Gran, 88, dies after suffering heart attack when water company took £7,000

29 December 2023 , 19:56

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Caterina Giovinazzo, 88, spent 40 days in intensive care in Borea Hospital, in the Italian town of Sanremo

An elderly woman died after she collapsed and spent 40 days in hospital when a water bill worth nearly £13,500 was partially deducted from her bank account.

Caterina Giovinazzo, 88, fell ill shortly after her daughter-in-law read her the details of the bill which was half paid from the account in her bank in Camporosso, in the province of Imperia on November 14.

The bill, worth £13,333 was related to the period August-October and half of it was paid automatically, according to local media, with the rest sent to the woman as an outstanding debt.

The pensioner was reportedly admitted in the ICU of the Borea Hospital in Sanremo for 40 days after the shock of seeing the amount. Caterina died on the evening of December 24, according to local media.

Her brother, named as Rocco Giovinazzo, told local media: "I went together with my nephew Luigi to the Iren office in Camporosso to report the issue.

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"The employee compared the Iren data and those provided by us and realized that what was recorded on the bill did not correspond to what was reported on the invoice.

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"We managed to get the credit institution to put the sum already paid back into my sister's account and not even cover the other £6,667 in balance by 4th March, 2024."

Iren is an Italian multi-service company which deals with electricity, heating, water services and technological and environmental services.

It was later found that the maximum consumption of the woman's home was a few cubic meters for a fee of £48.

Iren Group admitted it was their mistake and told local media: 'We will immediately contact the family to verify the reasons that produced this amount. We are very sorry for what happened to the lady.

"In the event, it is proven that the error was due to Iren, even so the customer will pay absolutely nothing. We will try to investigate how this situation happened."

Ryan Fahey