Bereaved parents keep receiving reminders for daughter who died

Björg Jóhannsdóttir and Orri Bergmann Valtýsson continue to receive messages about their daughter Júlíana Rut, who died only hours after birth. Nearly three years later, the latest was a reminder to book her a dentist appointment, mbl.is reports.

“You get angry. You are naturally so shocked. It is not something you expect,” Björg told mbl.is. She said the family had come through the hardest period and was beginning to rebuild, but that the repeated mistakes left them disappointed with the system.

Two months after Júlíana died, the family received a package from Hafnarfjörður municipality congratulating them on their newborn. It contained clothes and other supplies for new parents. About a year after their loss, Hafnarfjarðarkirkja, a church, emailed the couple inviting them to attend its gatherings for parents and babies during parental leave.

The family has also repeatedly contacted Abler, a software company whose service supports sports and leisure activities. Júlíana continues to appear in the family’s account, including when they buy a swimming course for their younger daughter. Björg said her husband had asked Abler to remove Júlíana several times. The company removes her for about a month, but she then appears again.

Abler told the couple their complaint had been sent to its technical department, which manages the service’s connection with Iceland’s National Registry. Björg questioned why children appear in the system automatically rather than only when a family buys a course for them. mbl.is contacted an Abler representative, who requested more time to respond.

The dentist reminder came in a letter from Iceland Health Insurance on Tuesday, two years and eight months after Júlíana’s death. The following day, the couple received an apology for the reminder, Björg said.