Cafe forced to shut over energy bill dispute

James Usher says the cafe could be forced to close permanently if the dispute is not resolved

A cafe has been forced to shut for three weeks because of an ongoing dispute with an energy company.

The SeaGlass Cafe in Sunderland city centre has been unable to trade since its electricity supply was disconnected on 2 September.

Manager James Usher said the situation was "traumatic" and his payment plan had been stopped due to a "communication error" between the supplier and a collections firm.

Yorkshire Gas And Power (YGP) said because its bills had not been paid, it had had "no choice but to take measures to prevent further losses" and had therefore suspended the premises' energy supply.

Mr Usher, who opened the cafe in February, said he had lost thousands of pounds in income and had thrown away £4,000 worth of food.

"Everything has been binned," he said, adding: "With no electric, we couldn't hold it, we had to chuck it all out, and that has destroyed us."

The cafe has been plunged into darkness after the electricity supply was stopped

Mr Usher said problems arose after he was sent a £1,300 bill, having used more electricity than he originally estimated.

He agreed a nine-week payment plan via Utility Collections Ltd (UC) on behalf of Leeds-based YGP starting in June, and made a number of payments via phone calls each week.

But in July, the energy firm sent an invoice stating £1,878.01, which included his normal monthly usage of about £500, would be taken via direct debit that month.

Mr Usher, who said he had paid back about £700 when the full bill arrived, said: "We said 'listen, we can't pay it all at once'. We emailed them [UC], and included YGP [on the email], and asked them to separate that [the amounts] - they didn't get back to us."

He said Utility Collections had told him "this would get handled and sorted".

"We didn't hear anything from anyone until we were threatened to get disconnected," Mr Usher said.

'No option'

He was informed his payment plan had been cancelled due to missed payments, which he disputed with both YGP and UC.

"We spent the whole of August trying to get this sorted," Mr Usher said.

He said he had tried to restart the payment plan, allowing him to repay the outstanding bill on a separate day to his monthly bill, but claimed "nothing happened".

Then, earlier this month, he said a UC representative arrived at the premises and disconnected the supply, without giving 24 hours' notice.

He said: "It’s been hard, this is my dream. It’s been tough – traumatic, I’ve hardly been sleeping.

"All we've been trying to do is get it sorted, and get it paid. We know we need to pay it, but nobody is giving us the option to set this up."

The cafe opened in February

A spokesperson for YGP said said the firm did not plan to deduct the full owed amount in one go and the phrasing generated on the invoice was "standard wording".

They said the company was "sorry to hear of the challenges faced" by the cafe owner but that Mr Usher had been "billed to the rates agreed on the contract".

The cafe had "significantly underestimated the consumption" which had led to its monthly bill being "higher than expected", the spokesperson said.

They said the total outstanding balance of the account, including unpaid bills, was "clearly shown" on the bill but it had only requested £517, consisting of the usage, and not the total outstanding.

The firm said the customer did not adhere to the payment plan and that it had "no choice but to disconnect the meter in order to prevent further losses from being incurred".

The supplier added if customers experienced "any difficulties with payments for their energy costs", it would "strongly encourage" them to discuss the issue with its agents who were "trained in assisting customers who have a debt on an account".

Utility Collections Ltd said it was "confident" the firm had "acted correctly and in good faith" and on the "direct instruction" of its clients.