u/rahunt22

POV: happened to my friend today…

I’m still mad about this and maybe some of y’all will say I’m overreacting, but I know what I saw.

I went into the Habitat ReStore on Alleghany Avenue in Lynchburg looking for paint for my house. While standing near the register, I noticed a white woman checking out with several items, including one of the ficus trees they’ve got scattered around the store.

So I politely asked her, “Hey, are those trees for sale?”

She looked at me with attitude and said something about being on her way to work. The way she said it rubbed me the wrong way, almost like she was implying I didn’t work or couldn’t afford it. I told her, “I only asked a question. I’m on my way to work too.”

At that point I figured maybe she was just rude, whatever.

So after I looked at the paint, I asked the guy at the register how much the tree cost. First he tells me the trees are NOT for sale. I immediately said, “What do you mean not for sale? I literally just watched that woman buy one.”

Then suddenly the story changes.

Now he says there WERE three for sale and she bought the last one. Another worker walked up and said they don’t sell the trees at all. Then the first guy changed it AGAIN and said the woman got the tree but “hadn’t paid for it yet.”

By then I knew something wasn’t right because I WATCHED her pay for her stuff.

So I told them straight up that I felt like I was being lied to and treated differently. I said it felt discriminatory, plain and simple. Instead of just being honest, everybody kept changing the story.

That’s what made me angry.

Look, I’m 68 years old. I’ve lived long enough to know when something feels off. And before anybody jumps in the comments — no, I’m not saying every white person is racist and no, I’m not some hateful person. We all bleed red. But situations like this are exactly why people still talk about racism and favoritism in 2026.

What also got me is this store sells donated items people leave behind, yet they price some of this stuff sky high depending on who’s buying. I saw an old box-style flat screen TV in there for $200. TWO HUNDRED. That thing probably came out in 2001.

Maybe somebody else would’ve brushed it off, but the whole interaction felt shady and disrespectful to me.

Needless to say, I won’t be going back

So today I took an elderly family friend’s payment up to OrthoVirginia because I was already out running errands. I had:
the bill
the envelope it came in
the account info
and the actual $5 bill payment
Simple, right?
Nope.

Front desk tells me they “can’t take the payment” because I’m “not on her HIPAA.”
I just stood there blinking for a second because… what?? Since when does HIPAA stop people from PAYING a bill?

I wasn’t asking:
what procedure she had
what medication she’s on
what her diagnosis is
how much the total balance is
nothing medical whatsoever
I literally just wanted to hand them five dollars and leave.

What’s wild is I’m actually HIPAA trained myself, and I’ve NEVER heard of HIPAA meaning:
“Sorry, we cannot physically accept money from another human being.”

At this point I feel like some offices use HIPAA the same way stores use “the system is down.” Just say it’s office policy. Just say your software won’t allow it. Just say the manager told you not to. But don’t act like federal law prevents grandma’s neighbor from helping pay her copay.

Meanwhile if Mrs. Shirley had sent her grandson, church usher, mailman, or Bingo partner with the same envelope… are y’all really turning away FIVE WHOLE DOLLARS every single time?

Healthcare already stressful enough without folks weaponizing words they barely understand.
Anybody else run into offices blaming HIPAA for stuff that clearly ain’t HIPAA? I even said just mail her the receipt. #orthovirginia