"I am at the end of my bloody tether," Mr Gutschlag said when he spoke about waiting for his wife to return home. Mr Gutschlag said every time he phoned the ACC he was put through to a new person. Mr Gutschlag said he had no recollection of that and could not find the form in his emails. ACC head of customer connection Hannah Coombes said the organisation could have handled its communication with Mr Gutschlag better. As of Wednesday, after Allied Media contacted the ACC, it had assigned a recovery assistant to be in contact with Mr Gutschlag.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 02, 2026 06:30 UTC