How Illegal Is It To Shake A Vending Machine In The Quad Cities?

We've all seen or been a part of a situation involving a vending machine and a stuck piece of candy. The first instinct is to try and get the candy loose ourselves or to just move on with our day leaving it for someone else to mess with.

There are a few ways to get your candy-free, and shaking the vending machine is actually the worst idea.

Why I'm Writing This

Today I saw some candy hanging from our vending machine.

Oh boy, that is tempting! Free food is always a weakness of mine, but today I learned that it is very much so a bad thing to try and shake a vending machine.

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The "Law"

If you do anything to the machine it could be considered vandalism, and at times it has been. Chris Bracher owns machines and said,

If your item gets stuck, its a malfunction and the operator owes you a refund or a replacement product. Contact the operator and let them know. Sometimes they will take down your information and mail you a refund, or, even meet you at the machine if someone is available. Some locations may have a refund box at a reception desk that will take down your name, phone #, and which item you were trying to buy before giving you your money back.

In short, the answer is yes, you can get in trouble for messing with a vending machine. If it gets out of hand you could also get in trouble for vandalism.

So hey the next time your candy gets stuck, it may be best to just call someone if that food is really stuck.