By admin 
GILBERT, AZ (AZFamily) — Kirby was the love of Jean Pickus’ life. The couple settled in Gilbert two decades ago.
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When her husband, a retired Methodist minister, passed away, Pickus got to work, changing all of their shared accounts to her name.
“Most companies I’ve dealt with in the month I’ve been doing this either have a survivor team or an estate team that knows how to do this stuff,” she said.
But when Pickus got to her Gilbert water account, things got complicated. She had to close her husband’s account and open a new one in her name. Somehow, she said, her new account number still had his name on it.
“I’ve talked to three or four different people there and nobody has been able to straighten this up the whole way, and I just want it done. Every time I see my husband’s name,” she trailed off.
It’s hard. Of course it is. And there’s more. Pickus spotted a $15 reactivation fee on her new bill.
“Why would you have to reactivate the water?” Pickus said. “The water at this residence has not been turned off since it was turned on in 2004, and how many people have been charged this?”
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On Your Side reached out to the town of Gilbert. A spokesperson confirmed Pickus is the only name on the account. The town also waived the reactivation fee and credited it to Pickus’ new account.
“We understand the severity of this situation and want to reassure our customers that our team is always available to provide support and help find solutions during difficult times,” a spokesperson wrote in a statement.
After On Your Side’s inquiry, the town also said it was considering changes regarding reactivation fees.
“The system currently allows account transfers to another person if they are listed as a secondary account holder. Staff are exploring this as a potential system limitation and will explore if there is a solution so this doesn’t occur for similar situations in the future,” the spokesperson said.
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