Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) has never appoint any private agents to liaise directly with customers for the payment of electricity bills, said its Customer Services senior general manager Kamaliah Abdul Kadir.

She said the utility company had received a complaint from a consumer of being offered bill discounts of up to 45 per cent.

"As such, don't be easily swayed by the tactics used by syndicate members," she said in a statement here.

She said TNB offered various payment channels for customers to settle their bills such as at TNB customer service centre counter, online service, financial institutions, government agencies and third party companies that handle bill collection operation from other utilities and service providers.

Those with arrears in payment would be contacted by TNB debt collection agents and they could only settle their bills at TNB valid payment channels, she said.

On March 2, a news portal reported a cheating case using a TNB payment kiosk as an intermediary targeting premises owners with outstanding electricity bills by offering discounts of up to 45 per cent of the amount to be paid. - Bernama