OT: Unbelievable but true...

[Will]

Yes, the story is entirely true. The guy is told by a Best Buy rep that there is no installation fee for his car speakers because they screwed up the first time. The next day, they call him and threaten to call the police unless he pays the installation fee (which he was already told didn't exist). In protest, he pays the $114 bill in $2 bills. The cashier believes there is no such thing as a $2 bill, and refuses to take them. Under Federal law, since the man was paying a debt, and he tried with legal tender US Reserve Notes, and the payment was refused, the debt is automatically cleared.

But, he eventually convinced the cashier to take the bills. She marks all of them with a pen as counterfiet, and calls the manager over. The manager calls the police. The police notice a few of the bills are smudged (a not-uncommon occurrance), and hold the man in handcuffs and leg irons for three hours until the Secret Service arrives and lets everyone know that they're all morons.

The sherrif's department explained away the whole mess with some bull**** about the "post-9/11 world". I hope the guy sues these people for all they're worth. I'm normally against gratuitous litigation, but this is just too much.

So, AT, yes. People really CAN be that stupid. But I think you already know that.

[Captain Kwok]

Yeah, I never understood why US $2 bills aren't more widely circulated... I find them more useful then the 1$ ones.

But then I'm Canadian, so I'm just used to loonies and toonies ($1 & $2 coins) we have here. They stopped printing paper $1 & $2 in 1987 and 1992? respectively.

[Starhawk]

Hey I resent the fact not knowing a 2 dollar bill is real can fall under stupid I prefer "misinformed" lol, but the fact that they arrested the man over it IS incredibly stupid! I mean they should have just called the Secret Service or heck the US mint and asked them about it....or if they had anyone over the age where they made and then ceased to make 2 dollar bills ask them LOL.

Heh I think they stopped making the 2 dollar bill before I was even born or at least that's what the woman that told me and my Wendy's crew they were real said


Oh and the reason I know for a fact you can call the cops over a refusal to pay is because we had a guy on my crew arrested because he bought a stereo and refused to pay them, they threatened to repo he hid it they arrested him lol.

[Baron Munchausen]

They used to make them in the 19th century and into the early in the 20th century. I have heard that they stopped during World War II because the Nazis planned to sabotage the US economy by flooding it with $2 bills. Why did they choose the $2? Because you only had to make half as many! (Large denominations like $5 and $10 were actually much less commonly used in those days because of the difference in the value of money).

In 1976 they started printing them again to 'save money' (by printing fewer ones) but most people don't see them very often. You usually have to go to a bank and ask for one.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

You guys should do what we did and make a $2 coin. Much simpler and usefull.

[Raging Deadstar]

narf poit chez BOOM said:
You guys should do what we did and make a $2 coin. Much simpler and usefull.

Seconded Narf!

That Said over here in the UK the highest coin value we had was £1, then we had notes from £5 onwards. These days we have a £2 coin which is somewhat common and then the £5 coin, which I have only seen once and looks more like a Discus. I have to admit if someone paid with a $5 coin I would be somewhat suspicious if I had never seen them before.

"hey? hello? HEY!! What is this? Did you steal this out the back of a washing machine? What the hell is this? It looks like some sort of primitive metal frisby to be used as a hunting weapon!"

The problem is, automatic machines (passport photos, vending machines, ticket machines and all those sort of things) rarely accept anything over £1. The wonderful advance of technology huh?

[Ron_Lugge]

Hey, I didn't know 2$ bills were real untill after my Dad told me he *wasn't* joking about them -- they are extremely rare, which makes finding them difficult. And therefore, most people don't know they exist unless they have been introduced for some specific reason.

[Atrocities]

First off guys, it is illegal for a them to threaten calling the police over someone not paying a bill. He can sue on that basis alone. Secondly, the store supervisor or manager, or any one over the age of 21 in that store personal would know. I simply do not believe or will buy into this fabracation.

I worked retail for 10 years and NEVER ONCE, did any one refuse to accept a $2.00 bill. $3.00 bills yes, with Clintons face on them, but never a $2.00 bill especially if the numbers were sequential.

Unless Best Buy hired complete back water dumbasses with no education at all, or shallow teenage girls who know more about a cell phone than they do about a conventional phone, would it even be remotely a possiblity.

Last, if this did indeed happen, then Best Buy is looking at one hell of a law suit, three fold, first for threatening him, second for the unlawful detainer, and last but not least, defimation / humilation.

Oh ya and any legal fees he has incurred.

If he was arrested and trust me, they DO TEST the bills with a marker pen to see if they are fake, then he can sue the city for unlawful arrest and imprisenment.

I simply refuse to believe that there are people out there who are this stupid. Again they TEST the bills with a marker pen at the check stand, and a simple call to the bank, any bank, with the serial numbers of the bills would confirm where they were issued.

If this story is true, then I this guy would have to be incredibly dumb not to sue both best buy and the city over what happened. And yes, in this case a lawsuit would be warrented.

[kerensky]

Most stores only check $20 bills or larger, but still, most anyone should know that a $2 bill is real. I wonder what would happen if the guy had paid in silver and gold dollars....

[Gandalf Parker]

Slashdot is quoting morons.org.
I tried to track the story back to a reasonable paper but ended up with one I needed to register to see. Since news.google doesnt have multiple stories carrying the story I have doubts of it.

I would not be too surprised to find out its at least partially true. But my wife has worked retail in a large variety of stores and all of them had training about bills