Caught on Tape: Extreme Couponing Turns Violent

Local police reportedly charged the store manager with misdemeanor assault.

ByABC News
November 25, 2012, 9:23 AM

Nov. 25, 2012— -- The quest to save some money using coupons turned into a violent confrontation between an extreme couponer and the manager of a discount store.

Melissa Mozzo-Mart and Jennifer Hill were shopping at a Dollar Tree store in Germantown, Tenn., the day before Thanksgiving when they say they apparently brought too many coupons for the store to handle.

"We were told we were harassing her (the store manager) to use those coupons and she threatened to call the cops," Hill said.

The store had posted a large sign on its windows that it was now accepting coupons.

READ: Tips to Save Money on Groceries from Teri Gault, of The Grocery Game

But Mozzo-Mart and Hill say that when faced with accepting a lot of them, the manager turned sassy.

They hit the "record" button on their cell phone, and captured this exchange:

Mart: Can I get the rest of Advil?
Store manager: No
Mart: and what's the reason?
Store manager: I cannot
Mart: so, there's no reason why I can't buy more than four items?
Store manager: I guess you better make like water and get to running.

Hill left the store first and watched from a distance as Mozzo-Mart collected her coupons and made her way to the door. But before Mozzo-Mart could exit, she was physically attacked.

"With her fist balled up that's when she hit me in the eye and the face," Mozzo-Mart said.

Local police reportedly charged the store manager with misdemeanor assault.

The women both say they never thought they'd come to blows for clipping coupons.

"We were trying to save a little money," Hill said.

Dollar tree officials told ABC News that they are taking the incident "very seriously" and it is under investigation. They said it was inappropriate for them to comment further at this time.

ABC News' attempts to contact the store manager were unsuccessful.