Government turns to international debt collectors Milton Graham to pursue travellers' overdue isolation payments.
Since March 2020, a group just larger than the population of Wellington City has gone through MIQ.
Almost 230,000 people have eaten their delivered meals, paced their exercise yards and looked out at the streets of relatively Covid-free New Zealand cities in anticipation.
Housing people in temporary quarantine is an expensive procedure. All up, these people have been charged $178.8 million - almost in the ballpark of the amount the Government made from immigration fees and levies in pre-Covid years, reported at $225 million in 2018.
The big difference is while most of the fees and levies attached to immigration are paid first thing, MIQ fees are only expected some time after the guest has left the facility.
People entering MIQ at the moment are expected to pay within 30 days of the date of their invoice being sent out.
Overall, $131.7 million of the invoices have been paid, meaning $38.7m is still outstanding.
As of this week, 15 percent of the invoices sent out are more than 90 days overdue – totalling up to $20.9m in arrears.
To track down these unpaid bills, the Government has contracted trans-Tasman debt collectors Milton Graham.
A spokesperson from MIQ said the company had been working in concert with the Government agency since September, 2021, saying Milton Graham has been “assisting MBIE’s internal debt management team in working with people to pay their MIQ bills.”
This begins with an email to guests who are 30 days overdue on paying, which includes a reminder to look at the invoice and provides a way to pay Milton Graham directly.
“This is to enhance debt recovery and ensure returnees are given flexible, consistent, and efficient options to help them meet their commitments when it comes to paying for their MIQ stay,” said the MIQ spokesperson.
After 90 days, if Milton Graham hasn’t been able to bring in the money, the outstanding case is referred to a debt collection agency named Credit Consultants.
So far, Credit Consultants been given $5.8 million of invoices to pursue. Around a fifth of these people have paid up or arranged an instalment plan with the debt collectors. The rest remain up in the air.
According to Credit Consultants' website, debt recovery by them comes in the form of legal services, tracing and field agent assignments.
“For more challenging situations, we have tracing specialists to help locate debtors, a certified network of field agents skilled in face to face negotiations and document serving, and external legal counsel to assist our internal staff with litigation procedures,” reads the company’s website.
But while MIQ are employing companies to track down unpaid fees, travellers coming through MIQ are still reporting delays in receiving their invoices - a situation reminiscent of MIQ’s previous tactic of inexplicably making it difficult for people to pay, with some MIQ guests last year searching for months through MBIE phone lines and email addresses for a bank account to send their owed amount.
Since then, the MIQ website has been updated to include more straightforward access to payment - meaning in theory those who want to pay their room tab should be able to do so with little difficulty.
However, use of the payment portal requires an invoice, and for MIQ guests who yet to receive one, there is little they can do but wait.
Questions remain around those who are unable - or unwilling - to pay.
New Zealand residents returning home can still get their fees waived, but they need to have to promise to stay in the country for 180 days before this is confirmed.
Others who can stay in MIQ for free include returning deportees from other countries, diplomats, consular staff, official representatives of foreign governments and refugees.
As of this week, 13,314 waiver applications have been received. Of these, 6,494 have been approved - just under half.
Meanwhile, 2,701 have been declined, and 4,119 are in progress.
For everybody else, a seven or 10-day stay is $1,610 for the first person in the room - plus $460 for each additional adult and $230 for child between three and 17. The under threes get to stay for free.
This is over half the cost of the original 14 days in MIQ, which was required until November 2021.
