Apparently I am dead!

Make a note in your 2025 diary for November and December to write to them confirming you are very much NOT dead, and send a second one announcing the same in December!

But why should we do their work for them and have to faff around sending emails and letters and waiting for ever on the phone. The whole system is now based on expecting the cuwtomer/client to do all the chasing up and coping with the problems that arise, not to mention the risk of your credit looking as though you have renaged on bills so that the next time you apply for some credit you will notget it and it is not your fault!!! if something like this happens now I do the necessary work rather than get cut off or whtever but I now also add in a set amount for my time wasted chasing things up when it was clearly not my fault and they do not even have someone checking their systems, It is a cheap way of getting their work done for them. In the same way I refuse to use the new check in basket arrangement. I am there to do my shopping and they do not make my bills any cheaper if I do mos of their work for them!! If i am paying the full price for goods to cover their assistants etc, I do not see why i should do half their work for them

Like Mark Twain "Reports of your death were exaggerated".

I think that's dreadful. And you should make a formal complaint via the company procedure. This 'method' could cause so much stress to their clients and to have such a system failure which the seem to have ignored and not followed up is negligent.

Taichinan

Make a note in your 2025 diary for November and December to write to them confirming you are very much NOT dead, and send a second one announcing the same in December!

This “error” happened due to a computer glitch, I don't understand why you think the OP should wait until November 2025 to reconfirm that she is still alive?

Madmeg - I hope you get a full apology and a little something as compensation wouldn't go amiss I'm sure. If a DD “bounces” there can be additional bank charges and not to mention embarrassment.

Definately complain.
I had something similar with HMRC/DWP. When I put my nat.ins no. into the system all it came up with was "is this person dead?"
I took some considerable time to sort it out and get myself declared ALIVE.

If any of my income failed to arrive on time it would cause a fair amount of stress if not missed payments. It seems all too easy to blame a computer glitch when the system is flawed. I would have though some compensation is in order.

Yes you should complain..
I’ve had to wait 11mths 24 days to actually receive my monthly work pension due last January.. it’s a local government one and they upgraded their online pension portal mid year and I’ve never been able to access it despite dozens of emails and new passwords set… so infuriating..
So pleased you’re breathing 😮‍💨

madeleine45

But why should we do their work for them and have to faff around sending emails and letters and waiting for ever on the phone. The whole system is now based on expecting the cuwtomer/client to do all the chasing up and coping with the problems that arise, not to mention the risk of your credit looking as though you have renaged on bills so that the next time you apply for some credit you will notget it and it is not your fault!!! if something like this happens now I do the necessary work rather than get cut off or whtever but I now also add in a set amount for my time wasted chasing things up when it was clearly not my fault and they do not even have someone checking their systems, It is a cheap way of getting their work done for them. In the same way I refuse to use the new check in basket arrangement. I am there to do my shopping and they do not make my bills any cheaper if I do mos of their work for them!! If i am paying the full price for goods to cover their assistants etc, I do not see why i should do half their work for them

Absolutely!

I am not presumed dead, but had a similar 'Do this or else' experience recently. I used to have house insurance with company A, and paid them annually. When their rates increased so much for existing customers I transferred to company B, and told A that I was not renewing at the end of the year. It appears that they renewed anyway, and when I didn't pay (for insurance I didn't want or need) they passed my 'debt' to a collection agency. I got a text from the agency which at first I thought was a scam, but as they had the name of company A, I thought I'd check, and it turned out that they had, indeed, passed on the 'debt', and I would have to call their customer service department to sort it out. I did so, and after being kept waiting for ages, given more numbers to call, eventually got through to an agent who could help. He was able to check that I had insured with company B, and on what date (how?) which convinced him that I had indeed cancelled with A, and assured me that he would sort it out. Today I got further communication from the debt people saying that I MUST NOT IGNORE THIS LETTER and should call a premium number or the debt would escalate. When I did so, I got through to a bored and officious young man who kept talking over me and referring to my 'debt'. I kept repeating that there could be no cancellation charge as there was nothing to cancel, so there was no debt, but a wrongly applied charge, until he left it that he would get back to the insurance company to clarify 🙄.

The whole debacle must have taken the best part of 2 hours, of my time, and for all I know it is not over yet. How is it legal for someone to force others to spend their own time doing something on pain of being charged more money and being classed as in debt? I had to go online, ring several different numbers, hang on hold and go through the sorry saga more than once, because of an error on their part. I really wish that customers could invoice companies for time wasted in this way.

Bea65, mine is similar to a Local Govt one - hence I don't have a lot of faith in them getting it right! But now 24 hrs have passed and they told me it would be in my account "within 24 hours".

I doubt I'll get any compensation from them. I'm now not sure I believe their reason so I'm going to ring again and see if I get the same explanation.

Another point is that when I die my DH is entitled to half my pension, but nobody has contacted him to enable him to get it.

As jocork says not everyone can just do without several hundred pounds not arriving on time. I've had to transfer £800 from a savings account to cover this.

The DDRI scheme (Disclosure of Death Registration Information) has been in existence since 2008.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/disclosure-of-death-registration-information-how-to-apply/disclosure-of-death-registration-information

Organisations wishing to apply for a weekly supply of UK death registration data must be able to demonstrate that they will ONLY use the information in the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of offences.

You’ll see under eligibiity that the trustees or managers of a pension scheme can apply to be part of the scheme. I would question whether using the data in the way that is has been is within the remit of the scheme.

It certainly isn’t acceptable to leave someone without funds due to the repeated failure of internal systems. The explanation given to you is ludicrous. Effectvely they are saying: We didn’t receive replies to letters we didn’t send so we cancelled your pension anyway. Even if they had identified the right person, someone dead cannot reply. They have an obligation to make futher enquiries before assuming that an offence has occurred. That have your next of kin on record. Why did they not seek to contact him? If you check the online portal, do the trustees have a phone number recorded for you?

I’m thinking about what Martin Lewis has been reporting recently about aggressive council tax debt collection practices - if someone misses just one payment - which could easily happen if someone’s usual income is not credited to their bank account:

www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2024/09/martin-lewis-council-tax-debt-collection-warning/

I would definitely make a formal complaint to whoever administers the scheme and ask for a full explanation in writing. Don't phone as you will be fobbed off by a junior. Write to the trustees.

When you consider what data is disclosed by the GRO (see the link), the chances that it matched with data held by the pension fund administrators about you are slim to virtually impossible.

I would be questioning precisely how the pension administrators do the comparison and what safeguards there are to ensure that the correct person is identified.

Note that licences to use GRO data are only valid for three years.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/disclosure-of-death-registration-information-advice-and-licence-template/advice-for-applicants-frequently-asked-questions

I would also write to the current head of GRO Thomas Greig asking him to investigate this, whether the pension scheme administrators are competent to hold a licence and whether it should be revoked.

I would bet that you were not the only person affected by this “blip”. It isn’t a blip. It’s a gross failure by the pension administrators and needs investigating.

Another point is that when I die my DH is entitled to half my pension, but nobody has contacted him to enable him to get it.
That is concerning. I don't know what the process usually is - probably the surviving spouse has to make contact? Mr Dog is my nominated beneficiary, but I don't think I've registered contact details for him, as there is no mechanism to do so.

I agree that expecting people to manage without their income for months is unreasonable. You really should be compensated - at least for loss of interest and the inconvenience.

Companies charge us high hourly rates for their time - why do they assume that we will give ours free?

I would complain, I don’t know who manages your pension but if no one complains it could and probably will happen again, when a company blames a blip it’s usually a humans fault

Have you nominated you DH to get half your pension, if not you need to contact them and do it, it can save a lot of hassle.

Madmeg, surely when someone dies, their executor or spouse contacts their pension company to inform them of the death and to get payments put in place for whoever is entitled? That’s what I did. (The rigmarole that followed is another story. ). Using Tell Us Once informs DWP but not private pension companies.

I would definitely complain. It is an appalling state of affairs and your money is late, to boot, which could have proved even more costly.

I have found that emailing the CEO of the company always produces quick results. These can be found on the website ceoemailcom.
I have very recently resolved a complicated situation with two mobile phone providers, where speaking to Customer Service Advisors proved ineffective, being passed from pillar to post. An email to the CEOs produced a response within hours, a resolution with compensation and a bouquet as well!
You have nothing to lose and you definitely deserve compensation, to my mind.

We live overseas and my husband was also surprised to find out that according to the people managing a Uk pension, that he was dead…and even more so that I’d sent in his death certificate…after many many months of wrangling and paperwork, his account was reinstated and all interest paid up. It’s made us much more vigilant about our finances.

Pah this is just an indication of how all large organisations fail to safeguard their practices these days, nobody seems to know what they are doing any more.

I suggest you readdress this problem with your company pension provider and ask for it to be fully investigated as a formal complaint. If you do not get any form of redress in their final response letter, I suggest you contact the Financial Ombudsman Service who will carry out their own investigation and establish if this was just a blip or a wider concern. At the very least, they will ensure you are put back into the same position you would have been, had no error been made and also award redress together with accrued interest (possibly an additional payment for inconvenience and/or stress caused, as well as any out of pocket expenses incurred as a result).

They were clearly at fault although your phonecall does seem to have been dealt with very well.
If the letters to confirm identity weren't going out then the stopping of the pension should not have been operating either. I'm sure they weren't aware of the blip with the letters, but they absolutely should have been & it's no excuse in law.
Computers have a lot to answer for!

Thanks everyone. Silverbrook (I don't know how to embolden your name) this is very interesting, I will look further into it - not least cos it fascinates me! There has very definitely been no offence committed, by me at least.

DH has his pension with the same organisation "owned" by the DofE which I bet many of you will recognise at once. The DofE is "owned" by the government along with many other government-owned organisations (e.g. the armed forces, police).

The scheme does not have trustees but instead has a scheme manager supported by Pension Boards.

I have checked the "personal details" they have for me online and whilst it states I am married, with marriage date and my DH's DOB it does not have any other data on him (on my own record). It does have our home phone number, my mobile and email address.

The online portal shows the latest payment as being for December but it also shows that something is "in progress". It showed that BEFORE I rang them.

I am giving them another night to pay me (apparently that's when it happens) and hope it is in my account when I get up tomorrow. I have a MASSIVE direct debit going out on Thursday and no more readily available funds to cover it.

I am even more miffed cos in 53 years of marriage I have never been overdrawn - even when mortgage interest was 16% and we had two small kids and only one income.

Put an asterisk either side of a username to embolden.

I'm assuming you mean Education and the TPS.

This was reported in Schools Week in 2023:

schoolsweek.co.uk/capita-loses-out-on-233m-teachers-pension-scheme-contract-to-indian-it-firm/

Outsourcing company Capita has lost its government contract to administer the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) after 27 years.

A contract notice published by the Department for Education (DfE) on Friday shows Indian IT company Tata Consultancy Services will now administer the scheme under a 10-year, £233 million contract.

It comes despite Capita, which recently withdrew from delivering the government’s flagship teacher training and development programme to teachers, tendering to regain the contract.

DfE said it would “transition” the scheme to Tata over a two-year period from this October [2023], with the new contract beginning in October 2025.

Capita are licenced under the DDRI whereas Tata, according to the latest gov.uk list are not.

What's the betting this "blip" is something to do with the transition?

I would be very keen to know how they matched the data from the GRO for someone who has died to you. The data items supplied by GRO are:

• forename (s) and surname

• alias name (if used by the deceased and entered onto the registration)

• date of birth

• date of death

• place of birth (if held)

•usual address including postcode

•sex

•maiden name (if held)

You haven't mentioned it but they must have your dob and home address. And while it would be possible for someone who has died to have had the same name and dob, they can't possibly have had the same address at the time of death.

As this post intimates …. Life is short ! If it were me I’d stay amused as you initially were as already too much stress and misery in life.
I personally would find it amusing too and have a little I’m not dead cerebration 😁.
Whatever the glitches or mistake were I assume it was rectified and your money was indeed paid promptly without further fuss or too much inconvenience?
If so then dont sweat the small stuff and just enjoy the time we have left as much as possible 😊

Jasudow, no the money is not in my account, it is now 6 days late. Like you I assumed the error would be rectified at the press of a button, but my amusement has long gone as I have a bill of nearly £5,000 going through our account tomorrow and am scouting around to find nearly £1k to top up our balance so we do not go overdrawn - or worse, have the payment declined (no idea what the bank will do, not had it happen before).

Yes, its Teachers Pensions. I had no idea about Capita having been ditched.

Anyway, just got through to them and been assured that my pension is scheduled to be actioned overnight tonight and will be in my account tomorrow. The chap was clearly well-trained in deflecting queries on this with very plausible reasons, apologies and "get out" phrases, none of which I believed.

But not his fault.

My amusement is also at a weak point as I am now off to drive DH to the dire local hospital for two x-rays on potential hairline fractures of the spine and leg. He suffered what appeared to be a minor accident before Christmas but maybe it isn't quite so minor.

Thanks to you all.