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A Napier woman admits she likes to get on the blower and talk to friends and family but even she was shocked when she checked her phone bill last week.
MV Agnew called Telecom's Service Express line to inquire about a penalty payment she was being charged, but quickly realised the $7 fee was the least of her worries - there was the small matter of more than $1,900,000 to be resolved.
" I had to sit down. It made my heart jump I got such a fright," Mrs Agnew said.
She called her son to come over and got him to ring again.
But the news only got worse. In a space of minutes Mrs Agnew's big bill had leapt to $2,200,000.
A third call to the line was made by her caregiver. Now she owed almost $3 million.
"It just kept going up. I couldn't believe it," she said.
Telecom spokesperson Sarah Berry said it was a case of mistaken identity.
Mrs Agnew has a landline with another company, a mobile with Telecom and a simple mix-up entering in the wrong phone number had led to the whopping bill.
"She got an incorrect response," Ms Berry said.
A computer glitch was the most likely reason for the massive amount, Ms Berry said.
- HAWKE'S BAY TODAY
