Consumer Care Policy
Our Consumer Care Policy is our promise to support you with clear communication, fair treatment, and the help you need – especially if you’re facing hardship.
Overview
Energy is essential for staying healthy, safe, and connected to your whānau and community.
Our Consumer Care Policy is built around the Electricity Authority’s Consumer Care Obligations to ensure every customer can stay warm, well, and on top of their energy bills.
On this page, you’ll find our Consumer Care Policy and what it means for you.
Our commitment to you:
- We will treat you with respect and care
- We will keep our communication clear, timely, and easy to understand
- We will work with you in a positive, solutions-focused way and use your feedback to improve
- We will help you get the most from the Energy Service
- We will provide the tools, such as the SolarZero App or dashboard, and give regular advice and updates to help you understand your energy use
- We will offer flexible payment options and fair, transparent fees
- If you’re struggling to pay, we can provide a payment plan and details of support agencies who can help if needed
Communication
We are committed to ensuring that all customers have fair and equal access to our services – regardless of background, identity, ability, age, health, or financial situation.
Our goal is to make the SolarZero energy service inclusive and accessible to all, and we will work with you to understand your individual needs and help you get the most out of your energy service.
If you are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing or have speech communication difficulties, the New Zealand Relay is a free, government-funded service that enables people with hearing and speech communication difficulties to use the phone https://www.nzrelay.co.nz/index
If you are unable to communicate in English without assistance, you can nominate and use a support person. If you are not able to get assistance from a friend or family member, please contact us. Our Customer Care team speaks several languages and will always try to help.
We are here to help, but we know that we all need support from time to time.
To help with general queries and account support, you can add an authorised person, alternate contact, or support person to your account. Please check with them and if they are happy to help, let us know their name and contact details by emailing customercare@solarzero.co.nz.
Here’s a quick summary of how these roles might help you now or in the future:
- Authorised person – Has permission to act on the account but cannot close the account or transfer it to a new address unless specifically authorised to do so – this is usually a family member
- Alternative contact – Point of contact in emergencies or if the customer is unreachable, with no authority over the account – this is usually a friend or family member
- Support person – Assists the customer in communication, with no authority over the account – this is usually a family member, friend, or community contact
We collect some personal details from you to enable us to provide the Energy Service. We’ll keep your information safe and only use it for the reasons we collected it.
You can expect us to:
- Communicate clearly and on time
- Keep accurate records of our interactions
- Help sort out any issues if they arise
Please make sure the information you give us is correct and let us know if anything changes.
You can learn more about how we handle your information in our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. Please see your Energy Services Agreement for the Terms and Agreement relevant to the Energy Service.
We know we’re not perfect and may get things wrong, but we’ll always do our best to make it right.
We’ll acknowledge your complaint as soon as possible and keep you updated on our progress.
We aim to resolve your complaint within 20 working days. If more time is needed, we’ll let you know.
If your complaint is better handled by another party (e.g. our partner retailer, or a network or meter company), we may refer it on your behalf and provide their contact details.
We’ll do our best to resolve any issues directly with you. However, you can also ask for your complaint to be considered by Utilities Disputes. Utilities Disputes provides a free and independent dispute resolution service for electricity and gas.
Contact details for Utilities Disputes:
Website: utilitiesdisputes.co.nz
Email: info@utilitiesdisputes.co.nz
Phone: 0800 22 33 40
Post: PO Box 5875, Wellington 6140 Freepost 192682
Energy advice – using energy smartly
The SolarZero App and MySolarZero dashboard gives you visibility on how your solar energy system is running with up-to-date data. From how much energy is being generated and stored, to how much power you’re using from the grid — you can enjoy having visibility of what’s happening with your system.
Take a tour of the SolarZero app here.
Our team of energy experts are also working behind-the-scenes to optimise your solar energy system, ensuring it’s working efficiently and saving you as much on your power bill as possible.
The benefit of using the SolarZero App and MySolarZero dashboard is you can see how much energy you are using and adjust your behaviours to reduce your energy consumption, which will, in turn, hopefully increase your savings.
We’re here to support you and make payments easy
To check your account balance, please call us on 0800 609 647 and speak to one of the Customer Care team regarding your account balance or email customercare@solarzero.co.nz and we will send you a statement of your account balance.
We want to make paying your bill as simple and stress-free as possible. That’s why we offer flexible payment options to suit your needs.
Direct debit
A direct debit is an easy and secure way to pay your monthly SolarZero fee. The amount you owe is automatically taken from your bank account on the due date, so you don’t have to worry about missing a payment.
Please note: if the due date is on a weekend or public holiday, the direct debit will be processed on the next business day.
There are a few ways to set up your direct debit:
1) Log into your MySolarZero Dashboard on your desktop, or download and log into your SolarZero app. Once you are logged in, click on your profile button and go to ‘your account’ and click ‘add bank account’ (for a new paperless direct debit) or ‘update bank account’ button. You can check out our easy ‘how to’ YouTube video on how to update your direct debit by clicking here.
2) Email our Customer Care Team at customercare@solarzero.co.nz and we will get an electronic direct debit form sent to you.
Online banking
You can pay your SolarZero invoice through online banking. Just log in to your bank’s website or app, choose to make a payment, enter our account number and your alphanumeric SolarZero reference, starting with SC. You can pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly, whatever is best for you to ensure payment is received in full by the due date.
Bank Account Name: SolarZero Collections Trust
Bank Account Number: 03-0175-0488917-00
SolarZero Reference: SC-xx-xxxxxx
Credit or Debit Card
It’s easy to pay by debit or credit card. Just click on the payment link when you receive your invoice each month, complete the requested details, and click pay. It’s as easy as that! Please note that if you choose to pay by credit card there is an additional 3% surcharge added to the payment value.
We aim to keep payment simple and fair, but some fees may apply in certain situations, for example if you are late paying your monthly SolarZero fee. The fees are detailed in the Energy Services Agreement, and the surcharge is shown on your SolarZero invoice.
We’re committed to keeping them fair and transparent.
- Direct Debit Dishonour Fee – $20 for each occurrence of a direct debit transaction failing due to funds availability
- Late Payment Fee – $25 for invoices that are 30+ days overdue (in addition to any Direct Debit Dishonour Fee)
- Credit Card Payment Surcharge – If you choose to pay by credit card there is an additional 3% surcharge added to the payment value
We know that sometimes circumstances beyond your control or simple oversights can happen and you miss a payment. Don’t worry – we’ll get in touch with you as soon as possible and work together on a solution that helps you manage your payments and stay on top of things.
If you miss a bill, our communication plan looks something like this:
Communication to customer: SolarZero invoice with the amount due and the due date
Timing of communications:
- 2 days overdue – Automated email payment reminder
- 16 days overdue – Automated email payment reminder
- 25 days overdue – Automated email payment reminder
- 30+ days overdue – A late payment fee is applied
We’ll contact you by email and phone, and if you’ve provided alternative contacts, we’ll reach out to them as well. While we send automated reminders, our team also makes phone calls at different times of the day to give you the best chance of hearing from us.
We encourage you to stay in touch with us—if you notice a missed call, please return it or send us an email with an update or to request a call back.
We understand that things don’t always go to plan. If you’re having trouble paying your monthly bill, we’re here to help. We offer payment arrangements to ease the pressure and help you stay on top of things.
Please contact our Customer Care team on 0800 609 647 or email customercare@solarzero.co.nz as soon as possible so we can work together on a payment plan.
Our team will:
- Work with you to set up a payment plan
- Offer weekly, fortnightly, or monthly payment options
While you’re on a payment plan and making payments as agreed, we will:
- Not refer your debt to a collection agency
- Not charge you any further late payment fees
If you’re experiencing financial difficulties and struggling to keep up with your monthly payments, we recommend reaching out to one of the support agencies listed below for guidance and assistance.
- Money Talks – www.moneytalks.co.nz or 0800 345 123
- Citizens Advice Bureau – www.cab.org.nz or 0800 367 222
- Work and Income – www.workandincome.govt.nz or 0800 559 009
Medically Dependent Consumers
A medically dependent person is someone who relies on electricity for critical medical equipment, meaning they require a continuous power supply to protect their health and wellbeing. If this applies to you or someone in your household, it’s important to register this with your electricity retailer straight away so they can provide the necessary support and take your needs into account during outages or disconnection situations.
Your retailer will not disconnect the electricity supply of medically dependent consumers, even if you have not paid your bill. However, events outside of the retailer’s control, such as extreme weather events, mean that sometimes the electricity supply is cut. Consumers should have an emergency response plan for these situations.
The SolarZero system should not be included when preparing your emergency response plan.
For more information on preparing an emergency response plan for your household:
https://www.ea.govt.nz/documents/6778/Medically_dependant_consumers_-_Emergency_response_plan.pdf
What to do in a power outage
If your power goes out, please contact your local lines company to check if there is a known outage in your area. This can be a planned or unplanned outage. They can provide updates on the situation and estimated restoration times.
If you aren’t sure who your lines company is, click here to find out! Find your lines company
If you click on your area, it will give you the name of the lines company, their phone number and a link to their website.
Your lines company also has network outages pages.
If your lines company confirms there is no outage in your area, you can try the following basic checks at home:
Check your main switchboard
Look to see if any circuit breakers or the main switch have tripped. If they have, try resetting them once.
If nothing resets or trips again immediately, please contact SolarZero on 0800 609 647 before taking further action.
Check neighbouring properties
Ask your neighbours if they have power. This can help determine if the issue is isolated to your property.
Check your solar/battery system
Look for any fault lights or warning indicators on your solar or battery system.
If you see a fault light or anything unusual, please contact SolarZero on 0800 609 647 for support
Still No Power?
If there’s no outage in your area and power has not returned after basic checks, please contact SolarZero on 0800 609 647 or an electrician for further assistance.
SolarZero are available from 8:30am to 9:30pm every day for emergency technical calls.
In the evenings, from 5:30pm to 9:30pm and during the weekends please call 0800 609 647 to speak to our on-call technician for help. If it’s after 9:30pm and an emergency, please call an electrician.