A flyer advertising an upcoming comedy show which was designed to look like a €2,000 water and electricity bill was not at all funny.

The result was about 40 frantic calls to Arms Ltd by mainly elderly consumers. The organisers, Zoo Entertainment, said they did not mean to cause harm, and that they only meant to capture people’s attention as the flyer was actually related to the show.

Well, just explain that to the 40-odd older people who must have had the fright of their lives. This is a clear example of acting without thinking. We have no doubt that the organisers had no intention of alarming anyone, but seriously, the stunt was ill-timed, ill-thought and insensitive.

Not only were these flyers posted through people’s letterboxes – a bugbear in itself, adding to the huge amounts of junk mail that people already receive – but it was done at a time when some people literally fear receiving bills because of the tough times they are experiencing.

At the same time though, it does indirectly reflect the fact that the tariffs we pay are just exorbitant. It is no secret that some people have received bills which are over €1,000 and it is also no secret that one-person households are footing bills of up to €100 per month.

So, the fact that the ARMS chairman has found it to be in ‘bad taste’ does give an inkling that the government and the company itself do have some form of comprehension of just how expensive these bills are.

At the end of the day, the bills are what they are. Everyone knows why they are so high, it is not entirely due to the price of oil on the international markets. It also has to do with paying for the inefficiency of the current plant and balancing out the budget.

But aside from the already mentioned fact that people hate receiving junk mail through their letter boxes, Zoo Entertainment should have been more considerate. Older people are susceptible to panic and to ‘not get’ contemporary jokes. One wonders what the organisers would have thought it if was their own grandmothers who had the shock of their lives, thinking that they owed €2,000 for water and electricity.

Arms is reportedly seeking legal advice and may take action against Zoo. Our advice to Arms would be to let it go. People know they are being overcharged. People know that the bills are often wrong. People know that the company (although improved) is a joke in terms of customer care and efficiency. Just let it be.