Family Continues to Receive Mail for Deceased Father Two Years After His Death

A woman has reported that her family, including her 82-year-old mother, is still receiving mail addressed to her father, who passed away two years ago. Rachael Clark stated that her father, Richard Clark, passed away on 25 October 2022. She confirmed that utility providers and government agencies were informed within weeks of his death, yet Scottish Power and the DVLA persist in sending him communications. On the second anniversary of Mr. Clark’s passing, a letter from the DVLA arrived at his mother’s residence, requesting him to renew his driving licence. A frustrated Miss Clark reacted by listing the address as “Belper Cemetery”. Both Scottish Power and the DVLA issued apologies for the distress caused. Miss Clark, who resides in Belper, Derbyshire, mentioned that they discovered the DVLA letter on the second anniversary of her father’s death, following a family outing dedicated to his memory. She commented: “You can imagine the pain and distress that caused us when we are trying to remember dad.” The 56-year-old explained that she entered “Belper Cemetery” as the address “as a kind of hope it is a bit of a shock to them, to realise the impact their letter has had to my mum and the rest of the family”. Approximately two weeks prior, Scottish Power had dispatched an email that commenced with “Hi Richard”. She stated: “It’s horrible – you are living with that loss every single day and you have got these constant reminders.” She added: “You thought you had done everything you needed to do, then you get these emails and letters in the post and it brings it all back to you.” Miss Clark reported that Scottish Power had been informed of Mr. Clark’s death “well over a dozen times” through phone conversations involving both her mother and herself, in addition to emails. Despite this, she noted that they persisted in receiving “mainly emails and letters… in double figures”. She further commented: “It is just so painful. It drags up all that loss and grief.” She continued: “I just think they don’t care, they are putting profit before people, and ultimately they are not bothered about the knock-on effects of that.” Miss Clark mentioned that she and her sister have since switched their mother to an alternative energy provider “because we’re so fed-up of [the] lack of service and understanding”. Regarding the DVLA, Miss Clark stated that they had informed the agency of her father’s death via the Tell Us Once service. She also noted: “We also sent dad’s driving licence off to the DVLA.” She further expressed her belief that organizations should commit to a bereavement charter, “in the same way there is Investors in People”. She remarked: “I think companies need to take this seriously because everybody, sadly, is going to be affected at some point in their life by bereavement.” She concluded: “They need to understand the impact of their action, or lack of action.” Miss Clark additionally stated: “Mum’s been quite distressed by it all. Dad used to do all the legal things, all the financial things… to have those letters and phone calls, it’s just really distressing.” A spokesperson for Scottish Power conveyed their deep regret to the family for their loss and any resulting distress. The spokesperson further commented: “The recent email received should not have been addressed to him as all account holder details had been changed back in March of this year – we are very sorry this happened.” They also stated: “We understand how upsetting it can be to receive bills and requests for payments addressed to a loved one who is no longer with us, and we do everything we can to help our customers during this period.” However, the spokesperson added: “However, we are also required by law to meet certain rules when it comes to discussing account information with someone who is not named on the account which can, regrettably, cause a delay in amending account details.” A DVLA spokesperson remarked: “We sympathise with Miss Clark and understand the distress caused.” They continued: “We recommend people use Tell Us Once service, but unfortunately, on this occasion we did not receive notification that Mr Clark had passed away and we are looking into why this happened.” The spokesperson concluded: “A member of staff will contact Miss Clark directly to discuss the case further.”