I'm at my wit’s end after I was mistakenly declared DEAD by the council – they’ve cut off my benefits
A MUM-of-three has been left at her "wit's end" after she was mistakenly declared DEAD by the council.
Samantha Copburn, 35, says the bizarre mix-up saw her child benefit cut – leaving her stressed and desperate for a solution.
The mum says the problem started when her mother Tracey Woodhead died late last year.
When registering for a death certificate, local authorities declared both Samantha and her mum deceased on the same day by mistake.
She has now been inundated with letters about her own purported "death" – and had HMRC stop her child benefit while the issue was resolved.
Samantha – mum to Jayde, 13, Lexi, 10, and Sarah, five – told The Sun: "It is very stressful – but obviously it is really concerning.
"I have so many letters to say that I am dead.
"I have a letter about child benefit, asking who is going to claim for my child.
"And I have spent so many hours on the phone and I am STILL dead.
"I got so upset explaining to people that I am not dead. I thought someone had done it maliciously and if I didn't laugh I'd just cry all the time."
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Tracey passed away on December 16 after being "really poorly" in hospital most of the year.
She had also been looked after by her daughters in the years prior.
Following her death, Samantha phoned the council to get her death certificate sorted and withdraw the bereavement fund to help cover the cost of her funeral.
But in a peculiar muddle, somehow she ended up registering her own as well.
"The person I was speaking to pulled up both files, and there was a date of death next to both mine and my mum's names," Samantha said.
"We died on the same day.
"So I am officially dead – I have been dead since December 16."
An HMRC spokesperson confirmed the error and apologised for what had happened.
They added: "We were provided with official confirmation of the customer’s date of death and followed our usual procedures.
"We are now correcting our records and apologise to the customer for the inconvenience."
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