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Are you dead?

Fred


Much as the title sounds silly, one of my pensions sends me a letter every year to ask me if I'm dead.

The letter never gets to me because of fun with the postal service so they stop my payments.

I see the missing payments so I call them to explain they can't send letters unless they use FedEx or whatever because I never get them.

The same happens every year.


So far one or two phone calls from not beyond the grave does it, but they had trouble believing me this time so two months were missed.

I will check all three payments have been paid at the end of this month.

Delays aren't a problem as I have a job so the cash goes to a high interest account for a rainy day, but I can see a time when I'm old and doddery so it will make a difference.

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Cynic

LOL - yeah, I get them as well.

GuestPoster114785

Ok, I get it. You are having a laugh at the apparent sillyness of getting a letter asking for a written confirmation that you, the recipient of a regular payment (pension?), are still alive.

However, a millisecond or two of deep reflection about the reason for this letter that you should be receiving (if the postal service where you live actually worked) is that there are many people who would dishonestly like to receive money when an old family member of theirs kicks the bucket.

The purpose of that letter therefore is an attempt to put a stop to such dishonest, even criminal behaviour.

Hope this helps! 🙏

PS That Guardian article doesn't open for me.

Fred

I am  aware, but it's still a pain. Sad as it is, the pension cencerned is  small as I only paid  in for around two years. However, nothing in the UK is about minimum wage in Indonesia, thus worth having.

I pop it into  a  savings account tht produces a fair rate of interest and it sits there untouched.

Over the yeas it's built up to something worth having, but I  have to admit II hardly check the account it's  paid into, so it goes missing for a few months before I notice.

On the bright side, it all comes back when they decide I have yet to curl up my toes.


On  a brighter note, after many times telling them I don't get letters here,  they have finally decided email will do.

I have been at them  for years,  but the fools  insisted on  sending by unsecured mail that went missing every time.

I have to  wonder what happned to alll the old letters with security details in them.

Cynic

Ok, I get it. You are having a laugh at the apparent sillyness of getting a letter asking for a written confirmation that you, the recipient of a regular payment (pension?), are still alive. However, a millisecond or two of deep reflection about the reason for this letter that you should be receiving (if the postal service where you live actually worked) is that there are many people who would dishonestly like to receive money when an old family member of theirs kicks the bucket. The purpose of that letter therefore is an attempt to put a stop to such dishonest, even criminal behaviour. Hope this helps! 🙏 PS That Guardian article doesn't open for me. - @spalenberg

Oh, we frequently laugh at them; there is no law against that (yet).  I've been receiving a Government pension for over 30 years and as an ex-government employee, I can understand why they ask, it can be forgotten in the event of a recipient passing on and the Government asking for the money back (they have to by law in the UK).


The Guardian article opens fine for me; it can be as a result of your ISP security blocking some categories of website (I recently experienced it with Sky Broadband and their Shield product which is aimed at locking down who can see what in your household - aimed at kids).  I should add, the article is almost a year old; the person it is reporting on had a name that matched with someone who had died, so she was asked once, then written to twice and despite her insisting she wasn't the person who had passed on, they still cancelled her pension, which is really what the article was about, they were having a go at the Government for their poor pension administration; she has now received her pension back.

OceanBeach92107

It's easy to forget it wasn't so long ago that any receiving a government pension while abroad from their native country might be required to report to their embassy or consulate in person in order to receive their monthly payment

alkhaleej

TL;DR: Pension company thinks I'm dead 'cause their mail sucks. Every year.