How was it that it took three weeks for him to be discovered?

Death is no excuse for being a water hog.

Here in Las Vegas, they'd be charging like $500,000 for that much water.

I hear there's a high Fremen population up there. Maybe they should pay that water debt?

The water was used delivered, regardless of it being intentional or not. If it was used because of a leak house I think most people would expect it to be paid.

Besides, shouldn't the water bill be paid by the dead guy's estate anyway? Sounds like they just want more of the deceased cash.

Consider it a fine for not caring enough about family to check for three weeks.

Note to self: proofread posts better after drinking.

This ought to be a nice, friendly conversation.

ShawnDoc: Mark Ratner: //maybe he was a dick, but still...3 weeks?

Ignoring my wife, my family wouldn't be surprised to not hear from me for 3 months, let alone 3 weeks. They live 500 miles away, I work weird hours and do a lot of traveling on business and I'm not a big phone talker.

You're not completely alone, someone would likely notice before your family. If they family knew this you'd think they'd make a little effort to contact more than once a month.

when i was alot younger (as they also) i wouldn't think twice about letting a few months go by before checking in with my parents. i check in with my parents every one to two weeks now that they are older and have more health problems. they in turn check in with my grandparents weekly, and those old folks are in assisted living so if something happened it wouldn't be left for days (cross fingers cause its a bs place that needs to be sued - but i digress). so it disturbs me greatly to think that someone that had an elderly parent and was this close to them would let 3 weeks go by without at least wondering what was going on (they were obviously close since they had a way to get into the house - although i know, no locked doors in canada - whatever). other than that, only thing to say is that if it was a sudden death from someone that no one suspected was in any danger at home or needed to be checked on, then sh*t happens.

/i'm very tired of hearing my mother repeat the same sh*t she's told me 4 times already because nothing new has happened. i don't say much, mostly listen.
//dad doesn't talk much, now i know why

rfeick0: This ought to be a nice, friendly conversation.

I'll share my popcorn.

My home town has finally made it to fark.

doglover: its services director said policy is policy

The township is in the wrong here. Anytime someone says "policy is policy" over something as small as $500 it means they should be killed by being dragged through the streets in a barrel filled with nails pulled by 4 white horses.

But they're also wrong.

yup. mayor sounds like a dick too

Rik01: I think the city needs to absorb the bill.

Socialism.

Was the dead man this guy?



/maybe the township was trying to save the world?

Why would the city let someone run a faucet for 3 weeks with not questions asked? It is if they were more careful about water delivery this would not be a problem. What if he had been at a gas station... would the station bear no responsibility if the pump had been left running for several weeks?

So we want every water bill to verify that the owner is living to protect the sensitivities of the relative against this very unlikely event, even though the water was used? What will it cost us, in time, money and aggravation, for such a service? Is is worth it? If I go on a shopping spree the day I find out I'm terminal, should I not have to pay for that Ferrari I bought, so that my family won't be offended by the bill? Get a grip. A normal part of settling any estate is to settle all the outstanding bills. My creditors won't notice when I begin the Celestial Dirt Nap. Why would my family expect them to? But they will notice if the bill isn't paid, as they should.

RandomExcess: Why would the city let someone run a faucet for 3 weeks with not questions asked?

Because the the local water district is all knowing, monitors everyone's water usage by the dram every single day, and is looking for every opportunity to gauge users.

Probably because the meter is read by a meter reader every other month.

Why does she even have to pay the bills of someone else, relation or not.

He probably left the lights on too.

Zandvliet said if she has to pay the bill she will. She just wished the city was more compassionate in the way it handled the situation.

For those of you saying all she wants is to get out of having to pay.

wallywam1: adenosine: The water was used delivered, regardless of it being intentional or not. If it was used because of a leak house I think most people would expect it to be paid.

Besides, shouldn't the water bill be paid by the dead guy's estate anyway? Sounds like they just want more of the deceased cash.

English, motherfarker.

Dude...apology already entered....relax.

/leave us drunks alone
//gotta go turn on the fawcet now

I think that, by and large, bureaucracies would happily strip the gold teeth from the dead, make soap out of them and retail it to cover their parking tickets. Vogons don't much care for dignity.

agoodamerican: to farking pad pay your bills a tax payer shouldn't have to foot the bill for some worthless corpse

Who else got a headache reading this?

Anyhow, it's not as if the water vanished the from the face of the Earth. Nothing was lost.
The dead cannot pay their bills. Just drop it, like he did. What if someone owed him money before he died?

Well, if it was the US she could simply determine how much of the water bill was actually taxes and skip that.

Dead men cannot be represented outside of California, Missouri and Illinois; thus everywhere else they don't have to pay taxes.

This would be a good law school exam question. It's a damn shame I've forgotten everything I learned in law school.

I'm thinking, though -- most of the debt was incurred after the guy died. Can a dead guy incur debt, even if the initial act (turning on the faucet) was done while he was still alive? Presumably he intended to turn it off in a lot less than three weeks. Any lawyers/professors want to weigh in?

This is why I have no respect for the dead: they are so inconsiderate.

I'm not saying that i dont care....but i dont care

He turned on that faucet, he knew what he was getting into.

bunner: I think that, by and large, bureaucracies would happily strip the gold teeth from the dead, make soap out of them and retail it to cover their parking tickets. Vogons don't much care for dignity.

You know who else...

UNAUTHORIZED FINGER:Kejlina: My home town has finally made it to fark.

It's a good thing you're not a TFer then. You'd be obligated to take FARK's considered decision before the city council.

/great honor brings great responsibilites

I would if I could but I moved away as far as I could, as soon as I could. ;)

/British Columbian now

PunkRockLawyer: This would be a good law school exam question. It's a damn shame I've forgotten everything I learned in law school.

I'm thinking, though -- most of the debt was incurred after the guy died. Can a dead guy incur debt, even if the initial act (turning on the faucet) was done while he was still alive? Presumably he intended to turn it off in a lot less than three weeks. Any lawyers/professors want to weigh in?

That's an interesting line of thought. Would this be something more like a recurring charge (like, say, a cable bill) his estate didn't turn off immediately after his death? I'd imagine those get rolled back sometimes, but I don't see why they would have to. But the water is being used and cannot be replaced. And I'd imagine if a dead guy dies in a hotel and his body isn't found for a while he's still using the room, and that seems a bit more comparable.

And I should say I think of many reasons the city's coming after the bill. The water was used. The water has a real cost. Writing off the bill would in essence force other users to subsidize him. There may not even be a provision by which they can write it off. I don't know.

Benevolent Misanthrope: Sure. Let the city send a collections firm to Heaven to get the money from him.

Sounds like her name was on her dad's bill. Otherwise this wouldn't be an issue at all. Debts of the deceased don't normally transfer over to other people unless they were a cosigner with the deceased.

ertznay: Why does she even have to pay the bills of someone else, relation or not.

The article said she was handling her dad's bills. Apparently the water bill was directly in her name. Otherwise you are correct that debt does not magically jump to other people.

The water was delivered and needs to be paid for.

Obviously it should be paid for by the taxpayers instead of the estate of the deceased. That way his estate can have more money to give to the beneficiaries of his will.

The man's neighbors and fellow citizens should be responsible for the bill even though they might have never met the man. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to pay more taxes or a higher bill.

/sarcasm off
//hopes he stiffs his family in the will