Yorkshire pub owners claim they cannot reopen while they are being ‘held to ransom’

Andrew Gascoigne, who runs Farmers Arms in Muker, said Maxen Power Supply Limited has hiked the monthly bill three times since August 2021 and he was charged more than £1,500 for last month’s usage, even though the pub was closed and the power was switched off.

When Mr Gascoigne bought the traditional village pub with his wife Mandy in 2020, they took on a three-year contract for a variable energy tariff, and were told they could leave at any time without a penalty.

But the landlord claims they have not been allowed to leave that contract, despite sending 18 letters and contacting the company by email and phone, and the soaring energy costs force them to shut the pub in November.

In a statement, the 61-year-old recently told customers Maxen Power Supply Limited “are single handedly holding us to ransom”.

The energy supplier did not respond to The Yorkshire Post’s request for comment.

“How can you run a business without knowing what your running costs are? Tomorrow they could put it up again and we won't be able to stop them,” said Mr Gascoigne.

“If I could have cancelled in 2021 when I first tried, I would have got a better fix-rated term with another supplier. Now it’s madness out there and I’m not sure I would.

“But I still want to cancel with Maxen and take my chance with someone else, I’m that desperate.”

He added: “In 29 years I’ve never known anything like this.

“We just need to get the pub open, certainly for Spring, but we need to get our energy bill sorted out first.

“I know that if all the campers and caravaners come in Spring and I’m not open, they’ll give me a hard time.

"But I’m doing what I can and there’s no point opening the doors to find out you’re just working to pay your electricity bill.”

Mr Gascoigne has contacted his local MP Rishi Sunak, Energy Secretary Grant Shapps and the Energy Ombudsman to ask for help.

It comes after Maxen Power Supply Limited, which is based in London, was recently criticised for ordering a hairdresser in Scotland to pay a £72,000 bill, when she actually owed £1,170.

Households and businesses across the country are dealing with soaring energy costs.

There was a six-fold increase in wholesale gas prices in 2021 and dozens of energy suppliers went out of business, when demand soared as countries around the world reopened following Covid-19 lockdowns.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in March 2022 then disrupted supplies and caused another dramatic price spike.

Energy regulator Ofgem lifted the cap on household bills to £4,279 in January, but the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee scheme reduces the annual bill for the typical household to £2,500.

The Government also introduced the Energy Bills Relief Scheme last year, to protect businesses from soaring energy costs.