Can a business refuse payment in small change?

mikemac

Last night I made a order with Dominos Pizza for the first time.
It came to €14 and I had to use some loose change to get to this amount

When the delivery guy arrived he refused to accept payment unless I paid in notes and €1 or €2 coins.
I’d done this but he clearly wasn’t happy as I’d made the last euro with 4 x 10c and 60 c made up of assorted “copper coins”, (1c,2c and 5c)
I couldn’t give larger denomination coins, it was all the cash I had at the time
I'd understand if I tried €14 in copper coins but this was only 60c

Despite assuring the guy that I’ve given the full €14 and he had to accept it as legal tender he wouldn’t budge.
I took back the money and handed back the order and let him go as he swore at me as he walked down the driveway

Was I wrong? Is there a certain amount of loose change you cannot go over?
I know when I was a barman I was delighted when a customer gave me small change as it meant less trips to the safe.
There was a thread a while ago about a DART station refusing to give change. I suppose this is the opposite

Time Magazine

As far as I know the limit is 50 coins. You should have been more stubborn tbh. Complain to their manager, citing whatever statute the eagles will kindly proffer backing up my assertion .

Might get a couple of free pizzas from it.

seamus

A company ultimately has the right to choose what to accept as payment. If you are paying for goods or services, the company has no obligation to accept large or small denominations, or to accept more money than the cost and supply you with change.

Think about it from the extreme: If you handed the pizza dude €14 in 1c coins, he would have to count all of them. They probably have a policy in place to avoid kids paying with bags of coinage and leaving them short-changed.

If you paid a bill in coppers, I believe the recipient would have the right to charge you a small sum for the administrative effort of counting, bagging and cashing all of the coinage, or they could just refuse to take.

I have heard the "50 coins" phrase in the past, so I may be wrong.

sh_o

seamus wrote:

I have heard the "50 coins" phrase in the past, so I may be wrong.

ECONOMIC AND MONETARY UNION ACT, 1998 - SECTION 10
(1) No person, other than the Central Bank of Ireland and such persons as may be designated by the Minister by order, shall be obliged to accept more than 50 coins denominated in euro or in cent in any single transaction.
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZA38Y1998S10.html

Overheal

Ive been both sides the street: Was a numbers runner for Delivery guys, and now Im working at a bar; change now is lovely dovey, back then it was an absolute nightmare: most drivers keep the change in a pocket or a pouch, and at the end of the night it alllllll has to be added up until he pays back the store manager for the cost of the [pizzas] (I worked Chinese). This way ensures that delivery drivers actually want to look after the money they are receiving from you, but sometimes, like this case, you can probably catch them on the bad day.

Im going to assume you called up the pizza place to complain already, so Im not even going to suggest that....oops.

padser

seamus wrote:

A company ultimately has the right to choose what to accept as payment. If you are paying for goods or services, the company has no obligation to accept large or small denominations, or to accept more money than the cost and supply you with change.

Cant agree with that. If I have rang a pizza company, ordered a pizza, agreed a price (say €14). They have made the pizza and delievered it out to me and I attempt to pay using legal tender (subject obviously to the 50 coins limit) then I cant see how they can refuse to accept my payment as my consideration for the 'contract' that we have entered into.

Unless of course they have specified in advance that there is a certain way that they must be paid, then the presumption would arise that they will accept all legal tender.


To get back to the OP, it most likely that the delivery guy just couldnt be assed counting the money. I'd simply complain, there is no way dominos is happy with that pizza coming back because he wouldnt accept €1 denominated in .10c

mikemac

Thanks all for the replies
I didn't complain at the time but I will today.
I'll write a letter to head office and I'll quote the relevent legislation.

Hopefully, I might vouchers or something but I'm probably blacklisted by Dominos Drumcondra delivery drivers.

Thanks

Overheal

pffft. They wouldnt blacklist you because of one bad penny incident

PixelTrawler

I think the fact that the guy swore at you is quite serious and possible grounds for his dismissal.

If I were you I'd make a major fuss on that grounds alone.

Overheal

Sure: If the pizza place keeps box of Delivery-boy applications: go for it. More likely, they need whomever they can find, and a little ********** word is not going to be the first thing they look for when they need to fire somebody.

Jermiah

You were right. They are obliged to honour the contract. As we all remember - a contract has four elements. Offer, acceptance, consideration and consideration must pass.
You ordered a pizza at the price on offer. They accepted your offer. The consideration was money for food and you gave the money to the delivery boy. Legally he was obliged to accept the loose change. Both of you lost. You didn't get your meal. They lost the value of the undelivered pizza.

A word of caution. If you decide to order again from the same place they might recognise you. You may get more than you ordered in your pizza but you'll never know!

I would write it off to experience and change my pizza parlour