“They killed my son on the road and now they are sending the bill for cleaning the asphalt.” This is how Pilar Rosanes recounted days ago the receipt of a certified letter sent by the Provincial Council of A Coruña in the name of her son, Josep Boan, who died in a traffic accident in Galicia.
The surprise of the parents of that young man, who had no fault in that accident, was enormous when they saw that in that letter they personally demanded from Josep – the fatal accident occurred in 2020 – the payment of 485.50 euros for cleaning the road. Some work in which, the invoice details, 3 hours and 20 minutes were invested.
The blow to Josep’s family was enormous. The cold bureaucracy of the administration was now added to the irreparable pain of the loss of a child.
Nobody in the Provincial Council of A Coruña warned that this young man was the victim of the accident and that months ago the sentence was handed down that sentenced the driver of the car that took Josep’s life to just over 2 years in prison (he was traveling in motorcycle) after committing flagrant recklessness.
A letter that hurts even more, María Pilar recalls, stating in that letter that the expenses for cleaning up the remains scattered on the road after the crash had to be paid, half, by the two people involved in the accident.
Once they had recovered from the bad experience, Josep’s family sent a letter to the Provincial Council of A Coruña. They asked for an explanation. This is what Maria Pilar wrote in that letter: “Regarding liquidation no. 1182A/23 of the payment for the assistance and cleaning of the road after an accident (nothing of that. If anything, a road accident) between the vehicle and, that the Provincial Council of A Coruña claims from Josep Boan i Rosanes, I inform you that the person to whom demanding payment for the fire service was the victim of Don Asier González Silva, a resident of Santiago de Compostela, convicted of serious “reckless” homicide. It is he who is responsible for paying for cleaning the road. I am sending you the court ruling and I hope to soon receive the annulment of the liquidation.”
The least this family expected – aside, of course, from the cancellation of that bloody bill – was an apology. But that was before I received the answer. Pilar affirms, having read the letter, that now “I no longer expect anything.”
He emphasizes, however, that what hurts him the most – when he no longer wants any forgiveness – is that the Provincial Council deceived days ago by stating to the media that the payment file for that bill was already cancelled. “With this letter we have confirmed that this step has not yet materialized and is in the process of being resolved.”
Well, that Provincial Council has just responded to María Pilar.
And of apology or forgiveness for the pain caused by that letter, nothing at all. This local administration of A Coruña limits itself to recounting some facts, without showing empathy or regret in those lines, to inform that the file for the collection of that invoice has been annulled.
The same coldness of the letter in which Josep, now dead, was asked to pay for the cleaning of the road is repeated in this textbook response from that Provincial Council when warned of the unforgivable error.
The letter, which was expected to be an apology, states: “With respect to the question you raise, first of all tell you that the Provincial Council of A Coruña is the administration in charge of collecting different fees and taxes by delegation of both City Councils and of other public organizations that exercise their powers within their territorial scope, as is the case of the Provincial Fire and Rescue Consortium of A Coruña.”
And he adds: “The tax ordinance that regulates the rate for the provision of fire extinguishing and rescue services establishes that in cases of intervention due to traffic accidents, the users of the damaged property or that were subject to the tax will be required to pay the rate. of the provision of the service, with the insurance companies for such risks having the status of taxpayer substitutes.”
After that cold introduction he gets into the matter: “In this case, since there is a court ruling that determines the guilt of one of the parties involved in the traffic accident, the settlement of the fee corresponds in its entirety to the person convicted of crime of homicide due to serious recklessness.”
And it is announced that “the Provincial Fire and Rescue Consortium of Coruña has been informed to proceed with the annulment of liquidation no. 1182A/23 issued in the name of Josep Boan i Rosanes. As soon as you notify us of your cancellation, we will contact you again from this taxpayer service unit to send you a copy of the cancellation resolution by this same means.”
“We remain at your disposal for any further clarification you may deem necessary.”
“All the best”
“Good morning”.
Little or nothing can be said, therefore, at this point with this textbook response in which no one asks for an “apology”, no one admits a “mistake” and no one intones “I’m sorry”. This is the most inhuman face of the administration.
