Clerk Insists On Meeting Her Dead Father To Close An Account, So She Brings Him In A Box

Some problems can’t be solved with logic but they can be solved with a little creativity and a lot of dramatic flair. When a water company refused to close a deceased man’s account because “the account holder must appear in person,” his daughter decided to take that instruction literally.

Dressed like a Victorian mystic, she arrived at their office with her father’s ashes and a Ouija board, ready to conduct “official business with the beyond.” The room froze, the supervisor panicked, and the problem was resolved faster than you can say “customer satisfaction.”

Scroll down to see how this brilliantly spooky act of malicious compliance turned corporate nonsense into the performance of a lifetime.

A woman tries to close her late father’s water account and is told the only solution is… for her father to come in and sign

Clerk Insists On Meeting Her Dead Father To Close An Account, So She Brings Him In A Box — not the actual photo

In most jurisdictions, the person authorized to manage a deceased person’s affairs is an executor or administrator, often armed with death certificates and probate papers.

Consumer agencies explicitly explain this: the FTC notes that debts are paid (if at all) from the estate, and survivors generally aren’t personally liable; companies should work with the estate’s representative to settle accounts and prevent identity theft. Consumer Advice

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reinforces the same principle: if there’s no money in the estate, some debts simply go unpaid; but in all cases, the estate’s representative handles the winding down.

Practical best practice also exists. AARP’s bereavement checklist advises notifying institutions and using certified death certificates to close accounts efficiently.

In the UK, the government even offers “Tell Us Once,” a centralized notification so agencies stop sending letters to the deceased, a humane model utilities could emulate. GOV.UK

Credit bureaus likewise outline straightforward steps for survivors: provide the death certificate, place a deceased alert, and contact creditors to close or flag accounts. TransUnion

Why this matters psychologically: grief already elevates anxiety and depressive symptoms; bureaucratic hassles add cognitive load that compounds stress.

Reviews of bereavement research document higher risks of depression and anxiety in the months after loss, which tedious administrative roadblocks only aggravate.
PMC

As psychologist-educators often argue, institutions should reduce friction during bereavement, clear checklists, single points of contact, and acceptance of standard documents, because compassionate design lowers that burden.

A concise, credible line to keep in mind comes from the FTC’s consumer advice: “By law, family members usually don’t have to pay the debts of a deceased relative from their own money.”

It’s a reminder that policy should follow law, not force theatre.

Neutral guidance for situations like this:

Identify the legal role (executor/administrator) and gather several certified death certificates. (Many offices still require paper copies.)
Notify utilities, banks, and credit bureaus promptly; ask about a bereavement or deceased-customer process and keep a call log.
If an agent insists on the impossible (e.g., “the deceased must appear”), escalate to a supervisor, then to the regulator/ombudsman, referencing consumer-protection guidance.
Guard against post-mortem identity theft with credit-report alerts and freezes where available.