unmanaged wrote:

An eight-year old typographical error listing Laura Todd of Nashville, Tennessee, as ‘dead’ continues to causes her unending problems, her attempts to assert that she is alive, not getting through the bureaucratic undergrowth.

Laura Todd says the error in an official form is affecting everything from her credit to her income-tax return. “I don’t think people realize how difficult it is to be dead when you’re not,” she says. Her problems started when someone in Florida died and it was Laura’s Social Security number that was accidentally typed in against the dead woman’s name. She thought the problem had been straightened out, but when she went to refinance her house in 2002, the mortgage company called and said, “Your credit report says you’re dead.” In 2006 the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) refused to process her return. “The IRS says I’m dead. Everybody says I’m dead,” she said.

According to a report run by CNN, Laura said being dead off and on has made everyday life a hassle. Her bank closed her credit card account, while not forgetting to attach a note of sympathy: “Please accept our condolences on the death of Laura Todd.” She says the last straw came recently when the IRS once again refused to let her file her taxes electronically because she’s “dead.” She no longer finds the situation funny. “I’m tired. I’ve been fighting this for eight years, and it never ends,” she says. “I’m very much alive, and would like to live out my life in peace without having this problem.” The IRS has said it will research the problem and try to get it straightened out. Social Security claims to have updated its computers, but as for Laura Todd, she is not so sure her “death” is behind her.

Note to self .... entering someone's data into a death certificate form has been upgraded from prank status to "really screw someone up" status,