IRD apologises for letter to dead woman

The Inland Revenue Department has apologised for sending a dead Christchurch woman a letter advising her she could be eligible for superannuation.

Mike O'Brien, whose wife Rosalie died in 1995, said receiving the letter had been upsetting, and it would have been worse if one of his children had received it.

"When I saw there was a letter for my wife from Inland Revenue, all sorts of things went through my head. I was worried she owed money," Mr O'Brien told The Press.

"I felt like sending them a letter that she no longer lives at this address and her forwarding address is Bromley Cemetery."

IRD spokeswoman Heather Daly apologised for the error, saying IRD understood how upsetting such a mistake could be for the person's family.

"We rely on family members or the executor of the estate to inform us when a customer passes away, and we normally action this information straight away," she said.

"We take such incidents very seriously and review our processes and procedures very thoroughly."

- NZPA