A couple who were trapped for hours in a hotel that collapsed when a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch earlier this year have been sent a bill of NZ$300 (£155) for their stay.
The New Zealander and his wife, who have asked not to be named, were on the 22nd floor of the Hotel Grand Chancellor when the earthquake struck on February 22. They had to manoeuvre their way through collapsed staircases, smash down doors and crawl on to the roof of an adjacent building before they were rescued.
“It was a pretty traumatic experience for us,” the man told the Christchurch Press newspaper.
The bill for two nights included a $18 parking fee for a car that took two months to recover. The charge was later waived but the man said that he was still upset with the hotel management.
The couple have also been unable to get an insurance payment for the $15,000 worth of luggage stuck in the hotel because their insurer says that the items could still be recovered.
Advertisement
When the earthquake struck, they were watching a movie in their 25th-floor room for which they were billed $15.20.
The man said that he and his wife were stranded on the 22nd floor with other guests because the stairs had collapsed.
After a large aftershock, one person pried open some doors on the floor below to allow the group to “inch down the stairs one by one”, before they were able to escape.
“We were pretty sure the building was going to come down,” the man said. “It was the most nerve-racking time you can imagine.”
Frank Delli Cicchi, the group manager of the Grand Chancellor Australia and New Zealand, said that the bill had been an oversight and the man - and any other guests trapped on February 22 - would not be expected to pay for their stay.
Advertisement
“The accountant wouldn’t have realised that these people were stuck in the building,” he said.
Mr Delli Cicchi said bills were only now being sent out because the company had only recently gained access to the accounts.
However, guests who were not in the hotel at the time of the earthquake, which killed 181 people, were still expected to pay their bills.
“They legitimately incurred costs,’’ he said.
The Grand Chancellor, which is the biggest building in Cristchurch, is one of at least 5,000 buildings which are to be demolished, the cost of which is expected to be at least $10 million.
Advertisement
The NZ Earthquake Commission has already paid out $1billion (£517 million) in compensation.