Pub host struggles to pay £13k utility bill

Alan Reeve, of the Cask & Bottle in Leamington Spa, does not understand why the energy supplier failed to send him a bill for a year up until 20 October 2010.

Reeve has now not paid for his electricity supply since October 2009 after attempting to renegotiate the initial £5,739.64 bill he received from British Gas in 2010. He now owes British Gas upwards of £13,000.

He explained that he is “having to work twice as many hours” at the pub, which left him too preoccupied to realise he had not been receiving his monthly bills from British Gas.

Reeves said: “I admit I made a mistake but it is like everything - if you don’t see a bill you don’t think about it, especially in a pub when you work long hours and don’t have time to think about bills until you get round to doing the books.”

The company has asked for an initial payment of £3,000, of which Reeve has so far paid £500, but he does not know where is going to find the rest of the money he owes. He currently pays Enterprise Inns £36,000 per year for the leasehold of the pub.

A British Gas spokesman said: “We continue to work with Mr Reeve to try to find an appropriate solution.

“The amount due is for electricity that has already been used at the pub, and while an element is due to back-dating of energy consumption, the majority of the outstanding bill is for undisputed energy usage over the past 12 months that hasn’t been paid.”