879 made them legal tender for debts up to 25 cents only, while the other fractional coins (dimes, quarters, and half dollars) were legal tender for amounts up to $10. This remained the law until the Coinage Act of 1965 specified that all U.S. coins are legal tender in any amount. However, even in cases where legal tender has been agreed to as a form of payment, private businesses are still free to specify which forms of legal tender they will accept. If a shop doesn't want to take any currency larger than $20 bills, or they don't want to take pennies at all, or they want to be paid in nothing but dimes, they're entitled to do so (but, as mentioned earlier, they should specify their payment policies before entering into transactions with buyers). Businesses are free to accept or reject pennies as they see fit; no law specifies that pennies cease to be considered legal tender when proffered in quantities over a particular amount. "

Read more at http://www.snopes.com/business/money/pennies.asp#MCrLD7edD8H5AtU5.99

[snooper2]

11. Makes for more fun LOL

Pissed Off Guy Who Got Car Towed Paid Tow Truck Company With 8,800 Pennies

[7962]

16. Sent to my brother, who I could see doing this! He's 57, and a few years ago,

he was walking down the street one night with his room mate on the way home and a cop pulled up and asked "hey, where are you going?" My brother said "none of your business" and kept walking. His room mate thought they were gonna die.

[nilram]

9. what petty assholes

Pounds and pounds of coins for a 73-year old to carry. Practically repeats the original assault.

[QuestForSense]

13. Congratulations to Adriana's Insurance Service, Inc.

For setting a new benchmark for heartlessness. Sounds like a case of one bad apple spoiling the corporate barrel. You can bet that this was one person's decision.

[nilram]

14. And there's a nice pretty picture of Adriana on their web site.

http://www.adrianasinsurance.com/en/

[QuestForSense]

17. It exceeds expectation.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

15. I would have made them very sorry.

The employees then went to Carrasco’s attorney’s office, dropped them off in waiting room and left.

Yeah. No receipt. You are $12,000 lite .

Or. We never received the funds. "Oh yeah, I did see some commotion in the office in our waiting room. Some guys dropped off some buckets in the waiting room and some other guys picked them up. I assumed they were painters"

[Hoppy]

18. Guy in Secaucus N.J. went to toll booth 16 E (Yeah, what exit?) with a .65 toll.

He proceeds to pay with coinage, including about .10 in pennies. Collector insists he does not take pennies. Jerry shuts off his engine and tells collector to call the state police. Collector shuts down the lane and calls the state police.

State cop comes and tells the collector to take the damn pennies.

Jerry then goes to the local bank and gets $10.00 in pennies and drives up and down the turnpike to the nearest exit giving the collector pennies until his shift was over.

Jerry, owning a company had the time to do this.

[winstars]

19. Went to NBC LA, no video yet I think it will be on later tonight, Adriana's email is about to crash

in a big way. I will look for it on the 6:00pm news, hope these idiots get buried...

[SunSeeker]

21. Lame move by lame insurance company that advertises on the side of buses.

[jberryhill]

27. worst one I've seen...

Was a guy who received a final check in a settlement schedule which had.a brown stain on it and "It's poo!" on the memo line.

[djean111]

28. Sadly, I would bet that Adriana got a huge amount of publicity, and people are always searching for

cheaper insurance.

[Enrique]

29. they're getting hit on Yelp

http://www.yelp.com/biz/adrianas-insurance-rancho-cucamonga-3


lol here's one of their answers to an unrelated bad review:
Customer Care M.
Comment from Customer Care M. of Adriana's Insurance
Business Manager
10/24/2012 It is unfortunate you did not have a pleasant experience with Adriana's Insurance. We are here to make you a happy customer. If you can please email us at customercare@adrianasins… and provide a phone number, we would be more than happy to give you call and discuss the matter. We try to make every effort to provide excellent customer service as an attempt to maintain customer satisfaction. We hope you will allow us to attend to your needs. The last thing we want is for your policy to get cancelled again due to miscommunication on anyones behalf or for you to have any other issues that make you feel as though you are just another client, we want you to feel special and properly attended because to us your business is incredibly special. I hope to hear from you soon so we can hear you out further and do everything we can to make you and other customers with your same concerns happy. Read less