A man gets revenge on his apartment complex after they try to require him to pay a two-cent bill by check.
In a new TikTok with over 289,000 views as of Saturday, computer programmer and content creator Jonathan Moss (@thejonathanmoss) details how he enacted “malicious compliance” to get his apartment company to write off a two-cent bill.
Moss first explains that he moved from his apartment complex in Celebration, Florida, in 2019. As standard when leaving any apartment, Moss and his wife paid a prorated bill that included “reductions from the security deposit, security deposit refunds, and the like.”
About a month later, however, the couple received a two-cent bill from their old apartment complex. The couple initially laughed at what seemed to be a ridiculous oversight.
“We just laughed at the fact that we would have to spend 50 cents in postage to pay two cents in revenue,” Moss says.
To avoid the processing fees, the couple decided to simply print out the bill and drop it off, along with the two-cent cash payment, in person at the complex.
But when Moss encountered the apartment manager at the front office, he quickly realized she would not accept the cash payment or write it off, and expected him to send along a check.
“The manager looks up at me and smiles and says, ‘We don’t take cash.’ Just like that,” he recounts.
“At that time I was expecting for both of us to laugh. Obviously, this was a computer system error and both of us are gonna laugh it off and she’s going to write off the two cents,” he continues.
Moss shares that the 50-cent processing fee the manager would pay wouldn’t be worth it.
“It would cost her a lot more to process the payment than to just deal with the two cents,” he reasons.
Despite explaining this to the apartment manager, she is uncompromising about Moss sending a check payment. Moss then sets his “malicious compliance” plan into motion.
“I go home and set up an automatic monthly bank payment to my apartment complex. I set it up automatically for 3 cents…I write a code stating a letter saying, ‘Oh, my apologies, I overpaid my bill. Please send me a check for the overpayment,’” Moss explains.
Going even further, Moss details how he plans to use an online postcard service that sends cards of “ridiculous sizes” between 18 to 52 inches as his “escalation strategy.”
@thejonathanmoss Malicious compliance
♬ original sound – jonmosslol
By the first of the following month, he received a call from the apartment company’s regional manager.
“After introducing himself, the next two minutes were the most sincere, ‘Oh god, we made a mistake, please don’t do this, we will never contact you again’ apology anyone has ever given,” Moss says, affirming that he, in fact, never heard from the company again.
“Did I spend several hours on malicious compliance for 2 cents? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely,” he proclaims as the video ends.
In the comments, users celebrated Moss’ successful revenge strategy.
“The very embodiment of ‘I’ve got time,’” one user wrote.
“Listen. Just hear me out. Quit your job and start a business that specifically offers malicious compliance services. You’re gonna make BANK,” a second viewer commented.
“Your logic was undeniable, your revenge was priceless. Break the wheel of casual/automatic compliance,” another praised.
“Your pettiness inspires me,” a fourth person simply wrote.
Moss has created an entire video series around malicious compliance, sharing how to get one over on ungracious ‘powers-that-be’ — bosses, apartment managers, professors, and more.
The Daily Dot has previously reported on Jonathan Moss’ malicious compliance series, sharing how Moss’ job required him to get another job offer before they’d consider giving him a raise. He found a job that offered him $20,000 more than his current salary and negotiated for a raise of $21,000.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Jonathan Moss via email for more information.