Man Charged 23 Quadrillion Bucks For Pack Of Cigarettes

MANCHESTER, N.H. — A New Hampshire man says he swiped his debit card at a gas station to buy a pack of cigarettes and was charged over 23 quadrillion dollars.

Josh Muszynski (Moo-SIN'-ski) checked his account online a few hours later and saw the 17-digit number – a stunning $23,148,855,308,184,500 (twenty-three quadrillion, one hundred forty-eight trillion, eight hundred fifty-five billion, three hundred eight million, one hundred eighty-four thousand, five hundred dollars).

Muszynski says he spent two hours on the phone with Bank of America trying to sort out the string of numbers and the $15 overdraft fee.

The bank corrected the error the next day.

Bank of America tells WMUR-TV only the card issuer, Visa, could answer questions. Visa, in turn, referred questions to the bank.

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Information from: WMUR-TV, http://wmur.com

Comments

[LeeCalif]

12:27 AM on 07/17/2009

Time to quit.

[delta7777]

08:32 PM on 07/16/2009

.
smoking is bad for your health too.

(just try to get lungs refunded)
.

[MED1025]

09:01 PM on 07/16/2009

I didn't know New Hampshire had such a fierce cigarette tax. It will pay for health care reform for the Western Hemisphere.

[skyslimit]

07:31 PM on 07/16/2009

I love that it's such a detailed number, too.
I think you've pretty much stretched the limit of "let's see if they notice this charge" here, BofA.

[dariusp]

07:41 PM on 07/16/2009

Well, for a day Mr. Muszynski was the most indebted person in Solar System! Will this make its way to the Guiness Book or Records?

[factotem]

01:37 PM on 07/16/2009

This has been played for comedy... but don't be surprised when the next economic collapse comes and your bank account has been emptied.
And they'll fix it it under 5 years, after your class action suit is completed.

[captainindustry]

12:12 PM on 07/16/2009

Hey. You never know. If the bank got away with it, they could have covered their executive bonuses for like... 6 months.

[samilli3]

11:27 AM on 07/16/2009

VISA tried to steal.........

[gravity357]

01:34 PM on 07/16/2009

LOL OMG you're joking right? That charge is enough to buy the world like 1000 times over and still have enough for a good down payment on Mars. It was a mistake.

[gemswinc]

01:06 AM on 07/16/2009

I think we should all make sure we don't patronize the lying, cheating bailout banks. Consumers have power, we can change the world w/ our spending habits

[jsgaetano]

10:25 AM on 07/16/2009

And while we are at it, start boycotting those welfare queen Red States. If they want to be fiscal conservatives, they need to stop suckling on the teat of big gubment first.

Being a fiscal conservative starts at home!

[ekoorb]

12:30 AM on 07/16/2009

I think Ben Bernanke should sign off on those accounting entries.

[Tuckerndfw]

12:30 AM on 07/16/2009

I was just KIDDING when I suggested that on those stories about financing health care.

I didn't think they would take me seriously.

This blogging is some powerful stuff.

[dennissinned]

12:12 AM on 07/16/2009

We could easily wipe out the national debt with his bank account. In return, let's put his face up on Mt Rushmore.

[jsgaetano]

12:54 AM on 07/16/2009

What I found amusing was he was only charged a $15 overdraft fee.

I wonder if overdraft protection payed it for him?

[lbcyclist]

12:09 AM on 07/16/2009

"Honey, I just bought California"

[skyslimit]

07:33 PM on 07/16/2009

and the whole world.

[D Right One]

11:59 PM on 07/15/2009

OK, no one has so far mentioned that the charge actually went through! BOA in its logic doesn't miss a beat by charging the customary and very profitable $15 overdraft fee on a $23 quadrillion carton of cigs.

[progressivegreg]

10:13 AM on 07/16/2009

Not Carton, a Pack! I could see that price for a carton!

[LeeCalif]

12:28 AM on 07/17/2009

eh eh eh eh eh

[pragmaticdallasite]

11:25 AM on 07/16/2009

It's just a computer program

[fairtaxplease]

11:40 PM on 07/15/2009

there are better ways to pay for healthcare, man you dems are vicious.

[skyslimit]

07:34 PM on 07/16/2009

i'm not a "dem" but i would love to tax cigarettes this much.

[ranchero42]

11:17 PM on 07/15/2009

That's it. I'm only getting cash; and that only when my branch is OPEN.

[HekmabaJuzimax]

11:16 PM on 07/15/2009

OK, now I'm officially creeped out.