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Video: Ivy Stone on
being told she was dead

by Keyan Milanian

A pensioner got the shock of
her life when she was told she had died more than 20 years ago.

Great great grandmother Ivy Stone,
88, was confused to find her bank account empty when her pension
was not paid.

Her granddaughter Heidi Skipper,
who is also her registered carer, was left stunned when the
Department for Work and Pensions said she had passed away.

The 21-year-old, who lives with her
grandmother in Hyacinth Road, Strood, was given condolences over
her "loss".

She said: "When I called them they
informed me she had died in 1990.

"I found it quite amusing to begin
with and told them I knew she was alive because she was sat next to
me, not pushing up daisies.

"I said if that's the case then it
had been a bit of a waste of time going all the way into Strood to
take a dead woman to the bank that morning."

But Mrs Stone, who made shells at
the Wingets wartime factory, did not see the funny side of the
error.

The mother-of-12 said: "I am 88 and
I could do without all this stress. I am really angry and
offended - it is disgusting that they can make a mistake like
that to be honest.

"I told my eldest son about it and
he said, 'Oh? When was it that you died then?', and I said: 'March
13, 1990, apparently'."

Mrs Stone, who ran the former Kings
Arms pub in Medway Street, Chatham, for five years, was further
upset when Heidi was offered condolences over her "loss" by another
DWP employee who said her carer's allowance had been stopped.

The pair said DWP staff could not
say why the mistake was made and there was no record of a friend or
relative registering her death.

They will now be making an official
complaint.

A Department for Work and Pensions
spokesman said the mistake was caused by "human error".

She added: "We have apologised to
Mrs Stone and her granddaughter for any upset caused and reinstated
their benefits immediately".