TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An employee at a driver and vehicle licensing agency in Auckland, New Zealand, reportedly told a Taiwanese woman to list her country of origin as Thailand when she applied for a driver’s license.

New Zealand news media outlet Stuff reported on Sunday (Aug. 25) that a Taiwanese woman identified as Shiny Lai had applied to AA Westgate for a learner’s permit after living in the country for two years with her New Zealand husband and three children. However, Lai said a staffer who “appeared to be a Chinese lady” informed her that the firm could not process her application because she had listed Taiwan as her place of birth.

“As a proud Taiwanese,” Lai said she tried her best to explain to the woman that Taiwan is a country. When Lai spoke with a different customer service agent, the employee recommended that she change her place of birth to Thailand.

Feeling “frustrated and angry,” Lai decided to take her business to rival VTNZ, where she passed her test within a half hour.

Lai said she filed a complaint with AA, writing that the first customer service representative “clearly held very strong political opinions.” She expressed concern about how many Asian or Taiwanese applicants the woman had interacted with in the past.

Lai described the employee’s behavior as “unacceptable” and a “really bad influence.” She added, “This is New Zealand, not China.”

Julian Travaglia, AA’s Head of Centre Network, apologized for Lai’s experience, which he said “falls short of our high service expectations.” The agency said it is committed to serving “all people” and that its team did its best to process Lai’s application.

According to Travaglia, the employee was confused by the wording on Lai’s passport, which listed “Republic of China” and “Taiwan.” He explained that the worker had called the New Zealand Transport Agency for guidance on how to proceed to avoid committing any errors.

Travaglia confirmed that “there are no restrictions regarding place of birth on the NZTA licensing process—Taiwan is a valid option.” He added that the company regrets that the application was not handled “quickly and efficiently for Ms. Lai.”

Lai acknowledged AA’s apology and efforts to rectify its procedures but remained displeased with the incident.