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A Christchurch medical professional is considering laying a complaint with the Privacy Commission after Inland Revenue (IRD) sent her tax documents to a 25-year-old student.
The woman, who did not want to be named, said she felt "shocked" and "aggrieved" her personal details had been posted to a stranger, The Press reported.
She said she was considering making a formal complaint about the error.
The personal details included name, address, workplace, IRD number, phone number, salary and taxation.
The student contacted the woman last week, alerting her to the mistake, and said along with the woman's documents there were also papers from two other people.
They had been sealed in the same envelope with the student's summary of earnings document.
"I had a feeling of shock, then relief that someone with integrity had received it and had made the effort to pursue it rather than dump the document in the bin, or didn't seek to abuse the information in any way," the woman said.
The student, said she was horrified at the IRD's attitude to the mistake.
"They were just like, 'Oh, well just mail them back'.
"I told them I was disgusted and it's not like New World coupons you are handing out.
"I told them I would drop them back after contacting the people involved then she was very apologetic."
Inland Revenue's acting deputy commissioner of business development and systems, Alan Pinder, said the department processed six million transactions a year and took errors seriously.
"From time to time, we do make a mistake. We understand that such mistakes can be very upsetting, and we sincerely apologise to people who may be affected."
- NZPA
