A woman whose mother died of cancer a year ago has slammed Centrelink for sending her a letter asking her to pay a debt her mother owed.
Victorian woman Casey, 30, was so outraged by the letter seeking to recover an overpayment of $668.80 from December 2022, that she took to TikTok to express her frustration.
“I just received a lovely letter today from Centrelink expressing their sympathy for my loss, but also acknowledging that I owe them money from 2022,” Casey said.
Apparently they just realized that they have been overpaid. It’s been a year since he died and they are just now coming for a debt from two years ago. I’m very happy to have Centrelink’s sympathy at this time.
“This is dog shit.”
Casey said she was “stunned that this was something I had to worry about.”
‘Honestly, all I want is an apology and time to heal. It’s just such a traumatic situation to continually bring it up and rub it in my face,” she said. yahoo news.
The grieving young woman, who has a younger brother, said her mother, who died of an aggressive form of lung cancer, “was a housewife all our lives.”
“She had no savings, her estate had nothing,” Casey said.
Hank Jongen of Services Australia, which oversees Centrelink, explained that when a deceased person has an outstanding debt, “we are legally required to contact the executor of their estate to see if there are sufficient funds in the estate to pay the debt.”
He said they do not continue to pursue debts when the estate is closed or there are insufficient funds in the deceased person’s estate to pay the money owed.
“We sincerely apologize for any distress caused and have a dedicated team available to help people experiencing difficulties,” Mr Jongen added.
The comments under her video showed that many other people across Australia have received similar letters seeking debt after the death of a loved one.
‘The same thing happened to my mother. I gave them the address of the cemetery so they could go pick it up,” one wrote.
A woman whose mother died of cancer a year ago has slammed Centrelink for sending her a letter asking her to pay a debt she says her mother owed. Pictured are people queuing outside a Centrelink office in Melbourne.
‘We were in a similar situation, it’s not your debt, it’s not your problem. “Don’t pay,” said another.
Some people, however, pointed out that Centrelink was simply doing its job, saying: “They have rules they have to obey.”
Another wrote: “It’s a business and they need to make sure the books are correct.” Just business, don’t take it personally. You’re in Australia.’
Casey responded to that poster by saying, “If the government is so strapped for cash, it should probably try taxing mining companies instead of bothering the families of the deceased for money.”