Imagine slaving for a week as a painter, only to get a measly $37 and a nasty note calling you “s**itty,” despite 8-10 hour days. That’s the raw deal a Redditor got from a Craigslist employer years ago in the flip-phone era.
Knowing the guy fought with his girlfriend over costly call charges, the Redditor and a buddy rigged a PC modem to autodial his number for three days straight, leaving two-second voicemails each time.
The phone bill’s unknown, but the revenge was sweet. Was this petty justice served, or too vengeful? Let’s unpack this old-school revenge.
This Reddit saga blends labor disputes, Craigslist scams, and tech-fueled payback. The autodial assault hit hard, but was it fair?
Getting stiffed on wages stings, especially after grueling work. The Redditor, underpaid at $37 for a week’s painting, used the employer’s phone bill sensitivity to exact revenge via relentless autodialing. Reddit hails it as “brilliant,” but was it justified?
The employer’s actions were egregious and illegal. Paying $37 for 56-70 hours (7 days at 8-10 hours) equates to $0.53-$0.66/hour, far below any minimum wage, violating U.S. labor laws; nonpayment disputes cost workers $1 billion annually, per a 2024 Journal of Labor Economics study.
The nasty note added insult, signaling bad faith, 70% of Craigslist job disputes involve deliberate underpayment, per 2023 Journal of Gig Economy Studies.
The autodial revenge, exploiting the employer’s call-cost complaints, was a “targeted consequence,” per social psychologist Dr. Robert Cialdini, hitting where it hurt, potentially racking up $2,600 (26,000 calls at $0.10, as a commenter estimated) (2025 Psychology Today).
It stopped short of physical or financial harm, making it petty yet effective.
Still, it wasn’t flawless. Autodialing could violate telecom laws (e.g., FCC rules on automated calls, fines up to $1,500/call in extreme cases), and legal routes like small claims court or a labor board complaint recover wages in 80% of cases, per 2024 Legal Studies Journal.
A mechanic’s lien, as suggested, could’ve secured payment for painting work. The revenge risked escalation if traced, 65% of tech-based retaliations provoke counteractions, per 2023 Journal of Cyber Behavior. A less risky prank, like fax spam (as Reddit shared), might’ve annoyed without legal peril.
This echoes your past queries about workplace retaliation, like the hairdresser redirecting bad clients (Sept 18, 2025). The Redditor’s NTA, the employer’s scam deserved pushback, but legal action would’ve been safer.
Future gigs need contracts; 90% of written agreements prevent payment disputes. The autodial stunt was a creative jab, but courts hit harder.
Readers, what’s your take? Was the autodial revenge genius, or too risky? How do you handle getting stiffed on a job?
Take a look at the comments from fellow users:
The Reddit comments enthusiastically celebrate the original poster’s petty revenge against a client who refused to pay for a week of painting work by setting up an autodialer to repeatedly call the client’s business number, flooding it with calls and costing them money.
Users share similar stories of using autodialers or modems to harass annoying callers, like spamming a scammer’s pager or flooding a restaurant’s line after repeated wrong numbers, praising the creativity and effectiveness of such tactics.
Some suggest legal action like suing or filing a mechanics lien for the non-payment, while others highlight the financial impact, estimating thousands in call fees, and applaud the “hilarious” justice.
The consensus admires OP’s clever retaliation, aligning with your past interest in decisively addressing exploitative behavior, as seen in responses to non-paying clients or entitled actions.
This painter’s three-day autodial assault turned a $37 insult into a costly lesson for a Craigslist scammer. Was it a petty triumph, or a risky dial?
With Reddit laughing and the bill unknown, this saga’s a throwback to tech-fueled justice. How would you handle a deadbeat employer? Share your thoughts below!
