Orcon says it will pay a soldier $25,000 "as soon as possible" after he hired a bailiff to visit the telecommunications company over a bogus debt.
The bailiff had been expected to visit the company today on behalf of Army soldier Brett Taylor, who fought a three-year battle over a bogus debt.
Orcon earlier this week said it was waiting for the Human Rights Review Tribunal to decide on costs.
The tribunal has only given a vague guideline about when a costs decision was likely.
However, any such decision would not affect the $25,000 compensation anyway. That compensation, for a privacy breach and loss of a benefit, was ordered in May and not appealed against.
Lawyer Shirl Taylor, who is Brett's mother, said a warrant was issued to seize Orcon property.
After multiple inquiries from NZME News Service, Orcon today said it would make "immediate payment" to Mr Taylor.
"After emailing his lawyer yesterday we now have Mr Taylor's own bank account details so we can now make payment as soon as possible," the company said in a statement.
Ms Taylor said the company first received her account details in late May. She said the family hadn't heard a word from Orcon or its lawyer for weeks and in the absence of communication, the bailiff was hired at a cost about $250.
"In the meantime, Brett continues to wait."
Ms Taylor said she did ask for costs - but they were far less than the $25,000 and also well below an amount commensurate with time she spent on the case.
The tribunal this week confirmed it had still not delivered its costs decision and expected to do so "within the next two weeks or so".
After hearing Mr Taylor spent his own money to hire a bailiff, debt collector Wal Britton of Accounts Enforcement Limited told NZME that he would happily pursue the payout free of charge for Mr Taylor.
Mr Britton, who has seen the full tribunal decision, said it was "not a normal occurrence" for big firms to "drag the chain" on payouts tribunals ordered, or for bailiffs to visit the offices of large companies.
Dispute resolution expert Alan Knowsley from Rainey Collins said generally speaking, tribunal payment issues should be "straightforward" and the unsuccessful party wrote a cheque or made a payment to a nominated bank account.
Breach of privacy
The Human Rights Tribunal punished Orcon for breaching Mr Taylor's privacy and causing him the loss of a benefit.
A dispute starting in 2012 escalated after tje company provided the wrong modem to Mr Taylor, causing delays to connection of a broadband service.
Eventually, Mr Taylor was lumped with a phony debt and his young family found it nearly impossible to rent a home or get credit.
The tribunal said Orcon did not have enough awareness of the information privacy principles at stake.
It also said the telco could not plausibly explain a nine-month delay after debt collectors Baycorp asked that the dispute be investigated.
Orcon made a public apology after NZME and the New Zealand Herald reported the case.
