Utility Asks Dead Man's Heirs To Pay Up

Even death may not be powerful enough to save consumers from their sewer bills. One utility has been vocal in arguing that ratepayer debt should sometimes be passed between generations, like an unwanted family heirloom.

John Scott, a Wilmington, NC, resident, says he has been receiving sizeable bills from the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) on behalf of his late brother, who died five years ago. The letters are addressed “to the heirs of Gordon Dean Gantt, Scott’s brother,” WWAYTV3 reported.

Scott said he did his best to address his late brother’s water and sewer accounts. “I tried to turn the water off and got a bill a few months later for water,” he said, per the report. “It shows it no usage it shows it on the bill. The account before that was zero usage and the account now is zero.”

Nevertheless, charges have accrued.

“The bill now totals more than $1700. That bill isn’t for use of water though, it’s a bill for something else. Mike McGill, the chief communications officer at CFPUA, says the charge is for the base charge just to have access to water and sewer. It’s around $25 a month but over time that adds up,” the report said.

McGill argues that the owner of the home is responsible for the bill, unless the house is declared uninhabitable. That is a tough bar to clear, he added.

“We still have plants to maintain. We still have 1,000 miles of water line to maintain and 1,000 miles of sewer line to maintain,” McGill said, per the report. “[The bill is] for the base charge, and part of that is understood, but if you’re not consuming you don’t have that part of the bill.”

A foreclosure was filed for the house four years ago, but the bank has not taken over. For his part, Scott says he will not pay.

“They’re doing it wrong,” Scott said.

Here’s what AARP, the association for retired people, recommends in cases where debt agencies start calling to collect on the accounts of the deceased: “You do not have to speak with debt collectors who contact you about the debts of a deceased relative. Refer them to the executor or administrator of the estate.”

For more stories on billing, visit Water Online’s Consumer Outreach Solutions Center.