A woman has been told by HM Revenue and Customs that she is deceased after the department allocated her national insurance number to a stranger who has since died. The error has prevented her from processing a pension top-up request, despite her having used the number since 1991.
The individual first encountered problems in 2015 when returning to work in the UK, after living abroad. HMRC claimed it could not find her NI number on its system and issued a temporary one. Efforts to resolve the issue over the following decade, including letters, visits to HMRC offices, and hours on hold, proved fruitless. She was recently told she might face an 86-week wait for a response.
After the matter was raised with a consumer champion, HMRC responded within five days, acknowledging the error. It stated that in 1991 it had issued a number already belonging to another person. The department said it could not investigate how the mistake occurred due to the length of time elapsed. It advised the woman to apply for a new NI number from the Department for Work and Pensions, after which it would merge her personal information from the previous numbers.
HMRC offered £250 in compensation, which the consumer champion described as pitiful. The woman was advised to seek professional advice, as the confusion could affect her entitlements or liabilities. The case highlights the critical role of NI numbers in identity and pension status, and concerns about HMRC's handling of such errors.
