Sarah McKenzie said she felt suicidal after getting a letter telling her she owed £5,000 to the DWP and despite benefits bosses confirming it was a mix-up, she still received regular demands
A mum who cares for her autistic son has told how she was left “feeling suicidal” after being bombarded with letters from the DWP demanding she pay a £5,000 debt that she didn’t owe – for five years.
Sarah McKenzie – who cares for her son Adam, 23 – said the long-running saga has affected her mental health. Despite being assured she does not owe the money, she has still received regular letters from the DWP’s debt division demanding £5,444.19.
She said: “For five years I’ve been getting these letters demanding money. Every time I call the DWP to complain they confirm I don’t owe anything and I ask them to stop the letters.”
The DWP confirmed she has been the victim of mistaken identity, but Sarah said the constant demands have taken their toll on her well-being.
She told the Liverpool Echo the letters briefly stopped until she moved address and they started again around three years ago. The mum claims it’s now affecting her mental health as the amount of money being demanded is “stressing her out.”
She added: “Our national insurance numbers are the only difference, it’s a case of mistaken identity. It has this other woman’s national insurance number on the letters.
“It’s bringing an immense stress. I have a disabled son with autism who is really poorly at the moment, he is under the hospital awaiting surgery and this added stress is not something I need right now.
“When I got the first letter I was suicidal, I looked at the amount it said I owed on the letter and I thought ‘what the hell, how am I going to pay this.’ I’m a single mum on benefits, I don’t have that kind of money, I was crying.
“I couldn’t cope with that kind of stress. I phoned up to query it and that’s when they first told me the letters were meant for the other woman. The amount they demanded was so scary.”
The DWP has apologised and said it has now corrected its records. A spokesperson confirmed Ms McKenzie will no longer receive the letters.
They said in a statement to the Echo: “We have now corrected Ms McKenzie’s records, and she will no longer receive these letters. We apologise for the inconvenience caused.”
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