INFORMING ORGANISATIONS

TO DO: 

-Look at the Tell Us Once website
-Look at Life Ledger website
-Look at Death Notification Service website

Unfortunately, having a cause of death certificate or registering a death doesn’t automatically mean the government and all the various banks, utility companies, insurance companies etc know someone has died. 

But a few organisations have sprung up to help you inform some of them en-masse and this page can help save you spending hours having the same painful conversation with multiple organisations.

You may not be able to complete all of this page at once if you don’t have access to all the files and accounts of the person who died but don’t worry, make a start and do as much as you can and come back to it later.

Before you start, you’ll need:

  • The deceased’s full name, address and telephone number

  • Their National Insurance number

  • Their date of birth

  • If there is a surviving spouse or civil partner, their details too.

  • You may also need the person who’s died’s passport number

  • The reference number for Tell Us Once that was given to you by the registrar when you registered the death

  • The death certificate or an interim death certificate from the coroner if there is an inquest

In the event of there being no spouse, you will need the details of the deceased’s next of kin.

TELL US ONCE

Fortunately (and you may have been told by the hospital/hospice about this) there is a brilliant website called Tell Us Once which is run by the government and lets the main government departments, driving licence organisation DVLA and passport office etc. know about your loved one’s death. 

You can only use Tell Us Once after a death has been registered or when a death has been reported to a coroner and you’ve been given an interim or final death certificate.

When you register a death the registrar will give you a special reference number to use on Tell Us Once.

The Tell Us Once website is free and easy to use or you can call them if you prefer on 0800 085 7308. It does not cover deaths in Northern Ireland (use this link instead) or abroad.

To recap, Tell Us Once will notify organisations including:  

  • HMRC - unless the person was self-employed or owned a business, in which case you will need to contact HMRC direct

  • The Department for Work and Pensions

  • The Passport Office

  • The DVLA - though if you want to keep the vehicle (even temporarily they say!) you will need to contact DVLA direct

  • The local council

OTHER USEFUL WEBSITES

There are some additional sites that will let different organisations/companies know, without you having to spend hours calling them all. 

Life Ledger is a free easy-to-use website that will notify around 1,000 private companies about a death, including some pension providers, telecoms and social media ones. Its aim, it claims, is to: “Close, freeze or transfer all of your loved one's accounts from one place, and for free.” It’s a one-stop shop and the firms that are on it pay to be on it as it helps with their admin.

Another useful one is the more perfunctory-titled Death Notification Service. It has lots of financial firms/banks on it such as NatWest, Nationwide, Lloyds, Halifax etc. It’s also free to use and saves you contacting them individually, so take a look at its website too.

Stop Mail is a free service that will stop unwanted mail, including marketing letters, to the deceased’s address. You can fill in a form on their website or call 0808 168 960

OTHER ORGANISATIONS TO CONTACT

 You may need to contact these organisations separately:

  • Other banks

  • Pension providers

  • Utility companies 

  • TV Licensing - use this page or call 0300 790 6143 

  • Mobile phone companies

  • Insurance companies

We have heard of some people having issues closing an account with the National Lottery or claiming any winnings. You can try the Lottery’s help page where they have a player’s bereavement form for you to fill in or you can call them on 0333 234 44 33. If you know the deceased’s password to their online account it will make it much easier for you.

The same has been reported about various mobile phone providers; try to get a reference number when you close the account and something in writing to confirm the account has been closed. Don’t forget about cancelling mobile phone insurance too.

Links:

Tell Us Once
Death Notification Service 
Life Ledger
Stop Mail

Photo: Will Hulbert Photography