Roermond seniors wrongly told their partners passed away in letter from the municipality

The municipality of Roermond in the province of Limburg mistakenly sent out letters intended for widows and widowers to elderly residents whose partners are still alive, RTL Nieuws reported on Saturday. The letters suggested their partners had passed away. The municipality deeply regrets “unpleasant mistake” and has apologized for the distress caused.

Every quarter, the municipality sends out letters to those aged 75 and 80, as well as to widows and widowers, notably to inform them about the availability of a senior advisor.

The letters for this quarter were sent last week. "Unfortunately, the 75-year-olds received the letter meant for widows and widowers," stated the mayor and the aldermen in a letter to the city council.

In total, 146 residents received the incorrect letter. We understand that this is very annoying for the residents involved. We would therefore like to offer our sincere apologies to them. We will do this by sending a new letter in which we apologize and include a small gift,” the mayor and the aldermen wrote.