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Coinstar helps out man who received 91k ‘oily’ pennies as final pay [Video]

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  • Andreas Flaten resigned from work and was waiting for his final paycheck.
  • His former employer reportedly dumped at least 90,000 pennies on his driveway as a form of final payment.
  • Coinstar picked up the coins, rounded up the amount, and gave him a $1,000 check.

Coinstar, a global company that offers coin-to-cash service, saved Andreas Flaten’s day when his former employer dumped at least 90,000 pennies on his driveway.

Andreas from Georgia received his final paycheck but wasn’t sure if he’d be pleased when that paycheck was delivered in the form of a mound of pennies worth $915.

“It was a shock and frustrating to be paid in this manner, and it was an extra burden that the pennies were covered with an oily substance,” Andreas said in an interview.

Photo Credit: Olivia Oxley/PEOPLE.com

He added that he spent an hour or two every night to clean the pennies but probably only cleaned off about $5 worth.

To make things worse, along with the pennies came a note that said, “F – you.”

Luckily, Coinstar came into the picture to solve his dilemma.

When Andreas’s bizarre circumstance circulated in the news, Coinstar made a deal with him to rid him of the coins.

Photo Credit: Olivia Oxley/PEOPLE.com

“I was so relieved and grateful that Coinstar agreed to help me,” Andreas said.

Coinstar will clean all of the coins before returning them to circulation. What’s more, the company will match the value of the pennies, and will donate $1,000 to Andreas’ choice of two local Atlanta animal shelters.

“When we heard about Mr. Flaten’s penny problem, we were happy to offer our assistance,” Coinstar CEO Jim Gaherity said. “Coinstar has been in the coin business for 30 years and we process approximately 41 billion coins annually – so picking up 91,000 pennies was all in a day’s work.”

According to his girlfriend Olivia Oxley, Andreas left his job at Walker Luxury Autoworks in Peachtree City back in November, but wasn’t compensated with a final paycheck.

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Andreas made efforts to enquire on the delay, and made follow ups constantly. Still, the company failed to issue him his final pay until this incident.

Miles Walker, his former boss, said he couldn’t “really remember” if he was responsible of the pennies, but he said that “Flaten got paid, that’s all that matters.”

For Andreas and Olivia, they decided not to let this incident steal their joy. When they were trying to shovel the coins, they burst out laughing instead, and pitied the one responsible for this immature, unbecoming act.

“This poor miserable man took so much time to be vindictive and cruel. We absolutely refused to let him ruin a single moment of ours,” Olivia said.

Source: PEOPLE.com

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