What is this "you have to" law?

[Lace Neil Singer]

We can't give rolls of quarters anymore. If a customer asks before we've closed the drawer we can change a dollar or two and if they ask for a portion of their change in quarters that's fine too, but no full rolls. We also can't accept an 'unreasonable amount' of loose coin; what defines unreasonable is up to the cashier (if it won't physically fit in my tray I'm not taking it, there's a Coinstar ten feet away).

Once a customer tried to pay for his petrol with a shopping bag full of pennies. Ha ha no. I made him leave his keys and take the coins to the Coinstar over the road.

[Shalom]

I read a story once where back in the 1930's, I think it was, a guy committed suicide by making a makeshift pipe bomb out of materials in his prison cell, which included playing cards.

Snopes says it's true: http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/kogut.asp

Wow.

I just read this post last night, after being away from CS for a few days. First time I ever heard of the concept.

Then today I read this Vorkosigan fanfic, which mentions the same concept.

Small world, ain't it.

[April]

I just remembered this one. A few years back, before I was a case manager, I was a "Client specialist", or in layman's term a guard (Since this isn't a prison, it isn't a prison guard, really, but we did rounds, kept everyone following rules, etc) I worked the midnight shift. We are housed in an old motel, so where the motel office would be, it is the "tech" office and day room. The door was unlocked 24 hours, for the clients to come in and out as needed.

One night, an extremely intoxicated man came into the tech office. I approached him and explained this was not a motel, it was a correctional facility, and he could not be there. He demanded I call the bar so they could come pick him up. I told him there was a payphone at the 7-11 up the road, but he had to leave grounds or I would contact the police. He told me to call the police, so they could tell me that, by law, I had to call the bar for him (What bars pick up their patrons, I do not know). He then shouted at me that the police couldn't do anything to him anyway. By that time, I had the dispatcher on the phone, a description, camera footage and all of that. When he saw I was actually on the phone, he walked out, but he told me that I was a "Jack wagon" (??) before he left. I told the officers where he went (the parking lot of a motel close by) and went outside to smoke a cigarette and watch the show.

When officers pulled in to the lot, first I heard him yell that they had to arrest me, because I wouldn't call the bar. Then I heard him yelling that they couldn't touch him. Then I heard him yelling at them to let him go.

Pretty sure none of that worked out for him.

but hey, job security, right?

[wolfie]

"If a person dies, the debt dies with him. It's a law!"

Partially true, but only the TOTAL NET debt dies, not an individual loan. The loans get paid off out of the assets of the estate before anything gets distributed to the heirs, but if there's more debt than assets the excess gets written off (and of course, the heirs get nothing, since there's nothing left) rather than the heirs being told "Congratulations - your broke uncle died owing money, and you're his heir, so now YOU owe the money".

[sstabeler]

and it's also worth noting that debt only dies when EVERYONE who'se name is on the loan is dead- if you have a joint loan with somebody, and they die, you are still responsible for paying back the entire debt. (which is why, if you have a joint loan with somebody, it's a good idea to make arrangements (either a life insurance policy, or in your will) to pay off your share of a joint loan)

[Minflick]

Which is why, here in California, I was able to walk away from my husband's credit card debt when he died, because my name wasn't on it. I could have done it with the house too, except I live here, and wish to continue doing so, so I pay THAT one! I sold all kinds of stuff to pay off tax debt (no escaping that) and medical debt (Big Debt), but once that stuff was paid, I was over it. I paid off the entertainment debt I could, but Dish tried to fuck with me, so they got to go fish. My name wasn't on any of it, so too bad, so sad. My household income just dropped 75%, so I'm not paying a penny more than I must.

[earl colby pottinger]

By that logic

"If a person dies, the debt dies with him. It's a law!"

So do any assets/accounts receivable too then.

When my mom died not only did I have to pay off any money her estate own to people, credit cards, items she had purchased but had not paid completely off. But I also got to get the different payments that were due to her on the date of her death. Life Insurance, Old Age Pension, Nurse's Pension, Government credits, etc.


Tell these same people that there also some money that was owned to the dead person and that any checks that come in the mail need to be send back since they are now dead and can not spend the money. I bet their tune changes quickly.

[CyberLurch]

Someone actually tried this with you?

Did you tell them to go ahead and call them?

I would venture a guess that 90% of the users of this site have had a customer try this.

I've called a few bluffs like that - and in situations other than retail, too.

An ex-neighbor of mine felt that a particular parking space on the street was 'hers' and threatened a 911 call because I happened to be parked there. Told her to go ahead and call. She replied "Don't tell me what to do..." before going off on one of those spectacular incomprehensible shrieking urban psycho-tantrum/rants.

Over the course of my retail career, I've had a number of customers tell me what I 'had' to do on their behalf. Only once did any of them call the police when I called his bluff - to his own misfortune. The idiot called the cops on me because I confiscated his very obviously fraudulent ID when he tried to use it to buy beer. Double fail on that incident - he was ducking a traffic warrant. So yeah, he essentially called the cops on himself.

I swear, I couldn't make this shit up. Whoever said reality is stranger than fiction must have worked retail.

[Kittykat]

Most places I've worked at with returns, as long as you have a receipt you were good. If you didn't have a receipt, you either got store credit or the same item.

[Lace Neil Singer]

At the pet store, it was set in stone that no receipt = no refund, and no exchange. Anyone coming in with an item that was faulty but had no receipt got store credit, end of story. This was cuz it was privately owned and the owner for some strange reason wanted to make money, not lose it.

[Argabarga]

First I heard him yell that they had to arrest me, because I wouldn't call the bar. Then I heard him yelling that they couldn't touch him. Then I heard him yelling at them to let him go.

Snerk.


The thing is, when these fools wake up in the morning, sober, AND, behind bars.... they never learn their lesson, they just think "Aw crap, not again........" like, their being arrested is like the weather, and you can't control it, it just sometimes happens to you.

[Jay 2K Winger]

This was cuz it was privately owned and the owner for some strange reason wanted to make money, not lose it.

Well, that's just CRAZY TALK! He'll never be successful with that attitude!