93 year old frozen to death over $1000

[Tekki]

wheres your avatar from and why is he slapping a rubber dong on the table?

Unrelated but should make a FAQ for your avatar. Alborghetti

[Metah]

I wonder how the guy who flipped the switch feels?

[Kiro]

"Haha, owned. /flip"

[Cow_k]

As long as he was given notices that they were flipping his power off, I don't really see the problem outside of this guy being so old that there's a good chance he might have been mentally unsure of what was going on. After all, he did sit there in the cold and slowly freeze to death without trying to figure out what was happening.

Though I don't think it's the power company's responsibility to make sure all their customers are sane or not.

[Khamsin]

Utility companies really are screwed, then.

If everybody is required to keep essential services running, what incentive does someone have to pay? I'm sure it'll fuck up their credit or something, but for people who already have trashed credit or don't really care, what can those companies do? Just keep providing free service? They can't sue, because a person like that probably has nothing, anyways. And you can't throw them in jail, because how long would you keep them? They'll never pay... and they'd just get free heat and water there, anyway, so it'd be like a vacation.

[Gregorio]

Title seems like the company intended to kill the guy because he didn't pay his bills. I actually came in thinking his family froze him to death because of the title and how the story started out.

[Blackmagik]

Pay your bills and you wont have service cut off... for some people they cant grasp this, totally preventable if he paid it

[Kuya]

If they won't pay, perhaps death will convince them.

[Khamsin]

Or at least, death will make it so they no longer drain resources. It's not as if energy is free, and the power company just feels like charging us for it. Every kWH we suck from the system costs the power company time, money and person-hours, and they can't keep it up forever without revenue to keep the energy production and distribution going.

[archibaldcrane]

99% of the time the elderly A.) Like being elderly and have shit load of medical bills or B.) To lazy to get off his old ass and work to pay the bills.

In case others aren't reading the Michael Steele thread...

Well played.

[Akucaen]

I'm jumping in late here, but he had money, did not pay his severely unpaid electricity bill, and didn't attempt to contact the company after they metered his electricity. This death would've been preventable if the man simply paid the bills he could easily afford. I'm not saying the death is right or even 'okay', but this was as simple as someone making a stupid decision and then paying for it by the way nature 'loves' us.

[jmc]

Its too bad that all heating/electrical companies seem to be like this.

I remember 4 years ago, my mother believed she was overcharged on her electrical bill (around the $200-$300 ballpark OVER the usual bill) so she was calling trying to figure out what happened. Got the ring around from the company, and refused to pay the portion of the bill she was disputing but paid what she deemed was normal for the month. 2 days after, they came shut off the electricity.... while my father was dying from cancer, and needed a respirator to breath. Called the electric company, and told them.... and they wouldn't send someone out until the next day because it was after 3pm :\

[Senji]

I don't know if it's a state law or just common sense, but the utility companies around here (northeast Wisconsin) will NOT disconnect your power during the winter months regardless of how much you owe. Apparently they realize that living customers are more likely to consume electricity (and eventually pay) in the months that follow.

This is law in all "cold states" as far as I know, but it looks like its only for private utility companies. I didn't know there were even public utilities left.

[Khamsin]

Of course there are. I pay Snohomish County PUD every month for my power. Thankfully, I pay my bills on time, if this article is any indication of what public utilities are like.