# WTF? Pay Up or We Let Your House Burn Down? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 6, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210 "2010-10-06T03:08:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 25
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/481 "2010-10-16T17:18:41Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Yo, gonzo. Is it possible, even remotely possible, that it’s not about teaching him a lesson nor about the money? Could it be, even remotely, possible that it’s about following the laws governing the deployment and use of municipal fire department personnel and equipment? Might it be, even slightly, possible that the law prohibits endangering fire department personnel in a situation where there are no actual humans in a building? Could it be, perhaps more than zero percent, possible that the municipal fire department is prohibited from attempting to save a structure that has no humans in it after that determination has been made? Absolute bullshit. Tap dancing around in desperation to disguise that a lot of people apparently got a kick out of a guy getting taught a lesson is such a horrible way. There is value in homes you know. We save lots of buildings that are empty. Then of course the firemen sprang into action when the neighbors field started to burn. His field. No it is not possible. That was dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/482 "2010-10-16T18:13:00Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Absolute bullshit. Tap dancing around in desperation to disguise that a lot of people apparently got a kick out of a guy getting taught a lesson is such a horrible way. > There is value in homes you know. We save lots of buildings that are empty. Then of course the firemen sprang into action when the neighbors field started to burn. His field. > No it is not possible. That was dumb. Canick had pulled this shit before. He admitted to sponging off his neighbors. And the firefighters would not even had been there except his carelessness threatened a neighbor who is a subscriber. Why should they risk their lives and deplete their resources to attempt to save property that Cranick himself valued at less than $75? ---
**Author:** ![hansel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6bbea6/32.png) [@hansel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hansel)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/483 "2010-10-16T18:44:51Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Tap dancing around in desperation to disguise that a lot of people apparently got a kick out of a guy getting taught a lesson is such a horrible way. So what if I do get a kick out of a teatard getting his comeuppance? I’m not saying I do, but if I did, how would that change any of the myriad practical reasons for not putting out the fire? How would my schadenfreude obviate Crannick’s (ir)responsibility? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/484 "2010-10-16T23:37:31Z")
Thanks, **Contrapuntal**. And your response is far more polite than the way I would’ve worded it. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/485 "2010-10-17T02:02:32Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > > [@gonzomax](#): > > > > Absolute bullshit. Tap dancing around in desperation to disguise that a lot of people apparently got a kick out of a guy getting taught a lesson is such a horrible way. > > There is value in homes you know. We save lots of buildings that are empty. Then of course the firemen sprang into action when the neighbors field started to burn. His field. > > No it is not possible. That was dumb. > > Canick had pulled this shit before. He admitted to sponging off his neighbors. And the firefighters would not even had been there except his carelessness threatened a neighbor who is a subscriber. > > Why should they risk their lives and deplete their resources to attempt to save property that Cranick himself valued at less than $75? Because that is what they do. They put fires out. Oh wait, they put some fires out. They have to paid extra for putting out some fires. Would they have gotten a bonus for putting it out. Nope, it is their job and it is what they do. What would a volunteer fireman have done? Would he ,a person who wants to help people and do good, let it burn? I don’t think so. He would have pushed to put it out. I am sure that is what the firemen wanted to do. But petty bureaucrats and uncaring assholes ,prevailed. People like you guys who value 75 bucks more than doing the right thing. You guys enjoyed him getting his comeuppance. How much worse could he have paid? Maybe if his grandson was still inside with the animals. Then he would have learned his lesson. Historically, when a house or barn caught on fire ,everyone ran to the fire and helped put it out. It was thought a rather noble thing to do. We felt good about helping others, even people we did not particularly like. It would never occur to us to let it burn killing his animals. Now you guys are enjoying anothers misery. I feel sad for you. I feel sad for all of us. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/486 "2010-10-17T02:09:49Z")
> [@hansel](#): > > Since Gonzomax is happily to call all of us in the latter group a bunch of heartless psychopaths, I’ll feel free to psychoanalyze him. The members of the first group have a deeply romantic idea about what firemen are. They’re not people who have a particular job. They’re warriors in the noble fight against the scourge of flame. It’s not a profession, it’s a calling, a vocation. They’re like priests or junkies. It doesn’t matter how they get what they need to fight fires, they need to fight fires, damnit!, and the petty bureaucrats can figure out the rest. > > ``` > Letting Crannick's house burn down as a matter of policy stabs that romantic image in the heart and then skullfucks a kitten to death on top of it. What we're witnessing in Gonzomax's rage is the death of a childhood vision, where firefighters stop rescuing kittens from trees only long enough to take the fire station dalmation out to pee and wash the bright shiny red truck one more time. > > ``` Eerily accurate, really. Well done. It’s almost like he didn’t even read this before that last post. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/487 "2010-10-17T05:12:00Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Because that is what they do. They put fires out. Oh wait, they put some fires out. So far, so good. It’s a myth that firefighters put out all fires, wherever the fire may be, and whatever the personal risk to the firefighter is. AFAIK, all fire departments/brigades have established protocols for fighting fires to ensure the safety of the firefighters. Just for fun, **gonzo** ; care to cite the statute that compels a private person to risk his life to save the life of an animal? I can easily believe there’s a compulsion to save the person, your hypothetical example of the grandson remaining in the structure, but I’d really have to see a credible source for a legal compulsion to risk one’s life over property when there’s no human in danger inside the structure. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/488 "2010-10-17T17:34:00Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > > [@CannyDan](#): > > > > Doesn’t anybody want to actually read the thread before offering stupid comments? > > > > This wasn’t a mandatory fee, nor a tax, either of which could be subject to enforcement. It was a **voluntary subscription** , you know, like cable TV. Nobody forces you to subscribe, and no court will attach your property or garnish your wages should you decide not to avail yourself of an optional service. You no pay-ee, you no get-ee TV. Or in this case, you no pay-ee, you no get-ee fire fighting. > > > > Dumb ass Cranick knew the system. Everybody in the area knew the system. The city sends annual reminders to pay, by US Mail, and follows up with phone calls. Cranick declined to avail himself of an optional service. He knew the risk, probably better than most since he had a previous fire. He tried to game the system, offering to pay only after he had an immediate need, like trying to bind auto insurance from the scene of your accident. > > > > Maybe he should have just paid his annual subscription, you think? And saved all those bibles. > > > > Or maybe he should _ **move the fucking garbage barrels away from his tinder box piece of shit of a dwelling!!!** _ > > > > Or instruct his apparent moron of a grandchild _ **not to leave a fucking fire unsupervised when it’s surrounded by unmowed dry weeds and next to a crappy storage shed that’s probably full of old paint cans and gas containers** _ maybe, don’t you think? > > > > And no, **gonzo** it isn’t a fucking _lesson_, goddamn it, it’s a fucking _consequence_. > > I’m sorry I wasn’t clear. The argument against putting out the fire and sending him the bill seems to be that “He didn’t pay before” and that they have had problems collecting from people in the past. > > Sure, the $75 is an optional fee, and I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about billing him for the full cost of putting out the fire and taking him to court if he doesn’t pay. Which both he and the neighbor offered to do. Again, they had lots of ways to recoup any and all money. Hell., they may have made a profit. Yes, there will be other people who don’t pay. They probably have alzheimers people, old people and retarded people. They have poor people. If their homes burn we can all have a beer and watch it burn to the ground. Bring marshmallows and hot dogs. It can’t get any better. Damn ,someone else wont pay, for whatever reason. Their houses have got to go. Only middle class fee paying people need apply. Since Cranick had paid in the past, can we all agree he would have paid, can’t we ? You all assume he would not. If paying in the past means anything, he may have just been late. The fire dept. would have gotten their money and more on the spot. Letting a mans house burn to the ground, when they were there and could have stopped it, is just plain wrong. It was shameful. Lets hope a clerical error doesn’t take a house or two down. Lets hope missed communications don’t result in a home going to the ground. Because it can. Firemen, put the damn fire out. Let the bureaucrats take over from there. They can get retribution. They can charge fees and fine him. But they can not bring his animals back to life or replace his memories. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/489 "2010-10-17T18:03:41Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > They probably have alzheimers people, old people and retarded people. None of whom should be living on their own if they are unable to think clearly for themselves. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/490 "2010-10-17T18:31:52Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > > [@gonzomax](#): > > > > They probably have alzheimers people, old people and retarded people. > > None of whom should be living on their own if they are unable to think clearly for themselves. And how about the poor people? The ones who can’t come up with $75 without either skipping a month of medication or two weeks of groceries or gas in their car to get to and from their crappy paying job out there in the sticks where they live and can’t afford to leave. Sucks to be them, too bad, so sad, shouldn’t have been so poor, LOL? ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/491 "2010-10-17T18:47:46Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Which both he and the neighbor offered to do. Again, they had lots of ways to recoup any and all money. Hell., they may have made a profit. Which is completely fucking irrelevant. He may have _felt_ it was reasonable to stiff the fire department and then pay more when he needed their help, but he doesn’t get to dictate the terms under which he will use services paid for by other people once he has opted out of paying his share. Not to mention that it’s not even clear what price the department could/should have charged him: the way precautionary services work is that everyone splits the salaries and equipment costs of the people needed to fight fires, so they’re available when needed. If people can opt out of this and just pay on demand, where does that salary money come from when there haven’t been any fires for a year or two? Can you charge that next uncovered homeowner for the cost of two years salary and benefits and fire engine repairs? The system is set up to be as fair as possible in terms of spreading the cost across everyone who benefits from the safety net. In this case, tards like Cranick had the choice to participate or not. He chose not. Fuck him. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/492 "2010-10-17T19:04:45Z")
I am glad you enjoyed the “tards” suffering. I am glad you like the price he paid. I am glad you are at peace with his home burning down and his animals dying. Shit he got what he had coming to him. People like him deserve to suffer for not being smart enough. On the other hand, i believe when you are there and have the means to put a fire out, you do it. It is simple. It is the right thing to do as a thinking caring human being. You help your fellow man, even though he may not be as bright or an good a citizen as you are. I would feel all warm and fuzzy if the firemen put the fire out. We all would have elevated ourselves as thinking caring humans. Now we have seemingly intelligent people who feel good about a guy getting what he had coming to him. Only way it could have been better, is if they rode him out of town on a rail. Then an even better lesson would have been learned. Perhaps he should be jailed for endangering animals? He got off lucky. ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/493 "2010-10-17T19:14:14Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > \ Only way it could have been better, is if they rode him out of town on a rail. Then an even better lesson would have been learned. Perhaps he should be jailed for endangering animals? He got off lucky. Now you’re talking!! I’ll get the feathers, **Giraffe** , you bring the hot tar, and **gonzo** , you grab a rail and yell for the other townsfolk. Oh we’re gonna have us a great time tonight!! \ Hey, **emack** , call the ASPCA-- they can have Cranick after we drop that goddamn kitteh-killer at the edge of town. ---
**Author:** ![George\_Kaplin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3e96dc/32.png) [@George\_Kaplin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/George_Kaplin)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/494 "2010-10-17T19:26:03Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > The system is set up to be as fair as possible in terms of spreading the cost across everyone who benefits from the safety net. In this case, tards like Cranick had the choice to participate or not. He chose not. Fuck him. This is a long thread so I may have missed something, but how do we know that Cranick _chose_ not to pay the $75.00 fee? I saw Cranick on TV with Olbermann a while back and he said he’d just forgotten. Do we have any proof to the contrary? ETA: Also, some people have raised the point that the fire service chose not to adopt a ‘Pay per service’ system because 50% of customers somehow managed to weasel out of paying after the job was done. Does anyone know how in the hell that’s even _possible_ these days? What sort of lazy, incompetent, ass-backward collections procedure had the fire department adopted that allowed 50% of people to slip through the net? ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/495 "2010-10-17T19:28:44Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > I am glad you enjoyed the “tards” suffering. I am glad you like the price he paid. I am glad you are at peace with his home burning down and his animals dying. Shit he got what he had coming to him. People like him deserve to suffer for not being smart enough. I only wish I could be as kind and enlightened as you. If only I could shake my head and whisper softly “oh that poor poor man, why does God let bad things happen to [del]good[/del] [del]innocent[/del] people who aren’t that terrible probably if you get to know them?” I am a bad person. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/496 "2010-10-17T19:32:34Z")
> [@George\_Kaplin](#): > > This is a long thread so I may have missed something, but how do we know that Cranick _chose_ not to pay the $75.00 fee? I saw Cranick on TV with Olbermann a while back and he said he’d just forgotten. Do we have any proof to the contrary? All evidence points to him consciously opting out, so I’m not really taking his after the fact story of simply forgetting to pay his bill very seriously. If that was the case, i.e. he’d paid it every year before this, I’d have a bit more sympathy. Not a huge amount more, given that most homeowners manage to remember to pay important bills like their mortgage and insurance (and know that they could lose their house / coverage if they “forget”), but a bit. I’d love to see some evidence of past payments, but I’m not holding my breath. ---
**Author:** ![MHaye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bbe5ce/32.png) [@MHaye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MHaye)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/497 "2010-10-17T19:38:51Z")
> [@George\_Kaplin](#): > > > [@Giraffe](#): > > > > The system is set up to be as fair as possible in terms of spreading the cost across everyone who benefits from the safety net. In this case, tards like Cranick had the choice to participate or not. He chose not. Fuck him. > > This is a long thread so I may have missed something, but how do we know that Cranick _chose_ not to pay the $75.00 fee? I saw Cranick on TV with Olbermann a while back and he said he’d just forgotten. Do we have any proof to the contrary? Yes. Cranick himself has said, in another interview, that he hadn’t paid but “thought the fire service would come out anyway.” It’s linked in the OP. > [@](#): > > ETA: Also, some people have raised the point that the fire service chose not to adopt a ‘Pay per service’ system because 50% of customers somehow managed to weasel out of paying after the job was done. Does anyone know how in the hell that’s even _possible_ these days? What sort of lazy, incompetent, ass-backward collections procedure had the fire department adopted that allowed 50% of people to slip through the net? The sort that is not set up or funded to cover the area in which these non-payers live. The FD in question is maintained by the city of South Fulton TN, to put out the fires within the geographical boundaries of that city. This fire happened _outside_ that city. Also, it’s not 50% of people are uncovered; it’s that, in the experience of fire departments in the cities of that county, uncovered people who experience fires will promise anything to get the fire department out, but more than 50% of those people renege on the promise. ---
**Author:** ![emacknight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ec8ea/32.png) [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/498 "2010-10-17T20:10:38Z")
Wow, this took on an extra dose of crazy. So now the fire department (meaning the tax payers of the nearby municipality) are required to provide fire service to any and all that need it, even though they neither want it, nor can they afford it? That is so seriously fucked up I can’t even begin to explain how fucking retarded it is. If you can’t afford the $75 fee for fire services you can’t afford to live in your shit ass trailer in butt fuck no where. I worked with this guy and one day he mentioned he was about to spend the night in jail. I asked why and he said, “driving without insurance.” As a reflex, I then asked, “why didn’t you have insurance.” But I was expecting something along the lines of, “paperwork got screwed up, check bounced, clerical error, left the document at home…” Nope, the answer was, “couldn’t afford it.” Bullshit. if you can’t afford insurance (or gas) you can’t afford a car. That’s how it works. I’m really fucking disgusted but the lengths some in this thread (cought **gonzomax** cought) have to excuse personal responsibility. It was funny for the first few pages, now it’s just sad and pathetic. . ---
**Author:** ![George\_Kaplin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3e96dc/32.png) [@George\_Kaplin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/George_Kaplin)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/499 "2010-10-17T20:45:15Z")
> [@MHaye](#): > > Yes. Cranick himself has said, in another interview, that he hadn’t paid but “thought the fire service would come out anyway.” It’s linked in the OP. I don’t think this statement necessarily implies that Cranick _chose_ not to pay. I wouldn’t be surprised if a number of paying customers also held this misapprehension, given that fire fighting is obviously an emergency service. > [@MHaye](#): > > The FD in question is maintained by the city of South Fulton TN, to put out the fires within the geographical boundaries of that city. This fire happened outside that city. I’m probably being horribly dense but I can’t see how, if the FD had proof that someone like Cranick used their services, they couldn’t track him down and extract payment at a later date. What would stop them from taking customers like him to court and suing for the full amount owed plus court costs? > [@Giraffe](#): > > All evidence points to him consciously opting out, so I’m not really taking his after the fact story of simply forgetting to pay his bill very seriously. I’m inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. I’m not the most organised person in the world and I’m sure I’m not the only one who needs the occasional reminder to make sure all the bills are paid. Cranick’s decision, if indeed he _chose_ not to pay, is highly irrational given what he stood to lose. So irrational is it, to my mind, that I’d need to see pretty strong evidence that he’d deliberately forfeited fire protection before I could fairly condemn him as being cavalierly irresponsible. To me, it seems _far_ more likely that he’s just not too bright and made a stupid oversight. ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210/500 "2010-10-17T21:14:41Z")
All right, ten pages in, five hundred posts, a quick synopsis for all those too fucking lazy to read the fucking thread: Party of the first part Cranick knows all about the Subscription Service by which a neighboring City offers pre-paid fire protection in certain unincorporated areas of his County. He knows all about it because he has had a previous fire at his home, for which he did not have the aforesaid subscription fire service. The fire brigade, upon his entreaty, put the fire out and told him to pay his subscription on time in the future. That was three years ago. Since then several other fires have occurred in his neighborhood. It was all the talk among the neighbors, and covered by all the local media. (As if they had anything else to do.) People without the Subscription did not receive fire suppression. The City sends annual invoices to people in the Subscription Area by US Mail, and follows those up with telephone calls. People who want to opt in make their payment. Those who do not pay have refused the offer of an optional contract. They are not entitled to the benefits those who accept the contract will receive. There is no provision for providing people with a service they have refused, and then billing them (or otherwise collecting from them) after they find a sudden need for the service. Just as Comcast can’t hook you up to cable, including expensive porn, over your objection or while you’re out of town and then collect from you for services you never ordered. Not even if you later experience an “emergency need” for porn. The only way Cranick could have been unaware of the system in place, or the routine payment requests, would be if he was deaf, blind, and confined to some small and windowless box inside his shitty double-wide. You know, like the place he kept his dogs and cats. In fact he himself acknowledged that he knew, saying that he thought the fire brigade would come and help his sorry, craven, selfish, manipulative, worthless, goddamn kitten killing puppy raping ass _anyway_. And being a sorry, craven, selfish, manipulative, worthless, animal abusing bastard, he had second thoughts about that admission, and so later told Olberman that he “forgot”. Now, how about all you johnny-come-lately assholes actually read the fucking thread before offering your stupid comments, kaythnxbye. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-pay-up-or-we-let-your-house-burn-down/556210.md?page=26)