Mercury customers mistakenly told they hadn’t paid

Mercury has apologised to affected customers. Photo / Mercury NZ Ltd

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ

Some customers of power company Mercury have mistakenly been told they have not kept up with their bills.

Customers have received messages telling them Mercury had “noticed you may have had a couple of missed payments over the last few months”.

The message offered a payment support plan and energy efficiency tips.

But some customers had not missed a payment at all.

Suraiya Phillimore-Smith, Mercury’s chief customer officer, said it had identified some customers had received payment support information in error.

“We’re sorry for our mistake and any confusion or concern this has caused. We have contacted affected customers directly to clarify the situation and apologise.

“The first of these communications was sent on Thursday and was intended to provide support information to our customers who have missed payments in recent months. However, we have identified that some customers who did not have overdue balances also received the communication.

“The message did not affect customers’ accounts, credit status, supply, or payment arrangements. It was an informational communication about the support options available to our customers.”

- RNZ