Slingshot
Assessed 16 July 2026 under NZ · Medium confidence
Evidence last captured 30 August 2026 · oldest 14 August 2026 · next re-check due 14 August 2027
We contacted this company 2 times between 6 August 2026 and 12 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.
Slingshot ranks 17 of 21 in this sector by overall score, between 47.6% and 96.0%.
Findings
"Risk-free" appears as a benefit heading on the No Dramas page. Slingshot's own terms state it has the right to charge an early termination fee, and that the waiver depends on three conditions. The claim is contradicted by the company's own published terms.
Why this matters. This is the finding a customer is most likely to test, because it is the one that costs money. Someone who signs up expecting no risk and then leaves for a better price faces a $250 charge, and a better price elsewhere is expressly excluded from the waiver. Exposure sits under the Fair Trading Act for both the representation and the overall impression it creates.
What closing this looks like
- Remove "Risk-free" from the No Dramas page, or qualify it: "Risk-free -- conditions apply, see No Dramas T&Cs"
- Publish the No Dramas Contract Terms' own worked examples on the No Dramas page, beside the Peace of mind and Risk-free cards. The terms already name nine circumstances that qualify as a genuine reason, including a serious medical issue or accident affecting the household, a connection not as good as the previous provider's or as advertised, a router that does not work, a technician who does not turn up, an ongoing billing problem, and an unexpected move to an address on different technology. They name five that do not qualify, of which the operative one is having found a better price with another provider. They define working in good faith as four specific duties: pay the bill on time, tell Slingshot as soon as the reason arises, give it a chance to find a solution, and take the troubleshooting steps it reasonably asks for. Add the two things the terms still do not say: who decides whether a reason qualifies, and how long that decision takes.
“"The No Dramas Contract" -- ETF waiver for genuine reasons”
The waiver is real but conditional on all three of a genuine reason, working in good faith, and Slingshot being unable to find a solution. Slingshot decides what qualifies, and leaving for a better price is excluded.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
“"Risk-free" (No Dramas Contract benefit heading)”
An absolute promise with no qualifier, presented as a benefit heading. The company's own No Dramas terms state it has the right to charge an early termination fee, and the $250 fee is documented across the promotional terms. A charge is levied on exit: under the entity's own terms a customer who leaves inside the qualifying period pays money a customer who stays does not.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
Slingshot describes itself as "a trusted New Zealand telco that fights to give Kiwis better value and service". No trust measure, workforce data or independent verification is published to support it, and the service awards shown date from 2018 to 2021. The independent measure that does exist is a Trustpilot TrustScore of 1.1 out of 5 across 181 unprompted reviews on an unclaimed profile, read on 30 August 2026.
Why this matters. Trusted is the kind of word a customer reads as a fact rather than a hope, and nothing on the site tells them which it is. The awards displayed alongside it are at least four years old. Two of the companies that supply Slingshot settled with the Commerce Commission over how early termination fees were disclosed, which is where an unsupported trust claim starts to matter.
What closing this looks like
- Publish consumer satisfaction data or reference independent comparison data
“We're a trusted New Zealand telco that fights to give Kiwis better value and service”
Trusted is presented as an established fact and Slingshot publishes nothing to support it: no trust measure, no independent verification and no workforce data appear on the site, and the awards shown alongside it date from 2018 to 2021. An independent measure does exist off the site. Slingshot's Trustpilot profile, read on 30 August 2026, carries a TrustScore of 1.1 out of 5 across 181 reviews, with the rating concentrated at one star, and Google displays that score beside Slingshot's own result in search. Trustpilot states on the same page that the profile is unclaimed and that Slingshot has not invited its customers to review it, so the reviews are unprompted and Trustpilot itself cautions they may not be representative. The finding is not that the score settles the question, it is that the only independent trust measure a customer can find sits at 1.1 while the entity offers four year old awards in its place.
Captured 30 August 2026 · source page ↗
“Since launching in 2001, Slingshot has been on a mission to challenge the telco industry”
A dated, checkable statement of when the company started and what it set out to do. The 2001 launch is consistent with the public record for the CallPlus brand.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
Utilities Disputes membership is documented in the energy terms and medically dependent customers are addressed in the power page questions. Slingshot's Residential Power Consumer Care Policy and its hardship guidance are published, but on help.2degrees.nz and reached only through a link inside the power page's own questions. The Commerce Commission settlement over early termination fee disclosure, which two of the companies supplying Slingshot were party to, is not mentioned anywhere on the site.
Why this matters. The protections that exist are real and a customer in difficulty has to know to open a question on the power page to find them. A customer weighing up whether to trust the brand has no way to learn about the settlement from Slingshot itself. Both are disclosure choices rather than gaps in the underlying protection.
What closing this looks like
- Move the Residential Power Consumer Care Policy and the hardship guidance onto the power page itself. Both are already published: the policy states that it complies with the Electricity Authority retailer obligations, and the hardship guidance tells a customer who cannot pay to call the customer care team and names MoneyTalks on 0800 345 123. Both sit on help.2degrees.nz and are reached only by opening a question in the power page's list, which is further than a customer in difficulty should have to go.
“"You can find all the details on our Customer Care policy here" (power page questions, linking off the Slingshot site)”
Slingshot's Residential Power Consumer Care Policy, which it states complies with the Electricity Authority retailer obligations, is disclosed only behind a collapsed question in the power page's own list and is hosted on help.2degrees.nz rather than on any Slingshot page. The same is true of the hardship guidance, which tells a customer who cannot pay to call the customer care team and names MoneyTalks on 0800 345 123. The protection exists and is real, and what is assessed here is where it is disclosed: a customer in difficulty has to open a question on a marketing page to reach it. Read on the live site on 30 August 2026.
Captured 30 August 2026 · source page ↗
“UDL membership (Switch Utilities Limited)”
The energy terms name both the scheme and the legal entity belonging to it, Switch Utilities Limited, and state how complaints are handled under it. Specific and verifiable.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
“MDC awareness ("whirinaki ana ... i te hiko mō te oranga te take" -- medically dependent)”
The power page questions tell customers to notify Slingshot if anyone in the household depends on electricity for health reasons, and state that supporting evidence will be requested. A sector specific protection, set out in te reo alongside the rest of the page.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
A customer sees one brand, Slingshot, while the terms name three companies and media enquiries go to a fourth. The service awards displayed on the homepage run from 2018 to 2021, with nothing more recent shown.
Why this matters. Awards with no visible date read as current performance, and these are at least four years old. The entity naming is the more consequential of the two, because it decides who a customer is actually dealing with when something goes wrong. The "powered by 2degrees" line helps but does not explain the rest.
What closing this looks like
- Explain the Slingshot / Switch Utilities / CallPlus entity relationship on a consumer-facing page
- Update or remove stale awards from the homepage, or clearly date them
- Put the te reo pages on the same release checklist as the English ones, so a homepage hero that is rotated on one is rotated on the other. As at 30 August 2026 the te reo homepage runs a $250 joining credit on a twelve month term with a matching $250 early termination fee, and the English homepage runs a bundle message carrying neither. Slingshot's own promotional terms still list that offer under current promotions, describe it as valid for a limited time only, and give no closing date. Two things belong in the same pass: set the offer conditions in te reo on a te reo page, where they currently run in English at 12px against a 115px headline with part of the line crossing the hero photograph, and state the date the offer closes.
“"Ngawari rawa! He $250 utu taurewa" (te reo homepage hero, with its conditions in English)”
The offer runs on the te reo homepage and not the English one, checked in a fresh browser context per language over a New Zealand exit on 30 August 2026: the English hero reads TOO EASY, BUNDLE BROADBAND AND MOBILE and carries no $250 and no limited time wording. The te reo headline is set at 115px and the conditions that qualify it at 12px and in English, with the sentence carrying the $250 early termination fee running across the hero photograph where the contrast collapses. Slingshot's promotional terms still list the offer under current promotions, describe it as valid for a limited time only, and give no closing date. Of eleven pages checked only the homepage differs this way, and the te reo estate is maintained on a different cycle from the English one with the body translated on four pages of eleven, so this reads as a page left standing rather than an offer aimed at one audience.
Captured 30 August 2026 · source page ↗
“Service awards 2018-2021 (People's Choice, Customer Service, Best Value Broadband)”
The awards are presented in the present tense as evidence of service quality, and all ten displayed date from 2018 to 2021 with nothing more recent. A customer reading the panel has no way to see how old they are.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
“Slingshot is proud to be part of 2degrees”
An accurate statement of the brand relationship, placed in the about page body rather than only in a footer. It does not explain the Switch Utilities or CallPlus relationship, which is assessed under cross channel consistency.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
Slingshot publishes no measurable social outcome. The te reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language provision is substantive and is presented without any figure, and there is no modern slavery statement, workforce composition, community reporting or hardship data. Coverage for that absence was established on 29 August 2026 by following the site's own sitemap and navigation to closure across 132 Slingshot pages, in English and te reo Māori, and the 189 help centre pages they link to. No page offers any document for download and no link reaches the parent's published reporting.
Why this matters. The company's strongest social work is the part it says least about, which means a customer cannot tell whether the te reo service is widely used or lightly used. Publishing numbers would turn a claim into evidence. The absence of a modern slavery statement is the more conventional gap.
What closing this looks like
- Publish figures for the te reo Maori and New Zealand Sign Language services. Call volumes on the 0800 4 Te Reo line, video sessions, or the share of customers served in each language would turn the strongest social work in this audit from a claim into evidence.
“We are an inclusive company, we welcome cultural diversity and we reward high achievers”
Stated on the careers page in the present tense as a fact about the company. Nothing is published behind it. Coverage for that was established on 29 August 2026 by following the site's own sitemap and navigation to closure, in English and te reo Māori, across 132 Slingshot pages and the 189 help centre pages they link to: no workforce composition, no pay or progression data, no diversity reporting, no modern slavery statement and no community or social investment figure appears on any of them, and no page offers a document of any kind for download. The parent 2degrees does publish a Modern Slavery Statement 2025, a Community Impact Report FY25 and a target of at least 40 per cent women in senior leadership. None of the 17 distinct links from Slingshot to 2degrees reaches any of them; all 17 go to help articles, network status, coverage, roaming, terms or a privacy mailbox. The careers page itself has no te reo version, so under the te reo setting only the navigation translates and this sentence stays in English. The te reo and sign language provision is the company's most substantive social work and it too is presented without a single number.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
"The No Dramas Contract" is presented as simple protection: if the service is not as promised, you can leave. The conditions are narrower than the promise. Slingshot decides what counts as a genuine reason, and finding a better price elsewhere is excluded.
Why this matters. A customer who signs up on the strength of the headline can find the exit closed for the most common reason people switch, which is price. The te reo power page goes further and says there is no contract at all, which holds for standard power but not for the promotional bundles carrying power exit fees of $199 to $250.
What closing this looks like
- Distinguish standard power (genuinely no-contract) from promotional bundle power (ETFs apply) in the "no contracts" messaging on the power page
“Taking the 'con' out of 'contract'”
The phrase promises a contract without the catch. The No Dramas terms then set three conditions on the waiver and exclude leaving for a better price, so the catch exists and is specified elsewhere. Positioning the terms do not carry.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
“"Kāore he kirimana, kāore he here" (No contracts, no strings -- power product)”
Stated without qualification on the power page. It holds for the standard power product, which has no fixed term, but not for the promotional bundles carrying power exit fees of $199 to $250. The wording does not distinguish between them. The claim holds for the product it names and fails only for the promotional bundles the page does not distinguish from it.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
“"No exit penalty" for power ("ka āhei ki te wehe i a Slingshot me te kore hāmene wehe")”
The sentence promises departure without an exit charge, attaching only the condition of being unhappy with the service. Promotional power bundles do carry exit fees, and the page does not separate the standard product from them. The claim holds for the product it names and fails only for the promotional bundles the page does not distinguish from it.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
No power price is published on any surface Slingshot controls. Across its 132 pages and the 189 help centre pages they link to, read on 29 and 30 August 2026, no kWh rate and no daily fixed charge figure appears, and the help centre sets out the two components of an electricity charge without giving either. Slingshot states it is absent from Powerswitch because that tool cannot display bundle discounts, and points customers to billy.govt.nz instead. A $250 joining credit carrying a twelve month term and a matching $250 exit fee runs on the te reo homepage and not the English one, with its conditions set at 12px against a 115px headline.
Why this matters. A customer cannot work out what Slingshot power will cost them before they sign up, which is the one number that decides the choice. On the te reo homepage the credit and the exit fee are the same figure, so leaving inside twelve months costs both, and the line saying so is set at roughly a tenth the height of the offer it qualifies. Both are representations a customer meets before they are able to compare anything.
What closing this looks like
- Publish an indicative power price on the power page. The page asks how much Slingshot Power costs and answers with the two components of an electricity charge and no figure, and no kWh rate or daily fixed charge appears on any Slingshot surface or in the help centre. A dated standard user and low user rate for one or two network regions would let a customer compare before signing up, which is what pointing them to billy.govt.nz invites them to do.
“10% power bundle discount when bundled with broadband”
The bundle terms state the calculation, a 10% discount off total monthly power charges, and what happens to it if broadband is cancelled. Quantified, with its condition stated alongside it.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
“"$250 joining credit" with 12-month term and $250 early termination fee”
The homepage banner states the twelve month term, that the credit applies after activation, and that a $250 fee applies on early departure, in the same block of text as the offer itself.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
“$250 ETF for broadband across all promotional terms”
The same $250 figure appears across the promotional offers on the promotional terms page, so the exit cost is consistent rather than varying between offers.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
“"Electricity charges consist of two components - a fixed daily charge ... and a variable usage charge" (Slingshot's answer to "How much does Slingshot Power cost?")”
Slingshot asks the question on its own power page and answers it with the structure of an electricity bill rather than a price. No kWh rate and no daily fixed charge figure appears on any of the 132 Slingshot pages or the 189 help centre pages they link to, read on 29 and 30 August 2026. Slingshot also states it is absent from Powerswitch because that tool cannot display bundle discounts, and points customers to billy.govt.nz, so a route to comparison is offered while the number that would drive one is published nowhere Slingshot controls. A customer cannot establish what the service costs before signing up.
Captured 30 August 2026 · source page ↗
Three legal entities appear across the terms: CallPlus Services Limited in clause 1.1 of the broadband terms, Switch Utilities Limited in clause 16.6 of the energy terms, and Slingshot Limited in the promotional terms. No consumer facing page explains the relationship, checked across 132 pages on 29 August 2026. The energy terms are dated effective 13 March 2017 and the broadband terms carry no date, while the bundle terms are dated effective 7 April 2022 and last updated 3 November 2025.
Why this matters. A customer who needs to complain, cancel or escalate has to work out which company they are contracted to, and the website does not tell them. Terms dated nine years ago invite the question of whether they still apply, and the answer is harder to assume when other terms on the same site are dated and versioned. Neither is hard to fix and both affect how a customer acts at the moment it matters most.
What closing this looks like
- Update the "100% NZ Owned ISP" meta description on the about and bundle pages. The New Zealand Companies Register records the ultimate holding company of CallPlus Services Limited as 2degrees (NZ) Holdings Pty Limited, ACN 672 623 442, registered in Australia.
- Update energy T&Cs effective date or add a "last reviewed" date
“Billy.govt.nz reference for independent price comparison”
The power page points customers to an independent government price comparison service by name. Directing customers to an external comparison is uncommon among smaller retailers.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
“Minimum 6-month term. Exit fee applies.”
Stated in plain words directly beneath the plan prices rather than only in the terms, so a customer sees the minimum term and the exit fee at the point of choosing a plan.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
“"These terms are effective from 13 March 2017" (energy terms, clause 1.3)”
The terms governing Slingshot's electricity service carry an effective date nine years old and no later review date, and the broadband terms carry no date at all. Slingshot dates other terms on the same site: the bundle terms read that they come into effect on 7 April 2022 and were last updated on 3 November 2025. A customer cannot tell from the page whether the 2017 terms are current, and the contrast with the dated bundle terms is what makes the question reasonable rather than pedantic. Read on the live site on 30 August 2026.
Captured 30 August 2026 · source page ↗
The contact page carries email, phone, post, a te reo line and New Zealand Sign Language video support. Its feedback tab sets out the complaints process, names Utilities Disputes with the phone number 0800 22 33 40, and states the timeframes at each stage.
Why this matters. A customer who cannot get a complaint resolved can find out where to take it next, what it will cost them, which is nothing, and how long they must wait first. That is the part most retailers leave in the terms. Slingshot puts it one click from the contact page, on a tab a customer looking to complain would actually open.
What closing this looks like
- Surface the Utilities Disputes escalation pathway on the contact page itself, not only on its feedback tab
“Utilities Disputes escalation pathway published with the scheme's phone number and a 20 working day trigger”
The complaints page names the scheme, gives its phone number, and states the point at which a customer may escalate. It sits one click from the contact page in its own sub navigation, on a tab that opens by saying feedback includes any complaint about products or services.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
Slingshot runs a dedicated 0800 4 Te Reo line and New Zealand Sign Language video support, and the te reo it does publish covers technical electricity and billing terms rather than greetings alone. Page coverage is uneven: of eleven pages checked on 30 August 2026 the navigation translates throughout, while the body translates on the homepage, the power page, the mobile page and the contact page and stays in English on about, careers, plans, fibre broadband plans and no dramas. The strength here is the service channels rather than the number of pages.
Why this matters. This is the strongest accessibility performance in the scan and it is operational rather than decorative, because a customer can conduct the whole relationship in te reo or NZSL. It is also the finding holding the social grade up. Nothing here overstates what is actually delivered.
“"NZ-based help desk" with support in "English, Te Reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language"”
Three named languages, one of them a sign language, stated on the homepage and supported by a dedicated line and a video service on the contact page. The claim is matched by the channels that deliver it.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
“"0800 4 Te Reo" dedicated te reo Māori support line”
A dedicated number for te reo speakers, listed on the contact page beside the general lines rather than described in prose. Operational rather than symbolic.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
Pricing and speed claims are published with the detail needed to check them. Plan prices, the bundle discount and the billing options are all stated, and the speed figures are attributed to the MBNZ April 2026 report with a range disclaimer.
Why this matters. Substantiation is the part most retailers leave out, and Slingshot does not. A customer can verify the price, the discount and the speed claim without contacting anyone. That makes the other commercial findings sharper rather than softer, because the gaps that remain are not caused by any inability to publish detail.
“Fibre Unlimited from $100/month, Gigantic from $115/month”
Both plan prices are published on the plans page, with the discounted rate shown beside the standard rate, so a customer can see what they pay now and what they pay once the discount ends.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
“Peak time average speeds 517/111Mbps (MBNZ April 2026 Report)”
The speed figure is attributed to a named external source, the MBNZ April 2026 report, and carries a disclaimer telling customers they may experience higher or lower speeds. Sourced and qualified.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
“Weekly/fortnightly/monthly billing with day-of-week selection”
The power page questions set out weekly, fortnightly and monthly billing and the ability to choose the day of the week, together with the reason a customer might want it. Specific and checkable.
Captured 14 August 2026 · source page ↗
No environmental claims appear on Slingshot's consumer pages. Across the 35 pages captured in July 2026 there is no sustainability section, no renewable or carbon wording and no environmental certification. There is nothing here to assess for specificity.
Why this matters. Silence is not a failing in itself, and a retailer that makes no environmental claim cannot make an unsupported one. It does mean a customer choosing on environmental grounds has nothing to go on, while several competitors in this scan do give them something.
Slingshot publishes no environmental data, targets or reporting. The 35 pages captured in July 2026 carry no emissions figures, no reporting cycle and no named accountability for environmental performance. There is no evidence base here to assess.
Why this matters. Where a retailer makes no environmental commitment there is nothing to hold it to, so no accountability gap arises. The absence becomes material only if Slingshot starts making environmental claims, at which point the reporting behind them would need to exist first.
No environmental comparison or baseline appears anywhere on the site. Slingshot does not compare its electricity to any competitor on environmental grounds and publishes no baseline year or figure. There is nothing here to assess for fairness.
Why this matters. New Zealand's grid is largely renewable and many retailers lean on that in their marketing. Slingshot does not, so it avoids the baseline problems that framing usually creates. A customer gains no environmental information from the site either way.
No environmental imagery or symbolism appears on Slingshot's pages. There are no green visual cues, no nature photography and no environmental badges or certification marks across the 35 pages captured in July 2026.
Why this matters. Visual claims are the ones customers absorb without reading, and they are where implied environmental positioning usually enters. Slingshot makes none, so the risk of creating an impression its words do not support does not arise in this area.
There is no environmental messaging at any point in the sign up journey. The homepage, the power page, the plan pages and the terms carry no environmental content, so nothing changes between what a customer is shown and what they agree to.
Why this matters. Consistency problems arise when a promise made early in a journey is qualified later. With no environmental promise made at any stage, that gap cannot open. The same journey does carry commercial inconsistencies, and those are assessed under the commercial findings.
Slingshot publishes no environmental targets, commitments or forward statements. There is no net zero date, no transition language and no environmental strategy on any consumer page captured in July 2026.
Why this matters. Forward commitments are the most common source of unsupported environmental claims, because they are easy to state and hard to check. Slingshot makes none. Its sibling brand 2degrees does publish corporate environmental messaging, so a customer moving between the two brands will find different information.
No comparative or superiority claims were found for the electricity offering. Nothing is described as cheapest, best value or better than a named competitor. The power page instead points customers to billy.govt.nz for an independent price comparison.
Why this matters. Making no comparison is a defensible choice, and pointing customers to an independent comparison service is stronger than most of the sector manages. There is nothing to assess here because nothing was claimed, which is why this area carries no grade rather than a low one.
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HowLegit, Slingshot — messaging integrity assessment. Energy sector register, assessed 16 July 2026. Overall C (52.0%). https://howlegit.com/register/Energy/slingshot 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.