Your money is no good here.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

Literally my money was no good at the store.

Now I understand the laws in the US about money and how they do not have to take any form of payment that they do not want to. I also understand how frustrating it is to clean out one's change drawer because some twit tries paying for a $1.50 soda with a $100 bill.

But here I am with the last bill from the money I pulled from my bank at the drive-through. There is no more money in the account that it attached to the debit card and I do not have credit cards. I have a $50. That's it, end of discussion.

I for dinner decided that Pizza would be a wonderful thing for dinner and the wife agreed. So we opt for two pizzas at the local pizza place that delivers and order $42 dollars worth of pizza. Pizza is ordered online, I explain that I only have a $50 in the notes and get the confirmation that the order was received and was on the way.

Pizza guy comes to the door, hands me the pizza, I start to pull out the $50 as he likewise pulls out a wad of bills that could be used to beat whales to death with. I'm thinking to just give him the $50 and call it a day ($8 dollar tip isn't too bad in my mind). But before I can say anything the guy stops me and says that he can't take the $50. I ask why and he says that it will clean out his change.

Remember the aforementioned wad of bills? I saw him straighten it out. He had enough to give me change for a $200 bill if such creatures existed. I explained that I was going to give him the entire $50 and that he could keep the change.

He would hear nothing of it. I explained that I had put it on the notes for delivery and I pointed it out on the delivery instructions printed on the boxes.

Nothing.

So he asked if there was any other way that I could pay I told him that there was no way until I could get to a bank tomorrow (Monday). He stated that he couldn't take the money so I handed him the pizza aback and apologized and closed the door.

There was a five minute debate through the door that I had to pay for the pizza with me countering that I tried to pay but that he wouldn't take the ONLY form of payment that I had access to. Eventually he gives up. But sadly the pizza place didn't. They called me and bitched me out. Same discussion, same lack of understanding on their part.

Long story short, the only pizza place that delivers to my house is now banning me. I now only have one choice. I have to go there for carry-out and frankly I'm now concerned about that since I'm not big on saliva as a topping. It's ranked above anchovies...but not by much.

So here it is on a Sunday late evening in an area that rolls up the sidewalks at 5pm and I have a house of starving children and adults. Everything I have to cook for dinner is frozen and needs more prep time than I have left in the evening. So off to fast food. BIG sign saying no $50's

In short, there was no place to break the $50 without spending a portion of it (that was needed for food) anywhere in town, no banks were open...nothing.

Eventually we hit the local WaWa and ordered food there which was overpriced, no one got a really filling portion, but at least they took the $50.

But only after checking it with the pen, looking for the water mark, checking the color-shift ink, looking for the security strip, looking for the red and blue security fibers, running it under a black light to see the security strip and calling over a manager for approval.

Next time I go to the bank I'm asking for nothing larger than a @#$%ing fiver.

[Racket_Man]

I for dinner decided that Pizza would be a wonderful thing for dinner and the wife agreed. So we opt for two pizzas at the local pizza place that delivers and order $42 dollars worth of pizza. Pizza is ordered online, I explain that I only have a $50 in the notes and get the confirmation that the order was received and was on the way.

OK the first thing I see wrong is that the ticket printed out at the store DID indeed show that you were paying with a $50. what SHOULD have happened was that the store SHOULD have called you to adviise you that they did NOT accept $50 or $100 bills.

Pizza guy comes to the door, hands me the pizza, I start to pull out the $50 as he likewise pulls out a wad of bills that could be used to beat whales to death with. I'm thinking to just give him the $50 and call it a day ($8 dollar tip isn't too bad in my mind). But before I can say anything the guy stops me and says that he can't take the $50. I ask why and he says that it will clean out his change.

Remember the aforementioned wad of bills? I saw him straighten it out. He had enough to give me change for a $200 bill if such creatures existed. I explained that I was going to give him the entire $50 and that he could keep the change.

first of all thank you for attempting to be VERY generous to the delivery person. I wish there were a few more like you.

second I have a problem with the driver in that he SHOULD HAVE NOT pulled out a big wad of cash in front of a customer. BUT since he DID pull out that wad of cash (GODS help him if he got robbed) I CAN NOT believe that he would have had the gall to tell you it would "clean out" his change fund even if some of that cash was from previous deliveries in that trip out (say a couble or triple run).

Third: your experience may vary depending on the rules, regs and poliicies for your local store. I DO know there are certain franchises for the larger food delivery places that DO have the rule that one can not pay with a $50 or $100 bill. this is because these bills tend to be the ones that most frequently conterfieted ie. turn a $5 into a $50.. Now I will say the same thing as I did above. the STORE should have called you BEFORE the order left the building to advise you of THEIR policy reguarding large bills as YOU DID what you thought was necessary to advise them of your situation.

I do understand the store's policy as even the government is noticing an up tic in conterfeit $50 and $100.

He would hear nothing of it. I explained that I had put it on the notes for delivery and I pointed it out on the delivery instructions printed on the boxes.

Nothing.

So he asked if there was any other way that I could pay I told him that there was no way until I could get to a bank tomorrow (Monday). He stated that he couldn't take the money so I handed him the pizza aback and apologized and closed the door.

Please understand that he was just doing his job. UNFORTUNEATELY the driver should have noticed the note on the ticket and, as I said above, it should have NOT gotten to the point of the transaction (or lack therof) happening at the door.

There was a five minute debate through the door that I had to pay for the pizza with me countering that I tried to pay but that he wouldn't take the ONLY form of payment that I had access to.


Eventually he gives up. But sadly the pizza place didn't. They called me and bitched me out. Same discussion, same lack of understanding on their part.

Long story short, the only pizza place that delivers to my house is now banning me. I now only have one choice. I have to go there for carry-out and frankly I'm now concerned about that since I'm not big on saliva as a topping. It's ranked above anchovies...but not by much.

very very bad customer service on the part of the pizza place. they should have NEVER called youback and bitched you out PERIOD. again bad customer service. my suggestion to you at this point is to get online on the PH website and make a formal complaint to Corp. esp if you are indeed banned from ordering delivery. and I can NOT believe that a lone store in an area would actually go that far in treating a customer. in this instance word of mouth does indeed travel. Ig uess they like to cut their own thoat.

So here it is on a Sunday late evening in an area that rolls up the sidewalks at 5pm and I have a house of starving children and adults. Everything I have to cook for dinner is frozen and needs more prep time than I have left in the evening. So off to fast food. BIG sign saying no $50's

In short, there was no place to break the $50 without spending a portion of it (that was needed for food) anywhere in town, no banks were open...nothing.

Eventually we hit the local WaWa and ordered food there which was overpriced, no one got a really filling portion, but at least they took the $50.

But only after checking it with the pen, looking for the water mark, checking the color-shift ink, looking for the security strip, looking for the red and blue security fibers, running it under a black light to see the security strip and calling over a manager for approval.

Next time I go to the bank I'm asking for nothing larger than a @#$%ing fiver.

The last bit also is an indication of how many times they may have been burned by conterfeit bills. I agree some places go a little overboard but the counterfeiters have gotten more sophisticated in the methods.

[Ginger Tea]

There are a few things I've never understood about American Currancy
1: why all bills are the same size and colour
2: why ATM's seem to dispence large bills if you want $100 it gives you one $100 bill leading to the "no I can't break that" scenareo

years ago if I wanted £100 the machine would spit it out in fivers, yet if I wanted a low ammount it would come out in £10's and or £20's, now most if not all UK ATM's dispence £10 and £20 notes only, the rarely accepted £50's have to come right from the bank itself upon request.

Overall your post shows so much avoidable suck
1: ATM dispencing smaller bills for a start, can they do that?
2: the Pizza place telling you that they wont accept a fifty regardless of the ordered ammount
3: the Pizza guy knowing of the acceptance of the fifty by the pizza place before setting off or just accepting the $8 tip

but them blambing you for being issued with a single bill by a machine and then forgetting they said they would accept a single bill isn't woth barring someone over, unless the conversation got very hostile at your end.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

1: ATM dispencing smaller bills for a start, can they do that?

Actually I had gone to the bank and had burned all of the $20's that I had. Leaving me with a single lone $50.

I had much more money in the bank, but that account is not attached to a debit or an ATM card so as to avoid the temptation of the impulse buy by having cash that readily available.

And I could not go to the bank on a Sunday night at 7pm as they were all closed.

My accounts with the debit cards were dry into I got paid this morning. Believe me if I could have used my debit card, I'd have used that instead of the $50.

[Boozy]

I think it's ridiculous that you couldn't pay with a fifty for an order totalling $42.

The pizza place might have a policy to refuse 50 and 100 dollar bills due to counterfeit issues, but that's not what you were told. You were told that the guy didn't have change, which was a lie.

[Rageaholic]

Luckly for me and those in the service industry, I've never experienced that problem. But boy, if I did, I would be LIVID. Especially if they just outright refused my only payment option, but still expected me to pay. I'm usually pretty mellow toward those in the service industry (especially after reading CS.com!), but I could see myself losing my short temper if they wouldn't accept my money.

[BlaqueKatt]

The pizza place might have a policy to refuse 50 and 100 dollar bills due to counterfeit issues, but that's not what you were told. You were told that the guy didn't have change, which was a lie.

especially when:

I'm thinking to just give him the $50 and call it a day ($8 dollar tip isn't too bad in my mind).I explained that I was going to give him the entire $50 and that he could keep the change.

He would hear nothing of it.

I second e-mailing/calling corporate-

[HYHYBT]

The thing is, it's *20's* that most counterfeiters make, because nobody looks at them

One little thing, though: if you had 20's and the 50 at the same time, wouldn't it have been a good idea, *knowing* that 50's are sometimes hard to break, to get rid of it at the first opportunity rather than waiting until it was your only option?

[kibbles]

I say make a formal complaint to corporate and if that doesn't work, maybe a call to a local newspaper about the type of businesses being run.

[Canarr]

Adding my voice to the "complain to corporate" crowd. That was major suck on the part of both the driver and the pizza place.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

The thing is, it's *20's* that most counterfeiters make, because nobody looks at them

One little thing, though: if you had 20's and the 50 at the same time, wouldn't it have been a good idea, *knowing* that 50's are sometimes hard to break, to get rid of it at the first opportunity rather than waiting until it was your only option?

Yes, it would be a good idea, but when you have three children who come to you needing money for school and scout things and all you have are $20's and $50's (I pulled out $200 and got 2-50's and 5-20's), are you going to give THEM the $50's?

Besides, I also tend not to break the large bills until I need to. Once a large bill is broken, it vanishes like a fart in a jacuzzi. So I hold on to them until last.

Also there is the fact that we had planned on cooking dinner, but some of our plans went later than we thought and I forgot to pull out the meat to thaw...So dinner plans got scuppered and replaced with the "@#$% it, let's get pizza" plan.

[Racket_Man]

2: the Pizza place telling you that they wont accept a fifty regardless of the ordered ammount
3: the Pizza guy knowing of the acceptance of the fifty by the pizza place before setting off or just accepting the $8 tip

.

there are a lot of smaller places that now refuse to accept anything above a $20. Why someplaces outright do NOT accept $50 or $100 (even if the order total is quite near the bill denomination) is not really clear. but they have their rules and Policies. and unfortuenately some have strict and heavy handed disciplinary actions handed out to the employee that breaks the policy (up to and including immediate termination).

my pizza place DOES accept $50 and $100 bills under the folllowing condition: The order total is within $10 or so of the large bill the customer want to use.

For example the order total is $37 and change. a $50 bill is allowed since we carry enough change ie. $12 and change.

refuseal example
large bill post I made on CS last week

[Andara Bledin]

This is a very good example of why never to trust the pizza shop to read the notes on the internet order. If you have some special situation, it's in your best interested to call the store after placing the order to confirm whether they can or cannot honor your request. This shouldn't be the case, but more often than not, seems to be how it works.

Otherwise, I wouldn't accept anything other than $20s from my bank unless I was handing the large bills directly to someone I knew would accept them. There are just too few people out there these days that will take them that it's just not worth carrying them.

And if you're worried about spending money too easily, keep a register. Nothing like noting where every penny goes to keep you from letting go of it.

And I echo contacting corporate. This whole situation should never have gotten to that point and both the driver and store mishandled it all quite badly.

^-.-^

[Ginger Tea]

there are a lot of smaller places that now refuse to accept anything above a $20. Why someplaces outright do NOT accept $50 or $100 (even if the order total is quite near the bill denomination) is not really clear. but they have their rules and Policies. and unfortuenately some have strict and heavy handed disciplinary actions handed out to the employee that breaks the policy (up to and including immediate termination).

my pizza place DOES accept $50 and $100 bills under the folllowing condition: The order total is within $10 or so of the large bill the customer want to use.

For example the order total is $37 and change. a $50 bill is allowed since we carry enough change ie. $12 and change.

refuseal example
large bill post I made on CS last week

The original post stated that the use of a $50 would be used and they accepted, or seemed to imply acceptance of said single bill, I'm sure if a no was issued the order would not have been placed.
So if they don't accept $50's they should have said there and then, it sucks that places might instantly terminate someone for accepting a large bill on the premis that it might be counterfiet and I wouldn't risk my job over a duff note, but what if its all in fives and they are counterfiet.

I read your CS post when it first came out, yes $100 for $20 and change order is WTF and as we in the UK cannot get hold of a £50 without going to the bank and specifically asking for one, I still find it odd that your bills go that high, sure the wallet would be flatter, but I've read too many $100 for $10 sales, esp if its been shown that they do have smaller bills and just choose not to use them

[Pagan]

There are a few things I've never understood about American Currancy
1: why all bills are the same size and colour

To answer that question, we'd need a way-way back machine....or a TARDIS.

2: why ATM's seem to dispence large bills if you want $100 it gives you one $100 bill leading to the "no I can't break that" scenareo

They don't dispense large bills. The largest I've ever gotten from any have been $20s. Even when I was pulling well over $100.

Even most banks and credit unions won't give out in larger bills....unless you ask. Which is what usually happens I suspect in a misplaced attempt to look important.