Owner Of Amber’s Disposal Of Aquasco Caught Disparaging Customers On Voice Recording

AQUASCO, Md. — “Now I’m going to eat $351.72 because of a f*cking dead guy.” That quote — left on a voicemail by Brenda McAlwee, owner of Amber’s Disposal — has sparked public backlash after a grieving daughter released the recording on social media. The message, accidentally left after a call about her late father’s account, captured McAlwee making profane and disparaging remarks about the deceased customer, prompting outrage and renewed scrutiny of the company’s reputation in Southern Maryland.

McAlwee went on to call a deceased customer “a piece of sh*t anyway.” She then talked about cleaning gutters, grilling, and chatted with others in the background who could not be clearly heard in the recording.

The voice recording was captured by Maddie Shotwell, a former client of Amber’s Disposal, who had called the company to ask about a payment plan for her late father Eddie’s account. McAlwee left Shotwell a voicemail where she identified herself by her first name, and forgot to hang up. She then proceeded to make several comments about Shotwell’s father — a man Shotwell says McAlwee had considered a friend.

Shotwell, horrified by the message, shared the voicemail and her version of the events on Facebook in a video and later a post. She claimed that her father was a longtime Amber’s Disposal customer. His bill fell behind after his death, even though it was on autopay, because the account it was linked to ran out of money. She also said she wasn’t immediately informed of the ongoing charges until they were two months overdue and that she kept her father’s account up to date while she was acting as his caretaker toward the end of his life. As an only child, she’s still sorting through the financial details of her dad’s death and was responsible for his funeral costs.

As for rules about who pays a debt, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says, “If there was no co-signer, joint account holder, or other exception, only the estate of the deceased person owes the debt.”

So, surviving family members are not responsible for outstanding bills or debts of a deceased person unless they’re a co-signer or co-owner of the account. Outstanding bills are paid from the deceased’s estate. Regardless, companies may attempt to get family members to pay outstanding bills and debts so they don’t have to “eat” the cost. Overwhelmed families may opt to pay to avoid companies bothering them or because they’re worried about possible legal or financial consequences.

Shotwell is a mom of four living in a single-income household. She says she couldn’t afford the charges right away — and while she knows she wasn’t legally responsible for the charges, she had planned to pay them out of respect for her father’s friendship with the owners.

However, she claims she was spoken to rudely by people who worked with her father for years and had called him a friend while he was alive, even before the voicemail incident. In her video following the incident, Shotwell said she was “livid” and that regardless of what anyone thought of her father, this behavior from a business was inappropriate.

“I shared this in hopes of saving another family from having to go through this. No one should experience that level of cruelty.” Shotwell said she was not seeking support or attention with her post. Rather, she said she’s “a talker” and posted with the intent to share the story with friends and let out some anger. Later, she was shocked at how much attention her posts received.

“After everything I went through, I felt like I was finally catching a break. Now, not only am I fighting to grieve peacefully and properly but trying to keep my dad’s name intact. That’s not fair to either of us.”

Shotwell says her dad was well known in the community and would give someone “the shirt off his back or the last penny in his pocket.”

Amber’s Disposal has an average one-star rating on Yelp and 2.4 stars on Google. Several reviews were added since Shotwell’s posts on July 28, but the company has numerous poor reviews dating back years. Most focus on the company’s lackluster customer care and services, with customers stating they were stood up for pickups and treated rudely by staff — in particular, by McAlwee herself.

Shotwell hopes that businesses and their patrons alike can remember to be kind to each other — you never know what the other person is going through. And community members, she says, should be careful not to put business owners in a position where they won’t be paid. But mostly, she hopes that in sharing her story, she can spare others the pain of hearing what she did on that voicemail.

“I never set out to bash this business,” Shotwell said. “And I hope the community knows that. Small businesses are valued and are what makes our community go ’round. Without them we would not be Southern Maryland. These mom and pops are what made us.”

Shotwell confirmed she has not received an apology or explanation from McAlwee or anyone associated with Amber’s Disposal since posting the voicemail recording.

The BayNet has reached out for comment and left multiple voicemails with Brenda McAlwee’s team but has not received a response.

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