‘Pretty hōhā’: Flick Electric accuses Genesis of misleading customers

Flick Electric is calling out competitor Genesis Energy for what it calls “pretty hōhā” behaviour, accusing the larger company of giving potential customers the wrong pricing information.

But Genesis says somebody may have their wires crossed.

In a recent Facebook post, Flick said it had heard from prospective customers that Genesis was giving people incorrect information about Flick and its power prices.

“We’re not sure if that’s intentional or not, but we’d suggest perhaps not saying anything if you’re not sure,” the post said.

“It’s straight-up wrong, and it’s unfair for Kiwis just trying to find the right power deal for them and their household.”

Flick went on to say Genesis had more than 20% of Aotearoa’s electricity market share and suggested the larger player felt threatened by its own, much smaller, share.

“Are you so threatened by a small retailer with less than 2% market share that you need to resort to this? Seems pretty hōhā to us,” the post concluded.

The post had attracted more than 475 replies on Sunday morning, including one from Genesis, in which it said the behaviour described was below the professional standards of its customer service teams.

“[This is] not how we operate. We’re looking into this and have been in touch directly with the Flick team to get more information,” it said.

On Sunday, a Genesis spokesperson said it had not been able to find any calls relating to the installation control points (ICPs) Flick had provided.

ICP numbers show how a property is connected to the electricity network. Each residence has a unique ICP number that identifies it as an individual power connection.

If the consumers involved were willing to share more information, Genesis would look into the issue further, she said.

“Occasionally there are cases of mistaken identity. One of the ICPs was with us in 2020 and switched to another retailer in 2022, and then to a different retailer again.

“The other ICP has been with another retailer since 2021. Neither ICP is showing as currently in the process of switching,” she said.

Flick chief executive Pavan Vyas said the company had a duty to let consumers know about any misinformation and had privately discussed similar behaviour with Genesis in the past.

“We are awaiting further communication from Genesis about their investigation, and we are glad that they are looking into this issue,” Vyas said.

“Ultimately, we really want Kiwis to shop around for what’s best for them and their household, whether this is with Flick or someone else.”