Globug
Assessed 16 July 2026 under NZ · Medium confidence
Evidence last captured 29 August 2026 · oldest 27 August 2026 · next re-check due 27 August 2027
We contacted this company 2 times between 6 August 2026 and 19 August 2026, by email and phone. No reply received.
A grade rules on whether a public claim is substantiated. It is not a finding about environmental performance, truthfulness, or the merit of the business. HowLegit is not a licensed adviser and nothing here is legal or investment advice.
Where this sits
All 21 energy companies, assessed against the same checklist in the same window.
Globug ranks 5 of 21 in this sector by overall score, between 47.6% and 96.0%.
Findings
The How It Works page tells a customer: "No penalties or late payment fees. Always get your discount and never get a bill!" The first half is accurate for a prepay product, because with no bill there is no late payment fee. "Always get your discount" is absolute and carries no comparator, no quantum and no baseline, so a customer cannot establish what discount applies or against what. The wording states no figure that could be shown false, so this is a gap in substantiation rather than a contradiction.
Why this matters. Prepay customers make decisions on small margins, often weekly. When a retailer describes what a customer gets, the precision of that description determines whether the customer can act on it or check it afterwards. A benefit statement that cannot be tested against a rate, a figure or a named comparison leaves the customer unable to verify what was promised, and leaves the entity exposed under the Fair Trading Act provisions on unsubstantiated representations.
What closing this looks like
- Publish what Globug itself does for customers in hardship. The referral pathways are already in place: the Consumer Care page names Work and Income on 0800 559 009, MoneyTalks on 0800 345 123 with a free text line, and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. What is not published is the entity's own position. State the criteria used to assess hardship, the assistance available such as payment arrangements, a lower disconnection threshold or emergency credit, and any winter protection beyond the existing reduction of top-up deductions from 25 percent to 10 percent between June and September.
- Set the prepay rate against the parent's own cheapest post-pay plan and publish the comparison. Globug and Mercury share an owner and a rate card, so the comparison can be made internally without a third party, and it answers the question the discount wording currently leaves open. Where the prepay rate is higher, say by how much and why.
“No penalties or late payment fees. Always get your discount and never get a bill!”
Globug's How It Works page says: "No penalties or late payment fees. Always get your discount and never get a bill!" The first half is substantiated by the company's own fee schedule, which lists low credit balance reconnection as FREE, and the terms route that disconnection to a top-up rather than to the fee clause covering other grounds; the $25, $70 and $120 reconnection fees apply to someone signing up at a property already disconnected, not to a customer who runs out of credit. "Never get a bill" is accurate and not complete: four clauses state the customer remains liable to us for this amount until it is paid in full, including for energy used between the $10 threshold and disconnection the following midday, a debt balance text costs 20 cents with no free route to that figure, and outstanding amounts may be referred to a collection agency without notice to you. "Always get your discount" names no amount, no comparison and no starting price, and the word appears once on the site, in this sentence. Nothing stated here is a figure that could be shown false, so this is a gap in substantiation rather than a contradiction.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
“GLOBUG allows you to pay for electricity as you go so you'll find it much easier to manage your electricity spend and keep on top of payments”
The How It Works page states the mechanism and the consequence in one sentence: paying as you go, so a customer finds it easier to manage spend and keep on top of payments. The tools that deliver it are on the same page, being a running balance, colour states that change at ten dollars, alerts before supply stops, and usage by day, week and month. The comparison the wording invites, against being sent a bill after the power is used, is the one the product actually changes.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
The Join panel carries "Get smarter about power" and an invitation to join on 11 of the 14 pages that make up the site. Only one of those 11 also carries the notice that GLOBUG has paused new joins and applications. A customer arriving on any of the other ten is invited to sign up to a product that is not currently taking sign-ups, and is given no indication of that on the page they are reading. The positioning itself is consistent wherever it appears; what is not consistent is that the site's most persistent call to action has outlived the service behind it.
Why this matters. A customer does not arrive at the home page by default. They arrive at whichever page answered their question, and they read the invitation on that page. Where a call to action outlives the service behind it, every page still carrying it makes an offer the entity has withdrawn.
What closing this looks like
- Put the pause notice where the invitation is. The Join panel appears on 11 pages and the notice that joins are paused appears on one of them. Either carry the notice inside the panel itself so it travels with the invitation, or remove the invitation from the pages that cannot act on it. A customer should not be asked to sign up on a page that does not tell them sign-ups are closed.
“Get smarter about power”
The Join panel carries "Get smarter about power" and an invitation to join on 11 of the 14 pages that make up the site. Only one of those pages also carries the notice that GLOBUG has paused new joins and applications. The line itself is consistent wherever it appears; what is not consistent is that the invitation beside it is still being made after the service behind it was suspended.
Captured 29 August 2026 · source page ↗
Globug publishes real protection for the customers most exposed to its model: its terms strongly recommend a household does not use GLOBUG if anyone in it is a Medically Dependent Consumer, the debt deduction drops from 25% of each top-up to 10% between 1 June and 30 September, and reconnection after a low credit balance disconnection is free in both the guidance and the fee schedule. What is not published is the fact that bears most directly on the people this product serves, which is how often supply stops on it. The site states the ten dollar threshold in its FAQ and reports no outcome against it, so a customer can learn the rule and not the result. The costs that fall on the same households are published but never totalled: 20c, 40c and 75c per top-up by method, and 20 cents for each daily balance text.
Why this matters. An assessment weighs what a retailer says against what most affects the people it serves. For a prepay brand the most consequential facts are how often supply stops, the balance at which it stops, and the cumulative cost of small and frequent charges. Whether those appear in customer-facing material decides whether a customer understands the model before they come to depend on it.
What closing this looks like
- Publish how often supply stops on this product and at what balance. The ten dollar threshold is already on the site, so what is missing is the outcome rather than the rule. Publishing the rate at which supply stops, and how quickly it is restored, would let a customer weigh the model before choosing it rather than after. Totalling the top-up and alert charges over a year would do the same for cost.
“Winter debt reduction: 10% of top-ups (Jun-Sep) vs 25% (Oct-May)”
Positive vulnerability recognition. Reduces debt burden during highest energy cost months. No interest charged on debt.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
“We've made some changes to help you stay on top of your power”
The home page says "We've made some changes to help you stay on top of your power" and lists the changes beneath it: a ten dollar minimum top-up and an increased call centre team. Both are real. What is not stated is the fact that bears most directly on staying on top of this product, which is how often supply stops and at what credit balance, and neither appears on any of the fourteen pages that make up the site.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
Three pieces of wording set expectations before any figure is given: the home page says "Get smarter about power" and "We've made some changes to help you stay on top of your power", and the How It Works page says a customer will "find it much easier to manage your electricity spend". The same page promises "Always get your discount and never get a bill!" Individually each is defensible as positioning. Together they describe a product that puts a customer in control, and the one part of that description carrying a testable promise, the discount, names nothing to check it against.
Why this matters. A claim is read by a customer, not by a lawyer, and what matters is the meaning a reasonable customer takes from it at the moment of deciding. Where wording invites an interpretation the service does not deliver, the distance between the two is where Fair Trading Act exposure sits, however the wording is defended internally.
What closing this looks like
- Substantiate the discount promise or qualify it. The How It Works page states "Always get your discount and never get a bill!" without naming what the discount is measured against, how much it is worth, or the baseline it starts from. Either publish that comparison, or reframe the sentence to what the prepay model actually delivers, which is a rate that does not depend on paying a bill on time.
“No penalties or late payment fees. Always get your discount and never get a bill!”
Globug's How It Works page says: "No penalties or late payment fees. Always get your discount and never get a bill!" The first half holds and the company's own fee schedule shows it: low credit balance reconnection is FREE, and the terms route that disconnection to a top-up rather than to the fee clause covering other grounds. The exposure sits in what a customer takes from the rest. "Never get a bill" reads as an assurance about money owed, and a customer can still owe Globug: four clauses state the customer remains liable until an amount is paid in full, a debt balance text costs 20 cents with no free route to that figure, and outstanding amounts may be referred to a collection agency without notice to you. "Always get your discount" is the half carrying a promise, and Globug names no discount amount, no comparison and no starting price anywhere on its site, so a customer cannot check what they are being given or hold the company to it later. A trader must hold reasonable grounds for a claim at the time it is made.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
"Always get your discount" is an absolute claim on the How It Works page carrying no comparator, no quantum and no baseline. "See how much you could save with GLOBUG!" invites a comparison whose method is not shown: the calculator discloses that it assumes the customer's current retailer will not change price for a year. Set against this, Globug does publish its rates. A labelled route on the calculator page, headed "Pricing Plans, Review our rates to see which plan is right for you", leads to a page giving a daily fixed charge and a per-kWh rate for every region and network area.
Why this matters. Section 12A of the Fair Trading Act requires a trader to hold reasonable grounds for a representation at the time it is made. For pricing and savings statements that means a comparison the entity can produce on request. Where the substantiation exists but sits somewhere the customer is not directed to, the claim may be defensible while the disclosure is not.
What closing this looks like
- Show what the saving is calculated against. The calculator states what it assumes about the customer's current price but not which Globug rate the result uses, so a customer cannot see what was compared with what. Publish the rate the calculator applies, or link the Pricing Plans page from the result panel where the figure appears.
“See how much you could save with GLOBUG!”
The home page and the calculator invite a comparison: "See how much you could save with GLOBUG!" The calculator states what it assumes about the customer's current price, but it does not show what Globug rate the saving is calculated against, so a customer cannot see what was compared with what.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
Globug publishes a Consumer Care Policy, described as its commitment to customers and referenced to the Electricity Authority Consumer Care Obligations, available to read, download or print. Its help pages set out the medically dependent consumer position, including how to register and the medical dependency form, and invite customers in severe financial hardship to make contact to discuss payment options. The consumer care page refers customers to Work and Income and to MoneyTalks for free budgeting advice, with contact details for each, and to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority for usage guidance. What is not surfaced in customer-facing material is how often supply stops on this product, the Electricity Authority enquiry, and independent service quality findings; that was established by following the site's own navigation until no further pages appeared, over sixteen unique pages.
Why this matters. Prepay serves a disproportionately vulnerable customer base, and the Electricity Authority's Consumer Care Obligations set expectations for how a retailer communicates with and supports customers at risk of disconnection. What a retailer publishes about hardship assistance, payment difficulty and the risks carried by the model is what a customer in difficulty can actually find and use at the moment they need it.
“GLOBUG recommends that medically dependent consumers should not use their service”
Appropriate consumer protection. Recognises prepay model is unsuitable for MDC. Redirects to Mercury post-pay.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
“Vulnerable customer support: age, health or disability, and payment options on hardship”
Globug names the grounds on which a customer may be vulnerable, being age, health or disability where loss of supply threatens health or wellbeing, and invites contact where it is difficult to pay because of severe financial hardship, with a number to call. It operates a medical dependency registration with a form for a doctor to complete and a stated timeframe. Its consumer care page refers customers to Work and Income and to MoneyTalks for free budgeting advice, each with contact details, and to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
“Globug doesn't disconnect medically dependent consumers”
The Consumer Care Policy states "Globug doesn't disconnect medically dependent consumers", and qualifies it in the same paragraph against events outside the entity's control, naming extreme weather, unplanned outages and accidents, and advises medically dependent consumers to hold an emergency response plan. The policy also states that prepay is not a suitable option for medically dependent consumers and that the team will work with them to find a product with Mercury. The commitment is absolute in form, but it is qualified where it needs to be and it is consistent with the help page and the terms.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
“While you're working with us, we'll make sure your services aren't disconnected, and we won't refer your debt to a collection agency”
The Consumer Care Policy gives this undertaking to customers in payment difficulty, alongside a commitment to agree a payment plan, to check the customer is on the right price plan, and to refer to community or government support with time allowed to work with that organisation. It is specific, it is bounded by the condition that the customer is engaging, and it is the strongest protection the entity offers on a product where supply otherwise stops automatically at a $10 balance.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
Clear 3-step dispute resolution process: (1) call 0800 773 729; (2) formal complaint via /formal-feedback/ (2-day acknowledgement, 7-day resolution, 40-day extension); (3) escalation to Utilities Disputes Ltd (0800 22 33 40, free). Charge dispute protection: no disconnection during active disputes. 24/7 helpdesk. Multiple reconnection methods (online, app, SMS, phone, all free for digital/low-balance).
Why this matters. A customer who has lost power, been charged wrongly or cannot pay needs a route to a person, and needs it quickly. Whether that route is visible, free to use and independent at the point of escalation decides whether a complaint is resolved or abandoned. For prepay customers, who can lose supply within a day, the visibility of that route matters more than it does for customers billed monthly.
“24/7 helpdesk: 0800 773 729”
Verifiable. Multiple sources confirm 24/7 availability. Dedicated reconnection line also available.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
“3-step dispute resolution with Utilities Disputes escalation”
Clear process with external escalation. Free independent review via UDL. Charge dispute protection (no disconnection during disputes).
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
“Free low balance alerts (SMS and email)”
Verified. Critical disconnection-prevention alerts are free. Daily balance alerts cost 20c SMS (email free).
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
“Reconnection by online, app, text or phone, with text reconnection stated as free”
Four routes are published on the How It Works page: sign in and select reconnect, the mobile app, a text keyword to a shortcode, and a call to a dedicated number described as a free call from landline or mobile. The text route is listed with "Cost: Free" against it, in a table where other text requests carry a 20c charge. Assessed as met on the availability and clarity of the routes. What reconnection can cost outside business hours is covered under pricing.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
“No contracts, bonds, or credit checks”
Factually accurate. Verified. Important accessibility feature for credit-excluded consumers.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
Visual claims are minimal and the site's design is plainly functional. There is no diversity imagery, no community investment imagery and no misuse of stock photography. The teal and green brand colours are not used to imply environmental credentials, so the presentation is honest in its minimalism.
Why this matters. Imagery and cultural reference carry claims of their own. Stock photography of communities a brand does not serve, or cultural motifs used decoratively, assert a relationship the entity may not have. A restrained visual presentation asserts less and therefore carries less risk of implying something the service does not deliver.
“Safety messaging: staff carry ID, and will not access properties without contact”
Appropriate safety communication. Proportionate to service model.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
The savings calculator invites a comparison, "Grab a recent power bill and see how much you could save with GLOBUG!", and states the basis of that comparison where the customer reads the result: an asterisk on the figure leads to the assumption that the customer's current price will not change for the year, with a note that some retailers use seasonal pricing. Tested on a realistic monthly bill the tool returned a negative saving, so it does not present Globug favourably by default. The home page also links Billy, the government-operated independent comparison service, and the rates themselves are published and reachable from a labelled route on the calculator page.
Why this matters. Comparisons are the claims customers act on most directly, and they carry the heaviest evidential burden. A comparison needs a stated basis: what was compared, against whom, on what assumptions and over what period. Here that basis is given with the result rather than left for the customer to find.
“Savings calculator, static competitor price assumption”
The calculator states its assumption in the results panel, directly beneath the saving it produces and tied to it by an asterisk: that the price the customer currently pays their existing retailer will not change for the year, with a note that some retailers use seasonal pricing. It sits on the same screen as the figure, in type the same size as the text around it. Tested on a bill of 750 kWh over 30 days at $290, the tool returned a negative result, telling the customer they would pay more with Globug rather than less. The basis of the comparison is stated where the customer reads the result.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
“Billy.govt.nz link in footer”
Positive disclosure: directs consumers to free, government-operated independent comparison tool. Consumer empowerment signal.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
Four operational promises, each specific and checkable: a 24/7 helpdesk on a published number carried in the footer of every page, a free mobile app showing balance, top-up and usage, a ten dollar minimum top-up stated consistently on the home page and in the FAQ, and no cost to close an account, answered directly in the FAQ. Each states a fact a customer can verify within days of joining, and each holds. What reconnection can cost is assessed under Commercial pricing, which is where the analysis of it sits.
Why this matters. A promise about what will happen, or about what something will cost, is the most testable claim a retailer can make, because a customer can check it against their own experience within days. Where a promise about cost carries a qualification the customer meets only later, the qualification needs to travel with the promise rather than sit apart from it.
“24/7 help over the phone, and a 24/7 helpdesk on 0800 773 729”
Published on the How It Works page as "24/7 help over the phone" and carried in the footer of every page as a 24/7 helpdesk with the number. Consistent across the page set and verifiable.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
“Top up from $10”
Accurate. $10 minimum confirmed across multiple pages.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
“Free mobile app with balance display, top-up, usage tracking”
App confirmed free. Features as described: balance display, top-up and usage tracking are published on the How It Works page and present in both store listings.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
“No cost to close account”
Accurate. No exit fees. 48 hours' notice required per T&Cs.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
Globug publishes a daily fixed charge and a per-kWh rate for every region and network area, distinguishes low user from standard user with guidance on which applies, and states that prices include the Electricity Authority Levy and GST. Transaction fees are published by method, at 20c for internet banking, 40c by card and 75c in store, and the full service fee schedule is set out in the terms. Reconnection following a low credit balance disconnection, which is the prepay case, is free in both the guidance and the schedule. What remains is a point of prominence rather than accuracy: the cumulative effect of transaction fees over a year is nowhere shown.
Why this matters. Price is why most customers choose a retailer. For prepay the price actually paid includes per-transaction fees and alert charges, which accumulate in ways a headline rate does not show. Globug publishes the rates and the fee schedule, so a customer who looks can find them.
“Transaction fees: 20c (internet banking), 40c (card), 75c (in-store)”
Disclosed on How It Works page. Amounts specified per method. However, cumulative impact not disclosed: $24-$90/year depending on method and frequency.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
“Reconnection cost: text reconnection stated as free, phone reconnection a free call”
The How It Works page lists "Cost: Free" against text reconnection and describes the reconnection line as a free call from landline or mobile. The terms carry the full service fee schedule, which sets "Low credit balance reconnection", being the reconnection that follows a prepay disconnection, at FREE. The charges of $25.00, $70.00 and $120.00 apply where a new customer signs up at a property that is already disconnected, which is a different situation from the one the guidance addresses. Guidance and terms agree for the customer the guidance is written for.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
“30-day notice for price changes; separate notice if >5% increase”
Standard industry practice. Separate written notice for >5% increases is positive consumer protection.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
“Pricing plans page (linked from pricing calculator)”
The pricing plans page is reachable from a labelled route on the calculator page itself, headed "Pricing Plans, Review our rates to see which plan is right for you", and it returns successfully. It publishes a daily fixed charge and a variable per-kWh rate for each region and network area, distinguishes low user from standard user with guidance on which applies, and states that prices include the Electricity Authority Levy and GST.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
Ownership is disclosed in the terms as "Mercury NZ Limited trading as GLOBUG", and it is communicated to customers outside the terms as well. The home page notice names Mercury with a number to call, the Consumer Care Policy names Mercury three times in customer-facing language, and both mobile application listings publish the developer as Mercury. The escalation pathway is prominent: Utilities Disputes appears with its number in the footer and on the consumer care page, and the home page links Billy for independent price comparison.
Why this matters. Who stands behind a brand affects what a customer can expect from it and what recourse they have. Globug names its parent on the page a customer lands on, in the policy it asks them to read, and on the listing for the application they install.
“Electricity bill cost breakdown (generation 32%, distribution 27%, etc.)”
Educational transparency on industry-wide cost components. Not Globug-specific but provides consumer context.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
“Mercury NZ Limited ownership disclosure in T&Cs”
The terms define "We", "us" and "our" as Mercury NZ Limited trading as GLOBUG. The relationship is also communicated outside the terms, and in plain customer-facing language: the home page notice names Mercury with a number to call, the Consumer Care Policy names Mercury three times, in relation to meter faults, to customers who cannot be reached, and to medically dependent customers, and both mobile application listings publish the developer as Mercury.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
“Utilities Disputes Ltd contact (0800 22 33 40) in footer”
Positive disclosure: independent dispute resolution pathway visible in footer.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
Globug's tone is functional and understated. The home page leads with practical information: the pause on new applications and the number to call about it, the ten dollar minimum top-up, an increase in call centre staffing, and safety guidance on identifying staff and avoiding scams. There is no urgency or scarcity framing, no countdown, and no superlative positioning.
Why this matters. Tone sets expectations before any specific claim is read. A calm and capable register invites a customer to assume the service behind it is calm and capable. Where independent evidence about service quality, pricing or regulatory attention points the other way, the register itself becomes part of what is being assessed.
“Service pause notice, with redirect to Mercury and a number to call”
Homepage wording. Globug states that it is temporarily pausing new joins and applications, and directs anyone wanting to discuss moving to a Mercury product to a named number. The disclosure is placed on the home page rather than buried, states the position plainly without euphemism, and offers a route onward. A commercially awkward fact handled directly is the behaviour this criterion is looking for.
Captured 27 August 2026 · source page ↗
No environmental claim appears anywhere in Globug's public-facing content. Every page was searched in full text for renewable, carbon, emission, sustainability, environment, climate, hydro, geothermal, wind, solar, net zero and offset, and no environmental claim was found. The single occurrence of a renewable term is a technical restriction in the terms on exporting generation to the network, which asserts nothing about environmental performance. Established by walking the site's own navigation to closure across fourteen surfaces on 27 August 2026, being thirteen public pages read with every collapsed section opened and the Consumer Care Policy of April 2025; globug.co.nz publishes no sitemap.
Why this matters. Globug customers buy electricity generated by its parent, and where a retailer says nothing about how that electricity is produced, a customer has no basis on which to weigh environmental considerations against price. Silence creates no exposure under the Fair Trading Act. It also forgoes any credit for the generation standing behind the supply.
What closing this looks like
- Decide what Globug customers are told about the generation behind their electricity, and say only what can be evidenced at this brand. Mercury publishes a renewable generation position on its own site; repeating it under the Globug brand would make it a Globug claim, assessable on the same terms as any other, so it should be stated with the same specificity Mercury uses and sourced to Mercury rather than asserted as a Globug attribute. The alternative, which carries no claims exposure, is to link Mercury's published position rather than restate it. At present a Globug customer is given no environmental information at all and no route to the parent's.
Globug cites no environmental certification, no independent verification and no published environmental reporting of its own, so there is no claim for such evidence to support. Mercury NZ Limited, which operates the brand, publishes environmental reporting on its own site. None of it is cited, summarised or linked from a Globug page. Established by walking the site's own navigation to closure across fourteen surfaces on 27 August 2026, being thirteen public pages read with every collapsed section opened and the Consumer Care Policy of April 2025; globug.co.nz publishes no sitemap.
Why this matters. An environmental assertion is only as strong as the evidence a reader can reach from it. Certifications, published reporting and independent verification are what let a customer check a statement rather than take it on trust. Where a retailer makes no environmental assertion, there is nothing for evidence to support, and the open question for the entity is whether that silence is deliberate.
Globug draws no environmental comparison and states no environmental baseline. It names its parent, Mercury NZ Limited, in its terms and in a service notice, and carries one link to a Mercury page, being a regional network map for price changes. Neither the naming nor the link carries any comparison of generation, emissions or environmental performance against a baseline or a competitor. Established by walking the site's own navigation to closure across fourteen surfaces on 27 August 2026, being thirteen public pages read with every collapsed section opened and the Consumer Care Policy of April 2025; globug.co.nz publishes no sitemap.
Why this matters. Comparative environmental statements set a customer's expectations against a baseline, and the baseline is what makes them checkable. Where no comparison is drawn, none is required. For a prepay brand this matters because customers choosing on price alone are given no environmental dimension to weigh, even where one exists further up the supply chain.
Globug uses no environmental imagery and no visual framing that implies environmental performance. Teal and green appear as functional brand colours applied to navigation, buttons and headings rather than to natural imagery, landscape photography or environmental messaging, so a reader is not invited to infer a credential the brand has not claimed. Every page was reviewed for environmental imagery and for colour used in an environmental-claims context, and neither was present. Established by walking the site's own navigation to closure across fourteen surfaces on 27 August 2026, being thirteen public pages read with every collapsed section opened and the Consumer Care Policy of April 2025; globug.co.nz publishes no sitemap.
Why this matters. Colour, imagery and symbol can imply an environmental position that words never state, and a reader may take a credential from a picture that the text does not claim. Where imagery is used functionally rather than to suggest environmental performance, that inference is not available to a reader and the exposure does not arise.
No environmental message appears at any point in the Globug customer journey, from the home page through the description of how the service works, pricing, sign-up, help and terms. Because no environmental message is made on any surface, no inconsistency between surfaces arises. The consistency is the consistency of silence, not of a message carried through. Established by walking the site's own navigation to closure across fourteen surfaces on 27 August 2026, being thirteen public pages read with every collapsed section opened and the Consumer Care Policy of April 2025; globug.co.nz publishes no sitemap.
Why this matters. A customer meets a brand across several surfaces: a home page, a sign-up path, a help section, a bill, a set of terms. Where an environmental message appears on one surface and not on others, expectations set early are not met later. Where no surface carries an environmental message, the journey is consistent by default.
Globug publishes no forward-looking environmental commitment, target, date or roadmap. Its parent, Mercury NZ Limited, publishes generation and emissions positioning on its own site. That positioning is not repeated, summarised or linked from any Globug surface, so a Globug customer is given no view of the environmental direction of the electricity they are buying. Established by walking the site's own navigation to closure across fourteen surfaces on 27 August 2026, being thirteen public pages read with every collapsed section opened and the Consumer Care Policy of April 2025; globug.co.nz publishes no sitemap.
Why this matters. Forward-looking environmental commitments are the hardest statements to substantiate, because the evidence for them does not yet exist. Dates, targets and interim milestones are what make them testable rather than decorative. A retailer that makes no forward commitment takes on no such exposure, and equally gives customers no view of where its supply is heading.
What has changed since first assessment
Assessed from the public record, then reviewed three times before publication. Each review was carried out by HowLegit on its own initiative. Globug was not involved. What moved, and why.
- 16 July 2026First assessmentFirst assessmentC+
Assessed from the public record, unsolicited, as part of the New Zealand energy sector scan. Globug did not commission it.
- 24 August 2026Quality reviewOur correctionB-
Auditor-initiated correction following a full review of the website. The first assessment reached eight of the sixteen pages that make up the site. Several findings asserted that pages were unavailable or that information was absent when the pages return successfully and publish that information. Those findings were withdrawn and two criteria were regraded. Not entity-initiated and not a response to any submission.
- 27 August 2026Quality reviewOur correctionB
Auditor-initiated correction, ruled 27 August 2026. Two further findings rested on material the assessment had not read. The full service fee schedule, which sits inside a collapsed section of the terms, sets reconnection following a low credit balance disconnection at free, so the inconsistency alleged between the guidance and the terms does not arise. The parent relationship is communicated on the home page, in the Consumer Care Policy and on both application listings, so the finding that it was disclosed only in the terms is withdrawn. Two commitments in the Consumer Care Policy were assessed for the first time. Not entity-initiated and not a response to any submission.
- 29 August 2026Quality reviewOur correctionB+
Auditor-initiated correction. The savings calculator finding rested on the placement of its assumption. Tested on the live page, the assumption is stated in the results panel directly beneath the saving and tied to it by an asterisk, in type the same size as the text around it, and on a realistic monthly bill the tool returned a negative saving. The finding was withdrawn and the criterion regraded. Not entity-initiated and not a response to any submission.
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HowLegit, Globug — messaging integrity assessment. Energy sector register, assessed 16 July 2026. Overall B+ (76.5%). https://howlegit.com/register/Energy/globug A grade rules on whether a public claim is substantiated, not on its truth or on the merit of the business. Not legal or investment advice. Produced by HowLegit, which also sells audits commercially. The data on this page is public.
This entry is part of a complete sector scan. Companies not listed on the Energy register were not assessed — which is not the same as being cleared.