Man 1 Bank 0 is the true story of Patrick Combs who deposited one of those junk mail checks as a joke. What happened was that it cashed, all $95,093.35 of it, and because they didn’t dispute it in time, the bank had to get on their knees to get him to give it back.

Patrick agreed, as long as they wrote a letter saying they had a mistake, which of course the bank wasn’t about to do. A several-months-long dance ensued, which included nasty phone calls from the bank threatening “jail time” and “death,” and culminating in a high-stakes “prisoner exchange” between Patrick and a senior bank executive.

The story has been around since 1995, being made into a hit off-Broadway show, but I only heard about it the other day from a friend and wanted to share the amazing tale with anyone else who hasn’t heard it.

A cheesy promo video for his stage show explains more of this legendary consumer lore:

Man 1 Bank 0 (Thanks to Gary!)
Bank Credits $95,093 Junk-Mail Check to Customer’s Account [NYT]

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