The Ministry of Justice has apologised after a text message about fines was sent to thousands of people.
It has blamed a system error for the texts, which were sent to about 8000 people.
The texts were sent on Monday afternoon, and contained the words "Amount $135.00", the ministry's bank account details, a fines reference number and the surname of the person receiving the text message.
"We sometimes send text messages to people who owe fines. In this case a system error meant a message went to about 8000 people. Some people would have received the same message up to eight times," ministry group manager national service delivery Tracey Baguely said.
Ms Baguely said personal information had not been shared, and the issue had now been resolved.
Anyone who paid money they did not owe would be refunded.
She said the text could be deleted, but if anyone was unsure of what to do they could call the contact centre on 0800 434 637 (0800 4 FINES). — Allied Media
