MAN PAYS PARKING FINE IN 5 CENT COINS
Yahoo!7September 16, 2013, 3:50 pm
A fed-up Adelaide man has attempted to pay a $60 parking fine entirely in 5 cent coins.
A fed-up Adelaide man has attempted to pay a $60 parking fine entirely in 5 cent coins.
The unidentified man used a hidden camera to film as he first visited a bank to withdraw the coins – all 1200 of them – before visiting his local council to pay the fine.
“Can I pay cash?” he asks the worker behind the desk.
When she replied in the affirmative, the dumped hundreds of coins on the desk and pushes them towards her, before asking for a receipt.
After some back and forth, the woman informs the disgruntled ratepayer she can’t possibly process a transaction using that many coins – and the law is on her side.
The Reserve Bank of Australia confirms there are limits to how much one person can pay for with coins.
From the RBA website:
The RBA states "coins are legal tender for payment of amounts which are limited as follows:
not exceeding 20c if 1c and/or 2c coins are offered (these coins have been withdrawn from circulation, but are still legal tender);
not exceeding $5 if any combination of 5c, 10c, 20c and 50c coins are offered; and
not exceeding 10 times the face value of the coin if $1 or $2 coins are offered.
"For example, if someone wants to pay a merchant with five cent coins, they can only pay up to $5 worth of five cent coins and any more than that will not be considered legal tender.
The man, however, wasn’t taking no for an answer.
"You're part of a corporation I don't want to deal with," he said as he left the building. "I paid. I'm out. Bye. I gave you the money."An Adelaide City Council spokesperson today said the man will still need to pay his fine, News Corp Australia reports.
此君對抄牌被罰太不服氣了，竟然去銀行找換了60元5仙硬幣去交罰款，你可知有多少個？1200個，他有心搗蛋，可是又不懂法律，終於自食其果。他以為丟下這60元硬幣便可一走了之，政府卻不認這賬。法例寫明5仙不能付多過5元，此君又要帶55元去繳交餘額，然後取回1100個5仙再去銀行找換。有時做人要戒急用忍，不要做衝動派掌門。
如果發生在香港，法例又怎樣寫呢？香港法例第454章《硬幣條例》第2條這樣訂明：
(1) 行政長官會同行政會議可藉命令授權發行硬幣，其設計、面額、成分、準重量及可容許的公差，須於命令內指明，而只要該等硬幣沒有經過任何受法律禁止的形式處理，即屬作為支付下列款額用途的法定貨幣─ (由1999年第68號第3條修訂)
(a) 以面額不少於$1的硬幣而言，所支付的款額不超逾$100；
(b) 以面額少於$1的硬幣而言，所支付的款額不超逾$2。
拿去交罰款，硬幣都不能超過102元，所以不要玩這些自討苦吃的遊戲。當然拿去買東西同樣受到限制，所不同之處就是商戶一枚硬幣也不收你也奈他不何，因為《硬幣條例》沒有訂立違反的罰則，所以違反了也不會被檢控。
(b) 以面額少於$1的硬幣而言，所支付的款額不超逾$2。
拿去交罰款，硬幣都不能超過102元，所以不要玩這些自討苦吃的遊戲。當然拿去買東西同樣受到限制，所不同之處就是商戶一枚硬幣也不收你也奈他不何，因為《硬幣條例》沒有訂立違反的罰則，所以違反了也不會被檢控。
標少，謝謝知識提供
回覆刪除想多問一些，印象中商戶不能拒收法定貨幣，我有理解錯誤嗎?
看似荒謬，沒有法例講拒收法定貨幣違甚麽法，所以拒收並不犯法，這是我的理解。故此小商戶拒收500及1000元紙幣，你只可不幫襯，不可報警，警察也幫不到。
刪除In Canada, stores tend to refuse 1-cent coins (too much trouble to count and take to the bank) and 100-dollar bills (afraid of counterfeit ones).
刪除http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201001/20/P201001200086.htm
刪除LCQ13: Legal tender
*******************
Following is a question by the Hon Leung Kwok-hung and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Professor K C Chan, in the Legislative Council today (January 20):
Question:
I have often received complaints from the public that many shops reject 10-cent, 20-cent and 50-cent coins and $1,000 bank notes in transactions, and some even "blatantly" displayed notices at prominent places in their premises that such currency is not accepted. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether shops in Hong Kong have the authority to reject the aforesaid coins and bank notes in transactions under the existing laws of Hong Kong; if so, which chapter of the laws gives them such authority; if not, of which legislation that these shops have breached, which government department is responsible for enforcing the relevant legislation, the penalty for such offence, as well as the respective numbers of relevant prosecutions and convictions in the past five years; and
(b) with which government department the public may lodge complaints of shops' rejection of the aforesaid coins and bank notes; of the complaints hotline and address of that department; and the time needed for staff of the department to arrive at the scene to conduct investigation and follow up after receiving a telephone complaint?
Reply:
President,
(a) Notes and coins issued in accordance with the Legal Tender Notes Issue Ordinance and the Coinage Ordinance are legal tender in Hong Kong. As legal tender, they are by law regarded as valid and legal means of payment to adequately and effectively fulfil payment obligations. However, as in all commercial transactions, both parties can determine the terms of transaction on their own, including the means of payment. Whether to accept notes and coins of any denomination as payment is purely a commercial decision for goods and service providers. We have also studied the laws relating to "legal tender" in other countries and how they are enforced. We understand that most countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the United States and Singapore, have laws on "legal tender" to establish the legal status of their currencies. However, they do not have legislation to compel their residents or goods and service providers to accept the legal tender as payment or to punish those who refuse to accept it. In these countries, the buyers and sellers can determine the means of payment on their own, which is similar to the situation in Hong Kong.
(b) The abovementioned ordinances do not confer any authority upon the Government to force goods and service providers to accept any notes and coins. Consumers can choose other providers or exchange the denominations of notes and coins requested by the providers at the banks.
Thanks. It means what I said above is correct.
刪除作為輔助資料，法例第374D章《道路交通(公共服務車輛)規例》第45(2)條，
回覆刪除(2) 司機在掌管的士時─
..........
(b) 在的士可供租用或已租用時，為給予乘客找續，須無論何時均攜帶不少於─
(i) $10面額鈔票或$2或以上面額硬幣達$90；及
(ii) $1或以下面額硬幣達$10；
違反的話，罰則在57(3)條，可處罰款$5000及監禁6個月。
這也只是講的士司機要有足夠找續，也可拒收500及1000元紙幣，始終都沒有拒收法定貨幣違法的條文。
可監禁6個月, 雖這基本不會發生, 但立法的原意的什麼? 對於司機沒有帶備足夠零錢找續來說, 懲罰是否過重?
回覆刪除T.C.
這罰則應用於幾條條例，而且講最高刑罰，實際上我也沒有見過這種案，再者譬如店鋪盜竊的盜竊控罪，最高可判處監禁10年（《盜竊罪條例》第9條），一般初犯只判一兩千元罰款。從這角度看，懲罰就未必過重。
刪除