A student stunned viewers on TikTok after she reported that her university threatened to deprive her of her diploma because she did not pay her balance of 1 cent.
In a viral video, a college student explained that she received an email from the Washington State University Scholarship office about the outstanding balance in her account.
“Failure to pay this balance may result in late payment penalties, as well as suspension of registration and/or diploma,” the email warns.
Student Lanti expressed her horror in the video, saying: “This is terrible! I’m in a panic! What is this charge? How much does it cost? I have about $90 in my bank account, how am I going to pay this?”
However, the situation quickly turned out to be comical, as it showed that the outstanding balance was only $0.01.
“Don’t you think you could just let it go?” Lantee said sarcastically. “I mean, I think I’ll sign up for a payment plan. I just have pennies lying around. I will come personally and give it to them.”
@lantie This is so college
The email shocked some TikTok users in the comments, but many shared their stories about threats due to small amounts of money.
“I had a $2 fee and I panicked because they said my classes would be terminated,” one user shared.
“They charged me $25 because I had an ‘unpaid balance’, it was 0.28 cents,” wrote another.
“And I thought the email I got for 30 cents was bad,” a third added.
Others took the situation lightly: one user jokingly suggested that Lanti ask for a receipt after paying the balance, writing: “Be sure to ask them to send you a receipt by mail.”
Another user said: “Just bring a $100 bill and watch them struggle to count the change.”
TikToker previously went viral after sharing a similar experience when his university kept sending him emails about an unpaid $1.96 bill.
