Dash had a really tough 12 months.

"At the age of 30 I lost both my parents so last year I was very stressed," she told Hack.

Her mother and father were both diagnosed with terminal illness in the space of a few months. But it got even worse - one of her closest friends died from a sudden illness.

If you or anyone you know needs help: 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732

Lifeline on 13 11 14

Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800

Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467

BeyondBlue on 1300 22 46 36

Headspace on 1800 650 890

It was about that time that she got a letter from Centrelink saying she owed them $7,700.

"I was pretty distressed and I spent that night not sleeping because I was freaking out.

Dash is a pretty tough lady, though. After getting the debt notice, she sprung into action.

"I spent the night scared and freaked out and anxious, and in the morning I thought, I have to deal with it."

"I was really at my limit. I’m the kind of person who usually deals well with pressure, but what I’d gone through with losing my parents and my best friend in the space of 12 months meant I was not in a good place," she said.

‘It was a huge shock’

On Monday, Hack reported on deaths following the receipt of a Centrelink automated debt notice - known as robo-debt. The response from our audience was massive - literally hundreds and hundreds of letters, emails and calls came in from people saying dealing with the system was confusing, disempowering and dehumanising.

Marianne wrote us an email: "I also received a Centrelink debt of $35,000 in September 2018. It was a huge shock and it is a big weight on my shoulders receiving an amount like that to pay back. I’m still not coping with it; it’s a stress that doesn’t go away on a daily basis."

Skip Twitter Tweet FireFox NVDA users - To access the following content, press 'M' to enter the iFrame.

Michael told us: "I am a 37 year-old man and the stress of it has had me so close to taking my life as I felt there is not point, I’ll never win, they keep doing it... they don’t listen at all to the facts [and] they just stick to their agenda."

One of the biggest problems identified by people who had a robo-debt was that they were guilty until proven innocent.

James said over Facebook: "I spoke to Centrelink who then told me they calculated my income for the entire year and I probably don’t owe anything, but will need to provide payslips for the work I did during that time to confirm. I don’t see why I should be chasing up someone else’s error."

Alix said: "I knew the notice was incorrect and due to my employer reporting my income badly, but even so it took months to sort out. I had three or four calls to Centrelink each of which lasted between two and three hours, and each time I got a different answer as to how I needed to supply documents to prove that I wasn’t overpaid."

Yvonne wrote over Facebook: "In the end, it was all cleared, I had no debt, I was proven innocent. The biggest weight was lifted off my shoulders. It took a couple of months, and more than a week of full time collecting, collating, calculating, phone waiting, Centrelink meetings etc."

Vulnerable people most affected

A huge number of people contacted Hack to tell us how the uncleared debt affected their mental health. Many of them had diagnosed mental health problems, and understood how stress exacerbated it.

Sean contacted us to tell us his story.

"I can be classified as vulnerable when put in the right stress scenarios. Due to massive PTSD," he said.

Sean got a letter saying he owed Centrelink thousands of dollars.

When he rang them to find out what was going on, they told him they’d start garnishing his disability pension, leaving him with just $50 a fortnight to live off.

It was just shock [and] disbelief.

"I’ve had good times where I’ve lived well financially, and times when I’ve lived in my car. The thought of going back to that sends you into a hole you don’t want to go back to," Sean said.

Skip Twitter Tweet FireFox NVDA users - To access the following content, press 'M' to enter the iFrame.

Shortly after receiving a debt notice, Sean attempted suicide. It wasn’t the first time he’d tried to hurt himself, but he said he’d been doing well up until that point.

"Your mental state gets so affected by it, it’s unbelievable. I hadn’t attempted anything in five years before receiving that letter," he said.

Sean’s okay now - he’s looking after his mental health and his Centrelink debt has been paused while its under review.

But he’s worried about other vulnerable people.

His story is one we’ve been hearing over and over.

"As a person experiencing severe and chronic mental illness, the Centrelink system is exhausting and soul destroying. My experiences have certainly incited thoughts of suicide," one woman who asked not to be identified told us over email.

Another woman, Laura, said over email: "Despite several Centrelink agents telling me that the alleged debt doesn't exist, despite my doing everything that's been asked of me, and despite them being well aware that I attempted suicide due to the stress, I still have no resolution."

Shantel wrote to us: "The Centrelink robo-debt drove me to attempt suicide. I am lucky to survive and be walking around after jumping off of a five storey car park in 2017… Unbeknown to me I was suffering reactive psychosis. I was terrified that all of my achievements were pointless if/when I was charged with Centrelink fraud."

What do you do if you think your debt is wrong?

Dash has been through a lot, but she’s confident her debt will be cleared. She urged people who think they’ve been wrongly told they have to pay cash back, to seek advice.

Skip Twitter Tweet FireFox NVDA users - To access the following content, press 'M' to enter the iFrame.

"I think the vast majority of people do not owe Centrelink any money. I think this is actually a giant computer error," she said.

The first place to start is Centrelink itself. The Department of Human Services (which has oversight of Centrelink) has a page on its website explaining what to do if you get a debt notice.

A volunteer-run group called #notmydebt have resources on their Facebook page, and Victoria Legal Aid has a fact sheet to help with the review process.

It’s really important that before you embark on a review process you have all your paperwork ready to go. Once it’s been submitted, make sure you follow up after a few days with Centrelink to make sure they received it. #Notmydebt said it’s really important to put things in writing to document your progress.