Early Term Cancellation without Penalty for Existing Bundled Discount Residential Customers (Conditions Apply) @ Mercury

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Lkamackill on 14/06/2025 - 14:57 mercury.co.nz (234 clicks)
Last edited 16/06/2025 - 14:55 by 3 other users

I received an email from Mercury Energy 13/06/2025 that reads:

"WE'RE CHANGING THINGS UP
We're getting in touch to let you know that we're making some changes behind the scenes.

GOODBYE BUNDLE DISCOUNTS

Bundle discounts* have applied to customers, like you, who have multiple services with us. But to make things simpler and more flexible, we're saying goodbye to bundle discounts.
…

*Bundle discounts applied when you bundled your broadband or mobile service with another eligible Mercury service.
**Subject to the terms and conditions of your current offer. Your prices are subject to change in accordance with those Terms.
Speeds referenced are the maximum capable speeds of the connection. You may experience higher or lower speeds. Factors that may influence your speed include the performance of your devices, your operating system and web-browser, your router, if you're connecting wirelessly to your router, and the number of devices connected."

Upon reviewing the terms and conditions sent to me when I signed up, (Effective 19/06/2023) and their updated terms (Effective 1/04/2025), Clauses 18.3 and 18.6 apply:

"18.3 If we make a change other than in accordance with clause 18.2 we will give you not less than 30 days’
notice of the changes (or if the change is caused by a third party change and we cannot give you 30
days’ notice, we will give you as much notice as reasonably possible) by sending you a letter, email, or
SMS to the last postal or email address, or mobile number, you have given us…"

AND of even greater consequence:

"18.6 If you reasonably believe that changes made under clause 18.3 are detrimental to you, we may permit
you to remain on the unchanged terms, if possible, or you may terminate the affected service and/
or, if applicable, our agreement with you without incurring any exit or other Early Termination Fees by
giving us notice within a reasonable time of our notification of the change. You will need to pay any
outstanding amounts on your account"

So basically, if you have a bundled fuel discount (electricity and gas) with a 6-month free broadband on a 12-month term package like I do, you can promptly inform them that you wish to exit without an early termination charge because Mercury are withdrawing the bundled fuel discount, and this is "reasonably believe[d]… [to be] detrimental" to customers, meaning you would get 6 months free broadband and have no need to pay for the remaining 6 months of the term.

The same would also apply if you took out a $150 power credit on a 12m term, or took a 24m term for a free TV/fridge/appliance.

I guess they never expect people to read their terms and conditions… but I actually do when I get emails like this.

Related Stores

Mercury Energy

• 

  Rhys on 14/06/2025 - 15:39

  +8

  This isn't a deal, is targeted and probably should be in the forums?

• 

  KiwiHunts4CheapDeals on 14/06/2025 - 15:44

  Good catch.

  Except I got this extra part under the 'Goodbye Bundle Discounts' :

  Instead, you'll keep your currently discounted price on broadband as your new standard** plan price.

  So I guess there is nothing changed for me. Instead of calling it a bundled discount, they now set the price as it is and call it the "standard plan price".

  • 

    kamackill on 14/06/2025 - 16:45

    +1

    That could be true in some cases, but it seems like Mercury have tried to make it extra difficult for readers to determine exactly what they're ending here. I assumed it was this part which I received in separate Terms for the 6m free broadband offer:

    "8.2 Your electricity and (if applicable), piped gas and LPG pricing may be subject to change at any time during the Term.
    If you have electricity and either piped gas and/or LPG with Mercury at the same address (determined by Electricity and Gas
    registry data provided to Mercury), you will receive a 17.25 cent per day (inc GST) Dual Fuel Discount. The Dual Fuel Discount
    will be applied as a credit in the gas charges section of your bill each month. If you no longer have both electricity and either
    piped gas or LPG at the same address with Mercury, you will not receive the Dual Fuel Discount.

    8.3 At the end of the Term, plan prices and any discounts may be subject to change. You will be given notice of any changes in
    accordance with Mercury’s General Residential Terms."

    And a 17.25c/day increase is most certainly of material consequence to anyone with LPG/piped gas.

    I figure their legal team probably advised it's not quite on par to offer a discount on a term contract, then withdraw it part way through that term without giving an out to customers. It would probably be a breach of contract, and might qualify for misrepresentations with regard to price under the Fair Trading Act.

• 

  huster on 14/06/2025 - 18:44

  Nice one！ I am on the same contract with them. So Which one should I go after this ， is there any good deals at the moment？

  • 

    Nekomon on 15/06/2025 - 09:47

    +3

    No good deals. We always keep an eye on different power companies. Contact charges new customers much higher than existing customers, same as Genesis, they gave a much better price if the existing customers stay with them for another year. The price of Powershop has gone up to the roof in winter. Frank energy is closing the business. The Maori company Nau Mai Ra started to charge daily fixed charge this year, it was the only company without daily charges for low user. Other small companies are so expensive. You can switch to get the one-off power credit but you have to pay higher price and keep switching.

    • 

      huster on 16/06/2025 - 11:47

      Oppss. Looks like we are all trapped in a black hole now. Haha

  • 

    kinetic9 on 15/06/2025 - 11:14

    My contract ran out last month, I went to check rates at suppliers that do power + gas and every single one was more expensive even after the price rise Mercury notified me about. I just had to accept the fact power is going to be more expensive now..

    • 

      nigglej on 15/06/2025 - 13:08

      I'm the same, also with Mercury but competitors prices were going to be more expensive

      • 

        kiwi harry on 17/06/2025 - 08:13

        Same here. Recently got a price increasing letter from Mercury but their new rate they sent me is still cheaper by at least $300 per year (based on my usage) compared to competitors and even Mercury's published rates on their website.

  • 

    curiousb on 16/06/2025 - 00:09

    The only decent option I can see is dependent on us getting 25% of our usage into a plan's free hours of 9pm to midnight, if we can do that then the Contact Good Nights plan isn't too bad.

    For us as Standard Users, and including GST, it is around $3 per day daily charge and 27c per kWh for usage. The daily charge is fairly normal for standard users, and if we can get 25% of our usage into the free hours, that brings the effective kWh rate down to 20.25c (worked out by taking 25% off 27c), which is a lot better than we can get elsewhere.

    • 

      spam on 16/06/2025 - 11:50

      +1

      Yeah, this is my experience as well.

      I managed to get around 50-60% of usage during the free hours and that effectively bring my unit price from 30c/kWh to around 13c/kWh.

• 

  doggos2 on 15/06/2025 - 11:13

  +3

  I have recently contacted genesis who I have been with for years. The csr was terrible, gave a lot of false information. Told me they have no retention team, nowhere you can go to except the call centre with a query and supervisors are not avaiable to talk to.
  Looking for somewhere else. They used to be good in my experience, not anymore.