We’ve all been surprised with an expensive power bill from time to time, but a New Zealand woman is thousands of dollars in debt to a power company after an electricity bill blunder.
The 62-year-old woman from Napier, who wished to remain anonymous, discovered she owed $12,000 (US$8,332, UK£6,282) to a power company when she sold her house in 2016.
The woman’s daughter told Stuff.co.nz her mother’s power was cut when the house was sold, but they also discovered an unpaid bill from 2014. That bill stated the woman owed $8,500, but her power wasn’t cut. Instead, it was left on and the woman continued to amass a staggering bill. In two years, her debt grew to $12,000. She was continuing to pay for her power, but not the right amount.
Her family acknowledge their mum should have paid the bill in the first place, but also blame the power company for letting things get out of hand.
“Mum is to blame, she should have paid it but they shouldn’t have let it get that high,” the daughter claimed. “Over those two years only about $600 was paid. Why wasn’t it turned off?”
In 2017, the case was referred to a debt collector where the lady is now paying her bill off at $20 a week. While it’s good she’s paying it back, it will take the woman 28 years to clear her debt. That means she will be 90 years old by the time she had paid the debt collectors back. Still, her daughter isn’t happy.
“You hear of people owing $500 and having their power cut off. I don’t get how they can justify it,” she said. “I thought somewhere someone would have said ‘maybe we should talk to someone’.”
According to the report, the woman’s debt means she’s now ineligible to access any other credit. It also means she wouldn’t be allowed to take out a loan to help her pay off her debt. It is thought the family approached the power company in question to come to an agreement, given the low amount being paid each week isn’t ideal for either party.
It’s not the first time a story like this has made headlines. Earlier this year, a 76-year-old gained attention when he was granted a $900,000 loan from the bank that would take him 30 years to pay back.