Wife told husband was dead while he was eating lunch next to her

A woman was told her husband had died while he sat eating his lunch next to her.

Linda Clark, 74, opened a letter from HM Revenue and Customs offering their condolences over the death of her husband Michael, 77.

It took nearly an hour to convince HMRC Michael is in fact alive.

Mrs Clark said: ‘The letter asked me to contact HMRC as soon as possible because I might owe tax on his money, or they might owe tax. I contacted them straight away.

‘After spending nearly an hour on the phone to them, and them speaking to my husband, they agreed that he was very much alive.

‘They could not tell us when he allegedly died, if a death certificate had been provided, or when he had died.’

But the couple, from Suffolk, were told their pension had been stopped, and they rushed to tell the Department for Work and Pensions.

‘We found the number and called them, and they were absolutely gobsmacked,’ Mrs Clark said.

The department told them they had not received a death certificate, but they had been ‘advised’ of their death.

She added: ‘They resolved the pension issue and reinstated him on their records. The lady on the phone joked that she had resurrected him.’

The fraud squad agency they contacted could also not find any evidence of bad intentions.

Mr Clark added: ‘I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t see how they could possibly have sent out the notification without the death certificate.

‘I was surprised. Looking back on it now, I can see the funny side, but it could have really upset someone so it shouldn’t happen again.’

An HMRC spokesperson said: ‘We’re sorry for the distress caused to Mr Clark and his family and are writing to him to confirm we’ve corrected his record.’

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