In the previous correspondence seen by the Herald, Contact Energy offered a 12-month payment plan to the customer for the bill but did not offer any advice on investigating why the bill was so high or why the energy company’s previous estimates had been incorrect.
Contact Energy told the customer the charge was due to their gas usage being underestimated in previous bills.
“As discussed, we have not been able to obtain a gas meter reading from your property for 12 months,” the company said.
“You have received an invoice [for] $9378.26. This includes actual gas usage of 112,805 kWh underestimated for 12 months.”
Gas only powers the cooking appliances and the hot water in the home, Lisa said, which made the bill even more perplexing.
“We compared the bill from a year ago. Before September last year, our monthly gas bill was about $60-70, which was the normal number they read. After 10 months, they estimated that we used 10 times more,” Lisa said.
Contact chief retail officer Matt Bolton confirmed the bill was incorrect and apologised to the customer and their family for the inconvenience it had caused.
“We became aware of this error today. We have spoken to the customer and corrected the error.
“After we received the actual meter reading, we made a mistake correcting the bill. We are very sorry for this and are working hard to ensure it does not happen again.”
Bolton said the company had tried to contact the customer because it was unable to obtain an accurate reading due to an access issue with their gas meter.
“Unfortunately, this has meant that their bills had been based on estimates up until now.”
Consumer NZ communications manager Jessica Walker said customers should query surprising bills as it can be difficult to know if a meter is faulty, or if there’s a leak and the bill is not reflecting accurate usage.
“If your retailer hasn’t picked up on a mistake it should have noticed much earlier, you shouldn’t have to foot the entire bill.
“While we think retailers should cover it all, your retailer should give you plenty of time to pay and should also discount the bill to reflect its mistake.”
Walker said if there is an issue with a power or gas meter, it’s up to the owner to fix it.
“The party that owns the meter is usually responsible for maintaining and repairing it. Unless you bought and installed the meter yourself, your meter will likely be owned by your retailer, your lines company, or meter equipment providers.”
Contact Energy’s website says typically, every two to three months one of its meter readers will call by to read customers’ meters, Walker said.
“Keep a record of the readings and compare them with what’s shown on your bill to make sure you’ve been charged correctly. It can be handy to take photos of the meter readings so you’ve got evidence of your usage.”
If a customer is confused about a bill, a good place to start would be to compare their current bills with their bills from last year, Walker said.
“If you think the bill you’ve received is unfair or incorrect, but you’ve complained to your retailer and still can’t resolve the problem with them, you can contact Utilities Disputes ... a free and independent service that helps customers to resolve complaints with their utility providers.
“According to our Powerswitch manager, the average power bill for a high-use family of four in New Zealand would be between $4000 and $5000.”
Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. Lyth began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021 as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.
