A woman whose mum died from cancer a year ago has slammed Centrelink for sending a letter asking her to pay a debt owed by her mum.
Victorian woman Casey, 30, was so outraged at the letter seeking to recover a $668.80 overpayment from December 2022, that she took to TikTok to voice her frustration.
‘I have just received today a lovely letter from Centrelink expressing their sympathies for my loss, but also acknowledging that she owes them money from 2022,’ Casey said.
‘Apparently, they’ve just noticed they’ve overpaid her. She has been dead for a year and they’re only now coming for a debt from two years ago. I’m really, really glad to have the sympathy of Centrelink right now.
‘This is dog s**t.’
Casey said she was ‘gobsmacked that this was even something I needed to worry about’.
‘Honestly all I want is an apology, and time to heal. It’s just such a traumatic situation to have continually brought up and rubbed in my face,’ she told 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 stay-at-home mum our whole lives’.
‘She had no savings, her estate had nothing in it,’ 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 repay the debt’.
He said they do not continue to chase debts where the estate is closed or there are are not enough funds in the deceased person’s estate to repay the money owed.
‘We sincerely apologise for any distress caused and have a dedicated team available to help people experiencing difficulties,’ Mr Jongen added.
The comments below her video showed that many others across Australia have been getting similar letters chasing up debts after the death of a loved one.
‘The same thing happened to my mum. I gave them the address of the cemetery so they could go and collect it from her,’ wrote one.
A woman whose mum died from cancer a year ago has slammed Centrelink for sending a letter asking her to pay a debt they say her mother owed. People are pictured queueing outside a Centrelink office in Melbourne
‘We were in a similar situation, not your debt, not your problem. do not pay,’ said another.
Some people, though, pointed out that Centrelink was just doing its job, saying ‘They have rules they have to obey.’
Another wrote that ‘It’s a business and they need to make sure the books are correct. Just business, don’t (take) it personally. You are in Australia.’
Casey replied to the that poster, saying ‘If the government is so strapped for cash they should probably try taxing mining companies instead of bothering the families of deceased people for money.’
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