# What's the lowest amount you ever got billed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 24, 2000, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400 "2000-09-24T23:31:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2000, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/1 "2000-09-24T23:31:35Z")
Okay, I have to ask. I just got a bill from AT&T for -get this- $0.66. I can understand they want to collect on their accounts, but I never even signed up with these yahoos. Isn’t there some ‘slush fund’ where big companies can roll over the $0.01 - 0.25 charges instead of wasting the stamp? I just wanted to know, and I just wanted to start a new thread. It’s sunday and I’m kinda bored. The topic: Rediculously low bills, the cost of the company to mail them, and your cost to mail 'em a check back. Discuss. Tripler ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/2 "2000-09-25T00:07:05Z")
$.92. Canadian. ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/3 "2000-09-25T00:14:49Z")
I don’t have any ridiculously low bills to contribute, but how about asinine payment amounts? I have a piece of a piece of a piece et cetera of oil company shares. I’ve quite often gotten checks for as little as a penny. Even when the check is up towards $1.00, the postage on the package (with all of the accounting details) is usually close to three times the amount of the check. Evidently I’m not the only one that doesn’t bother to get these to the bank…recently they’ve included letters begging everyone to _cash their checks_ because the books are getting mucked. :rolleyes: BTW - have you ever tried to cash a check for a penny? I can say from experience that bank tellers don’t appreciate it! ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/4 "2000-09-25T00:33:03Z")
Funny you should ask. I just got two bills in the mail on Friday from Qwest. One for $28+ and another for _eight cents_. The bills were both were made out on the same day. Why they didn’t just add the eight cents to the larger bill is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/5 "2000-09-25T00:38:15Z")
I often get dividend checks for 22-32 cents each, every quater. The problem I have with them is cashing them at the bank. Since my parents are also listed on the checks, the bank usually gives me a hard time for not having their signatures (they live about 7 states away). Like I am going to embezzle money 22 cents at a time. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/6 "2000-09-25T00:38:17Z")
I was once billed for _two cents_. Reason: my total long-distance phone bill for that month was a dime. I mailed them a check, but apparently I missed the due-by date. So, the next month I was penalized for a percentage of the ‘delinquent amount’, minus what I’d paid, which added up to two cents. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/7 "2000-09-25T00:44:31Z")
For my second payment on my new mortgage, I misread a 9 as a 5 in the amount and underpaid by … 40 cents. I got a bitchy letter from the loan company (signed no less) demanding the fourty cents post-haste or horrible things would happen. :mad: I sent the payment back to them with a letter stating that I expected better service than this and if something like this happened again, I would find a new loan company. I still might. ---
**Author:** ![Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/779978/32.png) [@Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zumba_The_Cat)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/8 "2000-09-25T01:00:17Z")
It must be a thing with AT&T. They once billed me 26 cents after I switched long distance companies. Of course I threw the bill away. The next month I got another bill for 27 cents. I guess they included a late charge. Of course I threw that bill away too. Let them put 27 cents on my credit report! Like I care. I was not going to write a check for 27 cents and then put a 33 cent stamp on it. The third month I got another bill and a letter about how they were going to begin collection proceedings. I mailed them a quarter and a nickel and told them to keep the change. I HATE AT&T. ---
**Author:** ![dpr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dpr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dpr)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/9 "2000-09-25T01:06:33Z")
Only last month I received a credit card bill for 12 cents (which if you converted it to $US atm would be… _shudder_) I have a friend who overpaid an account once and received a cheque for 1c from the bank. He framed it and hung it on his bedroom wall. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/10 "2000-09-25T03:01:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zumba The Cat \* > \*\*It must be a thing with AT&T. > > I mailed them a quarter and a nickel and told them to keep the change. > > I HATE AT&T. \*\* I think I might do that. Three quarters, and I’ll demand change. Ooh, cold hard cash . . . Ooooh. . . ---
**Author:** ![VaHermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ed655f/32.png) [@VaHermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VaHermit)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/11 "2000-09-25T03:26:35Z")
I made my last mortgage payment a couple of months ago but my last reciept still showed a balance of one dollar. They explained that this was necessary to keep my file open on the computer till they finished all the paperwork, deed of trust etc., and told me to ignore it. Sure enough, the next month, I got a notice that my payment of one dollar was overdue and they were adding a twenty dollar late fee, please remit $21 immediately. They took care of it and apoligized, but sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/12 "2000-09-25T03:43:07Z")
My last water bill was 20 cents due Sept 4. Now that I missed paying it I owe them 22 cents. ---
**Author:** ![xekul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/838e76/32.png) [@xekul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xekul)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/13 "2000-09-25T03:50:04Z")
I just got my first phone bill, it’s for a long distance company. The total came to $0.48 Canadian after tax. ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/14 "2000-09-25T04:15:00Z")
Wow…well, this isn’t nearly as ridiculous as anything under a dollar, but my last MasterCard bill was $1.74. ---
**Author:** ![KJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b2d939/32.png) [@KJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KJ)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/15 "2000-09-25T04:31:23Z")
If I ever recieve a bill for less than $1 (or if I’m just really really mad) I am going to pay for it using nothing but pennies, just to piss the person off (or confuse them.) ---
**Author:** ![Adriatic\_Ionian\_AEgean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Adriatic\_Ionian\_AEgean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adriatic_Ionian_AEgean)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/16 "2000-09-25T06:13:21Z")
Once I got a notice that the city owed me $0.24 in a pension fund after I quit. (They were supposed to clear it out even, and miscalculated.) I got the same statement every 3 months for a year, and each time I called to tell them to cut it out, someone assured me they would. They lost tract of me when my forwarding notice expired, but I’m sure I can still get $0.24 when I eventually retire. ---
**Author:** ![Heath\_Doolin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Heath\_Doolin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heath_Doolin)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/17 "2000-09-25T06:24:23Z")
from my cable company after I had stopped using them. For a 4 month timeframe I consistently was ordered to pay 0.00 And they even sent me a letter saying that they were going to send my ‘overdue’ owings to their collection agency and that it would have a negative effect on my credit history. This got me pissed so I called them and explained the situation. They gave me a “ha ha you do not have to pay the bill and we will take care of it.” Next month…00.00 now 4 months overdue. So…I splurged. Wrote a check for 0.00, signed it, took it to a Fed Ex place and mailed it priority overnight along with the copy of the new bill and a note to ‘Eat me and the interest’. Never received anything again ---
**Author:** ![JimmyNipples](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb9ed0/32.png) [@JimmyNipples](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimmyNipples)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/18 "2000-09-25T13:17:22Z")
Toronto Dominion Visa informed for over a year that I had a .14 cent credit. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/19 "2000-09-25T13:24:32Z")
Obviously, Mississippi Valley Gas never had the idea that someone would use so little Natural Gas during a month, that… Well, it was July, early 90’s. We are making sandwitches, and otherwise avoiding turning on the Oven (no microwave, yet). So, at the end of the month, we get the bill. 4.86 cents. Then comes the credit, in the amount of $5 bucks. Which leaves us owning .16 cents. Due by 7th of next month. I never did bill them for the .16 cents. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Aglarond](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@Aglarond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aglarond)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400/20 "2000-09-25T15:01:53Z")
$0.03 from Southwestern Bell. I miswrote the check. I ignored it and added it on to my next bill. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-lowest-amount-you-ever-got-billed/34400.md?page=2)