An 80-year-old widow was left shocked and upset after opening a letter offering her condolences – for her own DEATH.
The frail OAP, whose name has been given only as Mrs Fulton, received a letter from her pension provider, Standard Life, addressed to ‘The Executors of Mrs B Fulton’.
And she was “shocked” when she opened the letter to read a note of condolence.
The note read: “I was sorry to learn of [Mrs Fulton’s] death when the bank returned her June pension instalment to us.
“I offer my sincere condolences on behalf of Standard Life. Please can you contact me with the date that Mrs Fulton passed away.”
Neighbours said Mrs Fulton, who lives alone and suffered a severe stroke almost a decade ago, was left “extremely upset” by the correspondence.
The pensioner said: “You can imagine how shocked I was to receive the letter.
“Fortunately I still have my wits about me, but I dread to think what the consequences could have been for someone in more fragile health than myself.”
Standard Life blamed human error for the blunder and said a staff member had incorrectly marked the reason for the payment being returned as “deceased”.
A spokesman said: “We are very sorry this occurred and for the concern it has caused. We apologised immediately and carried out a review to understand what had happened.
“We reissued the pension payment immediately and sent Mrs Fulton flowers and £50 as an apology too.”
