Couple unhappy about letter from HMRC saying husband was dead and may owe tax

Debbie Moore was surprised when she received a letter from the Government chasing up tax from her 'dead' husband, despite him still being alive. Now the couple are demanding an apology from HM Revenue & Customs, the department behind the correspondence. Officials had written to "the representative" of Peter Moore, sympathizing during "this difficult time". The letter then stated officials needed to ensure the 47-year-old had paid the correct amount of tax before he passed away. However Peter, of Fenton in Stoke-on-Trent, returned home while his wife was reading about his recent demise.

Debbie said: "It's really not nice getting a letter from HMRC, especially when what they're saying hasn't really happened. I was gobsmacked." Peter added: "I don't know how that kind of mistake could have been made." Mr Moore immediately phoned HMRC demanding an explanation only to be told it was 'a mistake.' He said: "I used to work away in the week so if that would have happened my wife could have really started to worry. It was addressed to the representative of Peter Wiliam John Moore, which is my full name, and it included my national insurance number so I knew it referred to me. It apologized for a recent bereavement and went on about some tax I paid before my death.
"My dad's name was Peter Moore but he died 32 years ago so I didn't think it would be anything to do with him. My wife opened the letter when I was out of the house, fortunately I came back home about five minutes after she read it so she knew it was a mistake but that might not have always been the case. I rang the tax people and the lady on the other end said she couldn't believe it." The letter states: "I am sorry to hear about your recent bereavement and recognize that this is a difficult time for you. When someone dies, I need to work out if they paid the right amount of tax before their death. In many cases, HMRC repays tax to the estate. I need to know details of the person responsible for finalizing their affairs."
Mr Moore added: "I was just really shocked, it's just all a bit strange." Mr Moore is concerned how some may respond to the letter. He added: "If a letter like this was sent to an older person or the relative of someone who was really ill it could have caused them some distress. It never should have happened." His wife Debbie had opened the letter after returning home from work. She said: "I just did what I usually did, I picked up the letters and sat down to open them. When I read it I thought it was a scam or some sort of joke. I showed it to Pete when he came in and he got straight on the phone to the tax office." A spokesman for HMRC said: "We don't talk about individual cases but when we make mistakes we aim to put them right fast and apologize."