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Dead Man Keeps Paying Bills
Sunday, October 10, 2004
Electronic banking can have its down side.
A Winnipeg, Manitoba, man died nearly two years ago, but thanks to automatic bill payments, no one noticed.
"How can that happen, for God's sake? Two years!" exclaimed Sam Shuster, a neighbor of Jim Sulkers, to the Canadian Press wire service.
"I used to ask the president of the [condominium] board of directors 'Where in the hell is he?'" Shuster added. "She said all she knew was the bank gets the monthly money, so we don't worry about it."
Sulkers, said to be in his 50s, suffered from multiple sclerosis (search). The province's chief medical examiner said his mummified corpse bore no sign of trauma, though an exact cause of death could not be determined.
A cousin, Kim Dyck, who lives across town, said she hadn't been in contact with Sulkers for about 10 years, but added that some other relatives had gone by his apartment last summer.
"They knocked on his door and he didn't answer," Dyck said. "You assume he isn't home. You certainly don't assume he's dead."
Dyck said she figured automatically deposited pension payments had kept Sulkers' bank account in the black.
Neighbors said his mailbox had filled up several times, but was regularly emptied by the mailman.
A Canada Post (search) spokesman said mailmen were supposed to let supervisors know when that happened.
Sulkers' body was finally discovered on Aug. 25. A newspaper in the apartment was dated Nov. 21, 2002, and a calendar on the wall was open to the same month.
"It's odd that we live in a society where technology can take care of our affairs like that, even if we passed away two years ago, and nobody's noticed," said Marcel Baril, executive director of the Winnipeg Family Centre.
Marc
Sunday, October 10, 2004
Electronic banking can have its down side.
A Winnipeg, Manitoba, man died nearly two years ago, but thanks to automatic bill payments, no one noticed.
"How can that happen, for God's sake? Two years!" exclaimed Sam Shuster, a neighbor of Jim Sulkers, to the Canadian Press wire service.
"I used to ask the president of the [condominium] board of directors 'Where in the hell is he?'" Shuster added. "She said all she knew was the bank gets the monthly money, so we don't worry about it."
Sulkers, said to be in his 50s, suffered from multiple sclerosis (search). The province's chief medical examiner said his mummified corpse bore no sign of trauma, though an exact cause of death could not be determined.
A cousin, Kim Dyck, who lives across town, said she hadn't been in contact with Sulkers for about 10 years, but added that some other relatives had gone by his apartment last summer.
"They knocked on his door and he didn't answer," Dyck said. "You assume he isn't home. You certainly don't assume he's dead."
Dyck said she figured automatically deposited pension payments had kept Sulkers' bank account in the black.
Neighbors said his mailbox had filled up several times, but was regularly emptied by the mailman.
A Canada Post (search) spokesman said mailmen were supposed to let supervisors know when that happened.
Sulkers' body was finally discovered on Aug. 25. A newspaper in the apartment was dated Nov. 21, 2002, and a calendar on the wall was open to the same month.
"It's odd that we live in a society where technology can take care of our affairs like that, even if we passed away two years ago, and nobody's noticed," said Marcel Baril, executive director of the Winnipeg Family Centre.
Marc
