Reblogged from samedifference:
The family of a man who died almost 12 months ago have slammed benefits bosses for repeatedly trying to contact their dead son to ask why he hasn’t been to see them.
Dad Terry Whiteside said he is ‘angry’ that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had continued to send letters to his son Marc after he died in March last year.
The letters demanded to know why Marc, who claimed Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), hadn’t kept scheduled appointments arranged to help him find work, despite being told the 31-year-old had died.
More letters chasing Marc, who lived in Derwent Close, Langley, Middleton, for £268 he owed the DWP for a crisis loan he took out before he died have also been sent.
The DWP have apologised to the family for a ‘regrettable error’ and say they have taken action to stop any more letters being sent to Marc.
His dad Terry, 66, who works at Springvale Household Waste Recycling Centre, said it was ‘unbelievable’ the letters were still arriving 10 months after his son died.
He said: “Every time I ring them up they apologise and say the letters will stop, but they keep on arriving. It’s almost a year since he died and the letters are still coming, it’s just unbelievable.
“If I did something that caused as much distress as this at my work I would be sacked, instantly, yet no one at the DWP seems to be accountable.
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