Man offered condolences on his death

A Co Antrim man has spoken of his shock after receiving a letter from a finance company offering condolences — on his own death. News of the premature demise of Peter Baird came as a massive surprise, not least to the Rasharkin man himself, who is very much alive and well. The morbid letter dropped through the 34-year-old’s door on Saturday morning.

Bizarrely, despite referring to his apparent death, the letter was addressed to Peter. It reads: “Creation Consumer Finance regrets to learn of the death of Mr Peter Baird. Please accept our condolences at this time.” The letter asked for Peter’s death certificate to be forwarded and invited him to contact the company with any questions he may have within the next 28 days.



Fitness mad Peter — who runs NI Supplements in Ballymoney — said he was a bit spooked by the mail. “I got the letter on Saturday and from the envelope I thought it was just generic post and took it to work with me,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it when I opened it up and read it.

“It’s a bit eerie to read a letter about your own death. My first reaction was that someone had maybe stolen my identity to set up a credit card or that, but when I checked it out the company said it was just a clerical error, and that they had my details from a car insurance policy.” He said the company apologised to him for the mishap.