PayPal wrote to customer her death is a breach of its rules
The online payment service later apologised and wrote off the debt
This photo of Lindsay and Howard Durdle was taken last year. PHOTO: HOWARD DURDLE
A woman who had died of cancer was sent a letter from PayPal saying that her death had breached its rules and as a consequence may face legal action, BBC reported.
Later the firm apologised to her widower after acknowledging the letter as 'insensitive' and begun inquiry into how it came to be sent.
The matter came to light after her bereaved husband contacted the BBC.
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He said that the automated messages can be quite distressing and he wanted to make other organisations aware of that fact.
Lindsay Durdle - the woman who received the message - died on May 31 aged 37.
Durdle had been diagnosed with breast cancer about a year-and-a-half earlier which later spread to her brain and lungs.
Howard Durdle - the deceased's husband - informed PayPal about her death three weeks ago.
‘Govt determined to bring PayPal to Pakistan’
He also provided PayPal with copies of her death certificate, her will and his ID, as requested.
He then received a letter addressed in her name, sent to his home in Bucklebury, West Berkshire.
It was headlined: "Important: You should read this notice carefully."
It said that Durdle - the deceased wife - owed the company about £3,200 and went on to say: "You are in breach of condition 15.4(c) of your agreement with PayPal Credit as we have received notice that you are deceased... this breach is not capable of remedy."
PayPal told the husband that it is looking into this "as a priority", and has written off the debt in the meantime.
"We apologise to Mr Durdle for the distress this letter has caused," a spokesperson added.
"We are urgently looking into this matter, and are in direct contact with Mr Durdle to support him."
Durdle said a member of PayPal's staff had told him there were three possible explanations:
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He also added that the online payment service had assured him that the matter would be addressed, however it would not be able to share the information with him because it was an "internal matter".
"I'm in a reasonable place at the moment - I've got quite a level head on my shoulders - and am quite capable of dealing with paperwork like this," the husband said.
"But 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.
"If I'm going to make any fuss about this at all, it's to make sure that PayPal - or any other organisation that might do this kind of insensitive thing - recognises the damage they can cause the recently bereaved."
Later the firm apologised to her widower after acknowledging the letter as 'insensitive' and begun inquiry into how it came to be sent.
The matter came to light after her bereaved husband contacted the BBC.
PayPal buys payments startup iZettle for $2.2b
He said that the automated messages can be quite distressing and he wanted to make other organisations aware of that fact.
Lindsay Durdle - the woman who received the message - died on May 31 aged 37.
Durdle had been diagnosed with breast cancer about a year-and-a-half earlier which later spread to her brain and lungs.
Howard Durdle - the deceased's husband - informed PayPal about her death three weeks ago.
‘Govt determined to bring PayPal to Pakistan’
He also provided PayPal with copies of her death certificate, her will and his ID, as requested.
He then received a letter addressed in her name, sent to his home in Bucklebury, West Berkshire.
It was headlined: "Important: You should read this notice carefully."
It said that Durdle - the deceased wife - owed the company about £3,200 and went on to say: "You are in breach of condition 15.4(c) of your agreement with PayPal Credit as we have received notice that you are deceased... this breach is not capable of remedy."
PayPal told the husband that it is looking into this "as a priority", and has written off the debt in the meantime.
"We apologise to Mr Durdle for the distress this letter has caused," a spokesperson added.
"We are urgently looking into this matter, and are in direct contact with Mr Durdle to support him."
Durdle said a member of PayPal's staff had told him there were three possible explanations:
- a bug
- a bad letter template
- human error
PayPal launches debit card for its mobile app
He also added that the online payment service had assured him that the matter would be addressed, however it would not be able to share the information with him because it was an "internal matter".
"I'm in a reasonable place at the moment - I've got quite a level head on my shoulders - and am quite capable of dealing with paperwork like this," the husband said.
"But 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.
"If I'm going to make any fuss about this at all, it's to make sure that PayPal - or any other organisation that might do this kind of insensitive thing - recognises the damage they can cause the recently bereaved."