Watercare apologises after $6 million withdrawn from nearly 44,000 accounts

During a recent upgrade of its billing platform, Watercare processed direct debit and credit-card payments before their scheduled dates, resulting in early withdrawals from about 43,835 customer accounts totaling roughly $6.14 million. The organization sent emails to affected customers on Monday, apologising and offering to reverse the payments if the early deduction caused financial difficulty, with refunds processed the same day or by the next working day.

Customers who accept a reversal must make a manual payment on the original due date to keep their accounts current. Consumer NZ’s campaigns manager called the incident disappointing and a failure to meet the standards of the Consumer Guarantees Act, urging the utility to be lenient with anyone experiencing hardship. Watercare’s chief financial officer confirmed that manual controls have been introduced and that the system provider is being engaged to restore normal operations. The utility emphasized its deep regret and commitment to preventing further premature payments.