Bank informs very much alive husband and wife they are dead
A husband and wife were left ‘in tatters’ after they were both told the other was dead.
Ben Gibson, 63, was told his wife, Gill, 65, had died by Halifax staff whilst she was sat in their living room.
He said: ‘The guy on the phone said, “excuse me sir but your wife has deceased”.
‘I said “no she’s in the front room, do you want to speak to her?”‘
Later that month Ben walked into his home to find a distraught Gill reading about her husband’s death in a condolence letter from the DVLA, who had stopped receiving payments from the bank.
The couple, from Stratford-Upon-Avon, even had to talk to Halifax staff in person to discuss whether or not they were alive, which was not enough to swiftly reopen their accounts.
Ben said: ‘I dread to think how much time I’ve spent on this – hours and hours. It has been an absolute nightmare, we’ve had to rebuild our entire financial life and that’s not easy.
‘It’s been a constant worry. It’s horrible, and it’s been going on for a long time.’
According to Halifax, an external agency had declared Gill dead, but no explanations have been offered as to why Ben’s demise was recorded.
The couple are concerned that whoever told the bank they had died did it with spiteful intentions.
Ben said: ‘There are website where you can go and say someone has died, all you need is to say where they bank, you don’t even need the account number.
‘This could have been malicious, it’s actually very scary. We’re fortunate to have a little put to one side in another account, but what if we didn’t?
‘Not everyone has friends or family they can borrow from.’
Gill said the stress of the situation has ruined her mental health as the couple are still trying to amend the error.
She said: ‘The whole thing has been a total nightmare. I would like to know who can inflict this on anyone – my mental health is in tatters.
‘When Ben told me the Halifax operator said I was deceased and wanted to speak to me I was numb, it was as if the stuffing had been knocked out of me.
‘I still feel like that.’
Halifax said: ‘We’re really sorry for the upsetting experience Mr and Mrs Gibson had and we are urgently investigating how this happened.
‘We have removed the block from their account and made a payment in recognition of their experience.’
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