A water bill has landed an 88-year-old Italian woman in intensive care. The woman from the municipality of Camporosso on the Italian Riviera received a bill for 15,339 euros from her water supplier, as the local daily newspaper »Il Secolo XIX« reported on Thursday. Half of the money had already been transferred by her bank because she had issued a direct debit authorization.
After her daughter-in-law read her the details of the bill, the 88-year-old felt so uncomfortable that she was taken by ambulance to the Sanremo hospital. Her condition is therefore critical.
Actually, according to relatives, the pensioner would have had to pay only 65 euros for the period from August to October. It is suspected that the error is due to a faulty counter or an error in the reading. The 88-year-old's family is considering hiring a lawyer. "We'll discuss what needs to be done. This history must not be repeated," said the woman's brother.
The water supplier Iren apologized to the family. "We are very sorry for what happened to the lady," one letter reads. "If the mistake turns out to be Irish's, she won't have to pay anything." In any case, she should get back the overpaid amount.
max/dpa