By Chris Schulz
Investigative Journalist | Kaipūrongo Whakatewhatewha
Consumer member Ian has been a Nespresso fan for more than 20 years – longer than the company's most famous face has been advertising for them.
"I often say I was a Nespresso user before George Clooney," Ian says.
But Ian’s loyalty was put to the test recently when he had a frustrating run-in with the company over his subscription plan.
In July 2024, Ian signed up for a 2-year Machine Plus contract. The deal requires customers to pay an upfront cost for the machine, then a monthly fee for 2 years. Nespresso offers a free monthly credit equivalent to that monthly fee.
Ian’s deal meant he paid $250 for the machine, and $50/month for 2 years. He also received $50 a month in credit that he could use to spend on coffee pods for the machine.
Ian’s problems started in November 2025, when Nespresso reached out to tell him the transaction for his monthly subscription had been declined. This happened again in December, then again in January.
Ian kept telling the company his card was fine. He’d been using it successfully on other purchases the entire time, and nothing about his situation had changed.
“There was nothing wrong with my card. It’s got balance. It's not blocked. The number hasn't changed. It's the same card,” Ian told Nespresso.
“If it's worked for the last year and a half, it should still be working. So, I said, ‘I think you've got a problem with your payment system.’”
Nespresso kept blaming Ian’s credit card and sent him warning emails about late payments.
By February, he’d received an ultimatum: pay a termination fee of $431.46 to settle his balance or return his coffee machine.
But Ian didn’t want to do either of these things. He just wanted to keep paying his subscription and enjoying his morning coffees.
By this point, Ian was sick of sending emails and had spent hours on the phone with Nespresso’s call centre staff.
It was then that he decided to contact Consumer NZ. As a member, he had access to Consumer’s advice line.
Our expert advisers contacted Nespresso on Ian’s behalf.
How the issue was sorted
An email sent from Consumer to Nespresso’s media team laid out Ian’s situation and asked the company to investigate and rectify the matter.
A spokesperson admitted the error was on their end and blamed “incorrectly applied payment failures … resulting in inappropriate termination of this customer’s contract”.
Nespresso said:
“We’re aware that a system error recently prevented a recurring card payment for one of our club members, which in turn triggered an automated notification about a failed transaction. Our team has now resolved the issue.
“We’re sorry this was not identified as quickly as it should have been and for the inconvenience this caused. We have reviewed our systems to understand whether any other customers may have been affected and to prevent further issues.”
Ian is back enjoying his regular morning coffee and says he ended up better off as his final few payments were wiped.
“It’s good, but at the same time, it was a frustrating and long-winded saga to have to go through.”
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