Autopay services are a real time-saver. Yet what if you passed away and no one knew because all your bills were being paid automatically?
On the PRNewser site, author Shawn Paul Wood shares this sad story about loss of life undiscovered due to autopay:
“Meet Pia Farrenkopf of Pontiac, Mich.
Well, you can’t really meet her because she’s dead. In fact, according to WXYZ-7 (ABC), Pia has been dead for possibly six years… yet, was just found this past week. Why? Damn Auto Pay! Yes, really.
Pia was found in the back seat of her car with the windows up, wearing a winter coat, denim jeans and a blouse — showed no signs of trauma, according to the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office. So there’s that good news, right?
The woman was discovered by a property management company employee who was called to check on the foreclosed home, and it is thought to be the woman who the Jeep was registered to and who had lived at the home.
‘We’re all very nice and cordial to each other around here,” said [neighbor Darryl] Tillery, 49, who has lived on Savanna Street around four years. “Come to think of it, (the woman who lived at the home) was pretty much the only person I didn’t know … but there were never any signs of anything out of the norm. The mail didn’t pile up and the grass was always cut.’
Well, that’s because she automated everything — including the grass being cut. Everything was on autopay from her account with $54,000, and her mail was sent to a P.O. Box.
So, for being a good steward of the environment, she ends up on a milk carton and no one noticed. Sad story.”
Read the original.
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