Banbury volunteers left without power over £170k bill dispute

UK Help for Ukraine, based in a former Debenhams store in Banbury, Oxfordshire, lost power on 24 August

A volunteer group collecting for Ukraine has said it cannot currently send out any supplies after its electricity was switched off.

UK Help for Ukraine, based in a former Debenhams store in Banbury, Oxfordshire, lost power on 24 August.

It said Npower sent it a bill for £174,932.46 but the company has not sent anyone to check the reading.

The energy firm said the occupants of the building have not paid for any electricity since March 2022.

The volunteer group said dozens of pallets full of food and medicines are stuck in the building because its shutters will not move without electricity.

It rents from Cherwell District Council, but the Castle Quay shopping centre manages the premises.

Magdalena Kwiecinska, who set up the group in 2022, said when it received the bill Npower would not answer their questions.

"For the first eight to nine months we didn't even know who our supplier was and Castle Quay couldn't tell us," she said.

Dozens of pallets full of food and medicines are stuck inside the building, the charity said

The bill is addressed to the Wislawa Szymborska Polish Saturday School, which sublets the premises to UK Help For Ukraine.

Ms Kwiecinska said they have a separate contract with the charity "to say we're responsible for paying all utility bills".

She added that they have a meter reading from March 2022 when they moved in and said there was "no way it should be that much".

Volunteers for the group have been using head torches to sort and box donated supplies, Ms Kwiecinska said.

She said people understood why there was a delay in delivering the supplies, but for the charity it was "very, very frustrating".

"There are a few different charities and orphanages, nuns or elderly people who really wait for this help and we are watching on it, just like watching these pallets on or side, and thinking 'OK, we've got it but what can we do? Nothing!'"

Ms Kwiecinska said the volunteers were "very careful with the electricity"

Their community services, such as English lessons for Ukrainians in Banbury, have been put on hold as well, she said.

In a statement, Npower said it "would always urge any customer who is struggling to get in touch".

"In this case, the customer Wislawa Szymborska Polish School has not paid for any energy used since they became a customer of ours in March 2022 and has now built up a significant debt of over £150k," a spokesperson said.

"In this time, we contacted them on numerous occasions, more than 10 times in the last three months alone, to help."

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