Woman's grief eased by a double act of kindness

(Supplied)
(Supplied)

Aliah Jan was still dealing with the shock of her mother's death when she was shocked by a huge phone bill at the end of July.

The Auckland woman hadn't seen her mother for four years when she suddenly died in June. Within days Ms Jan had flown to Malaysia to arrange a funeral and spend time with her relatives.

She had to send many messages and make many calls to let her large family know about her mother's passing, but it wasn't until she was back in New Zealand that she realised just how much it would cost.

"I saw the bill and I saw the figures and had a shock, how much data I used because I was trying to contact my mum's relatives and a cousin of mine. I was going in circles trying to find her."

She had racked up around $500 worth of fees.

Ms Jan called Spark to sort out a few charges that shouldn't have been there. She was speaking to a member of the customer service team called Julius, when she decided to ask for a compassionate discount.

"I had to ask because it was such huge bill, it was an emergency trip. Everything cost so much."

"Then I think he must have spoken to somebody and he came back and said 'we will halve your bill for you' and that was just overwhelming."

Ms Jan broke down at the news.

"For some people $200 might not be a lot but it's huge for me… They could have taken just $50 away but they halved it, that's huge."

But the story doesn't stop there. When Ms Jan went to pick up her post on Tuesday there was a parcel from Julius and the team at Spark.

"There was this beautiful package, it says thank you on the cover, and I thought what are they thanking for me for?"

"I just broke down but then I had to go to work and I was driving to Pukekohe in tears and I had to stop crying because I was seeing my clients. I had red eyes and I was trying to control myself."

Woman's grief eased by a double act of kindness

(Supplied)

Ms Jan has never had a chance to thank Julius in person.

"I would love to give him a hug, really I would. I don't think he expected someone to cry on the phone but I just couldn't help myself, he really made my day."

However rest assured, Julius is getting the recognition he deserves, general manager of Spark’s customer services Bridgette Dalzell says good news travels fast.

"He's had a lot of accolades from his teammates and he is real hero in Hamilton today."

Ms Jan is so grateful about the whole experience that she has decided to pay it forward.

"I'm going to go give my box of chocolate to my neighbour whose cow shed roof got blown away in a recent storm. It's been a nightmare for them."

Woman's grief eased by a double act of kindness

Ms Jan's neighbour (Supplied)

Ms Jan is travelling back to Malaysia tomorrow, the trip she originally planned to spend with her mother, instead she will back spending time with relatives and passing on the gratitude.

Newshub.