Widower shattered after PayPal sends dead wife threatening letter
A widower has revealed his horror after PayPal sent out an “insensitive” letter to his deceased wife saying her death was a breach of contract.
Howard Durdle, from West Berkshire, UK, received a letter addressed to his wife, Lindsay, following her death from cancer in May, telling her she faced potential legal action.
“You are in breach of condition 15.4(c) of your agreement with Paypal Credit as we have received notice that you are deceased,” the letter wrote.
The company told Ms Durdle she had an outstanding debt of £3,240.72 ($5790).
“Excuse the language but this is beyond the f****** pale,” an angered Mr Durdle wrote on Facebook.
He says he wrote to PayPal three weeks earlier to inform the company his wife had passed away.
PayPal blames letter to dead woman on computer bug
Mr Durdle contacted PayPal over the letter, who told him it would have been sent out due to either a bug, a bad letter template or a human error, the BBC reported.
A PayPal spokesperson told the BBC they were sorry for the letter and were addressing the incident.
He was also told the debt has now been cleared.
“We apologise to Mr Durdle for the distress this letter has caused,” a spokesman added.
“We are urgently looking into this matter, and are in direct contact with Mr Durdle to support him.”
Mr Durdle said he wanted to use “this kind of insensitive thing” as an example of how companies should not treat customers, especially those grieving.
“I’m a member of the charity Widowed and Young, and I’ve seen first-hand in there how a letter like this or something like it can completely derail somebody,” he said.
Mr Durdle confirmed PayPal had been in touch and apologised for the letter.
“I just hope more [organisations] can apply empathy and common sense to avoid hurting the recently bereaved,” he added on Twitter.
Mr Durdle is raising funds through a JustGiving page to honour his late wife and “give back to the organisations that helped her through her cancer diagnosis treatment”.
Yahoo7 News has contacted PayPal for comment.
