My mother passed away earlier this year and her bank was promptly informed, triggering the temporarily freezing of her accounts.

She used to pay her water and electricity bills through direct credit. When the first payment after her death was due, ARMS Ltd automatically slapped a €35 charge.

The ARMS billing system apparently does not differentiate between lack of funds and the death of a client. When I took the matter up with their customer care, they pointed out that this is according to the conditions of the direct credit system.

I consider this insensitive and ruthless. The bill  in question was paid by other means without delay but the fees were not waived. The survivors have to take care of many things but should not be expected to settle everything the day after the death

ARMS customers’ matters are tackled according to the book without discretion and irrelevant of the circumstances.