Husband and banker team up to get back at dentist who demands $83.21 from his wife and gets hostile when she asks questions: ‘It was satisfying to watch!’

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Apr 10, 2026 4:00 PM EDT

The dentist's favorite time is 2:30… Get it? Two Thirty? Tooth Hurty! Well, this dentist got a hurty in the form of annoying payment. 

This dentist's office switched payment methods, thus, some of the bills got misdistributed. One woman ended up getting a random bill for over $80, which was confusing to her since she hadn't been to the dentist in a while. When she called to inquire about it they told her the situation and that they were still charging her interest for the delinquent bill. That's absolutely ridiculous since it was their fault. When she tried to knock off a mere $5, they got hostile. It wasn't about the money, she could afford it. It was the fact that it was their fault that she didn't pay it in time, not her's. So why was she paying the price when they should be facing their own consequences? Her husband got involved as well, and when they started getting even more hostile, he hung up on them, and a plan of petty proportions popped into his head. Can you guess what he did?

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  • Woman smiling at the dentist
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
    Woman smiling at the dentist 

  • That's right, he partnered with the bank to pay the bill. But not in any mature way. He went to the bank and took the money out to go physically pay the bill… In all dimes and pennies. Have you ever seen $80 in just coins? It is so annoying. He handed it directly to the people he had talked to on the phone and stood there grinning as they counted every coin in front of him. 

    Did it save him any money? No. Did it save him time? Also, no. But did it give him a petty sense of pride and joy that he will remember forever? Yes! And that is priceless. 

  • "Dentist billing revenge - with assistance"

    My wife recently received a bill from our family dentist with no explanation. I called in to talk to billing, and it turns out the bill was from service in late 2024, but they had been going through a transition of billing systems, and our invoice had fell through the cracks.
    via DruncleMuncle
  • But now they had everything squared away, issued new invoices, and included interest for unpaid invoices that they had never issued.
    via DruncleMuncle
  • It wasn't a huge amount, about $80. But I tried to negotiate the interest amount, about $5, off the bill, but they wouldn't budge.
    via DruncleMuncle
  • They offered a payment program, credit card over the phone, or pay in cash. When it started getting hostile about the interest, I decided to hang up.
    via DruncleMuncle
  • I went to my local bank to extract the exact amount, and told the teller that I was in a petty dispute with my dentist, and wanted the lowest denomination.
    via DruncleMuncle
  • I suggested either $1 bills or rolls of quarters. She said, "Oh, I hate this kind of thing.
    via DruncleMuncle
  • Do you want to do rolls of dimes?" Perfect. The exact bill was $83.21. I got $83 in dimes and pennies, and I had a random quarter.
    via DruncleMuncle
  • It was satisfying to watch 2 billing admins count out my coins, and then have to issue my 4 pennies in change.
    via DruncleMuncle
  • A pile of U.S. currency, change, dimes and pennies
    via Unsplash+ (Joshua Hoehne)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
    A pile of U.S. currency, change, dimes and pennies

  • Impressive Cause_991 And also one from 3 years ago! As a health worker I'd never do this and I don't think it's allowed in Australia(if they are there)
    via Impressive_Cause_991
  • OP DruncleMuncle 3 years? It was 18 months
    via DruncleMuncle
  • KevB62 Just pay the bill that was legitimately owed, f the interest paying
    via KevB62
  • crash866 They can refuse coins. Coins don't say Legal Tender on them and multiple coins can be refused.
    via crash866
  • OP DruncleMuncle They accepted them
    via DruncleMuncle
  • WumpusFails I think (based off of comments I've seen over the years, so grains of salt) that there's a law that businesses don't have to accept change over a certain amount to prevent situations like this. Not a commentary on the other details of the post, just a half remembered bit of trivia.
    via WumpusFails
  • OP DruncleMuncle They accepted the coins.
    via DruncleMuncle
  • konto_zum_abwerfen So, you're taking out your frustration on people who have no control over the situation and didn't have anything to do with you incurring the costs. Bravo
    via konto_zum_abwerfen
  • OP DruncleMuncle I had no control on the situation, either. Let the mud flow down the mountain.
    via DruncleMuncle
  • Top_Silver1842 I would have called local consumer protection for the unlawful practice of charging interest on an invoice that was not issued until recently.
    via Top_Silver1842
  • Coder Joe1 Now send them a bill for delinquent billing. Don't forget to add interest on the late penalty.
    via CoderJoe1
  • Alexis_J_M Take them to small claims court for a refund of the interest. It will cost them more than $5 whether they win or lose, and will get the dispute enshrined in the public record.
    via Alexis_J_M

  • delete

    doorkey125 give honest reviews of your experience on google, yelp, care grades or whatever other sites you can find. add in the better business bureau and angi's list as well
    via doorkey125

  • I wonder what a banker's favorite time is?…

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