ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis woman told 5 On Your Side's I-Team that for nearly two decades, she’s been wrongly labeled as dead, blocked from going to college and even buying a house.
Madeline-Michelle Carthen is trying to escape the anxiety she’s been dealing with for 17 years.
“A nightmare of corruption. No oversight with government," Carthen said.
Because she said the government thinks she’s dead.
“It's like a haunting," she said.
5 On Your Side covered her struggle in 2007. She was a student at Webster University majoring in entrepreneurship and business technology.
“I got denied my financial aid," she said in the May 2007 report. “Now, they’re saying, ‘Prove to us you’re not dead.”
Carthen said the lender even sent her paperwork showing she was “deceased.” Credit reports showed the same thing.
She couldn’t graduate, and nearly two decades later, nothing has gotten easier.
“It messed up my whole life," Carthen said. “... It's impacted my life, financially. If I wanted to buy a house, that won't happen."
She said she can’t get a mortgage, and even keeping a job is nearly impossible.
“It's just a matter before my Social Security number catches up with me, and then they have to let me go … H.R. can't process payroll," she said.
Our investigation finds the government wrongly labels up to 12,000 living Americans as dead every year. It’s often simply the result of mistakes. Someone will type in the wrong number, for example. It happens to a fraction of a percent of people. But when it does happen, the result can be catastrophic.
And here’s where the problem can start: The Social Security Administration compiles what’s called the Death Master File. Once you're added, places like banks, the IRS, and Medicare wipe you out of existence. If you’re added by mistake, there’s a devastating domino effect.
“It can really impact every single aspect of your life," said Creighton Cohn, a consumer protection attorney based in St. Louis.
What to do if you're wrongly declared dead
For those dealing with this issue, there are steps to take to correct it.
“So the first is to figure out where the information came from, so get your credit report. That's always the first thing to do and always should get it from annualcreditreport.com," Cohn said.
For more information on obtaining your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call 877-322-8228. Use this form if you prefer to write to request your credit report from any, or all, of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies.
Carthen said she tried annualcreditreport.com and came back with error messages.
Attorneys told the I-Team the next step is to get in touch with the Social Security Administration. Carthen said she keeps trying. 5 On Your Side tried the same number and kept waiting for someone to answer the phone.
The I-Team did get in touch with the agency’s media contact. The agency wouldn’t talk with us on camera. In an email, a spokesperson said its records are “highly accurate.” And that of the “three million” death reports it receives each year, “less than one-third of 1% are subsequently corrected.”
But Carthen tells us that, for her, the problem is far from solved.
“I just want direct answers and haven't been able to get that," Carthen said.
Carthen filed a lawsuit in 2019 in federal district court. She sued the Social Security Administration and several other government agencies seeking damages of more than $12 million. The judge dismissed that lawsuit, as the government has sovereign immunity.
The I-Team is working with Carthen to get this problem solved once and for all. At this point, we don’t know exactly where the blame falls, and how the problem snowballed. We’re in touch with the three major credit bureaus, multiple attorneys, and the Social Security Administration to bring Carthen back to life on paper. We’ll keep you updated.
Statements
David Seymour, a spokesperson with the U.S. Social Security Administration, told us in an email: “We are unable to discuss individual cases due to privacy laws… We can share that approximately 3 million deaths are reported to the Social Security Administration each year and our records are highly accurate. Of these millions of death reports we receive each year, less than one-third of 1 percent are subsequently corrected. Deaths are reported to Social Security primarily from the States, but also from other sources, including family members, funeral homes, Federal agencies, and financial institutions. If a person suspects that they have been incorrectly listed as deceased on their Social Security record, they should contact their local Social Security office as soon as possible. They can locate their nearest Social Security office at https://www.ssa.gov/agency/contact. They should be prepared to bring at least one piece of current (not expired) original form of identification. Social Security takes immediate action to correct our records and we can provide a letter that the error has been corrected that can be shared with other organizations.”
David M. Blumberg with TransUnion told us: “Mistaken reports of consumer deaths are rare, but they do happen on occasion. TransUnion’s contact center will promptly correct a file on someone who has been reported to us incorrectly as deceased upon verification of their identity. Consumers can reach TransUnion by phone at 1-800-916-8800.”
Tiffany Smith with Equifax told us: “If someone is mistakenly reported as deceased, they should contact the three nationwide credit bureaus. Here is the contact information: Equifax (866) 349-5101; Experian (888) 397-3742; TransUnion (800) 916-8800.”
An Experian spokesperson tells the I-Team: “If a consumer has been erroneously declared deceased by the Social Security Administration, they will need to submit the following information to have their Experian credit report updated: 1) The referenced letter from Social Security Administration, 2) Copy of Social Security number/card, 3) Copy of current driver’s license or government-issued photo ID reflecting current address, 4) Copy of a current utility bill or bank/insurance statement reflecting current address. These documents may be uploaded securely via our upload portal at www.experian.com/upload (PDF or TIF format only). Alternatively, a consumer may write to Experian with the documentation requested above at: Experian PO Box 4500, Allen, TX 75013. Experian will remove the deceased indicator from a consumer’s credit report once the documentation has been received and verified.”
Is this something you’re dealing with too? Our I-Team wants to hear from you. If you’ve got a tip for our I-Team, use the form below, leave a voice message at 314-444-5231 or email tips@ksdk.com.