A pub landlord in Yorkshire has been left "heartbroken" as bailiffs pulled out the gas meter from his building following a payment dispute, despite experiencing an agreement with the energy company.
Nick Abraham sorted a payment deal with his energy company, E.ON, and had paid the majority of the balance which was due when the bailiffs arrived at the pub, the Royal George in Skelton.
They arrived a day before the final payment was due and sorted access using a locksmith.
Then they got rid of the gas meter, when Nick refused to pay the charges, reports Yorkshire Live.
After running the pub for 13 years, Nick says he "broke down" and called the landlord of the property.
E.ON apologised for the mistake and tried to reconnect the meter, reports Teesside Live.
However Nick also runs the nearby Duke William, and critiqued the company's tactics, especially when so many businesses are struggling.
He said: "We struggled throughout lockdown, trying to keep the business afloat and keep staff going. A lot of customers were scared to come back out after Covid, so really we've just been ticking over.
"The Royal George was a food pub, which was very good - it was successful. I was struggling with bills, getting behind but I rang E.ON and got a deal sorted with the gas bill."
Nick had already paid £600 from the gas bill but the day before he was due to make the final payment, he received a phone call from a staff member.
"A neighbour saw five or six lads outside trying to get in the pub. I rushed down there in seconds.
"I tried to move them out the way, it was E.ON but I didn't know that. I got inside the pub and there were four other guys in there.
"I owed £122, but I had an agreement to pay the [following day]. The bailiffs said there was no recollection of my phone call. I said 'it's Thursday today, why are you in my pub? I need to pay this before tomorrow - why would I not pay it?'
"It went from £122 to £700 because of their charges. He said 'you either pay the £700 now or we take your meter'. So they took the meter.
"I told him 'that stops me trading, if you take that meter I will close'. He said 'that's not my problem'."
Nick then rang E.ON and received an apology and the company has removed the extra charges added by the bailiffs visit.
However, Nick said he "couldn't do it anymore".
"The lovely lady I spoke to said it should never have happened," he said. "But I broke down that day. I rang my landlord and said I couldn't do it anymore.
"It was the final nail in the coffin, and that was the end of the pub after 13 years. We were already winding down the Royal George slowly but we didn't want to end things abruptly like that."
He now intends to focus on running the remaining venue, and will begin to serve food to bolster the reputation the Royal George has established.
"There are a lot of businesses genuinely struggling," he continued. "This is just bullying tactics, taking meters out and threatening people.
"If I was more vulnerable, I might have paid that £700 and never got it back even though it was incorrect. And it could have tipped me over the edge. They turned up a day early. It's a horrible feeling to work hard for 13 years, then find someone in your property like that because of a mistake.
"I see pubs closing daily because of bill increases. The whole reason we were on a payment scheme in the first place is because we couldn't pay it in one go. But at least we were paying it.
"I'm heartbroken. It's not just my staff it's my partner and family. We are all in hard times at the moment, I've never been in debt before - it's only since lockdown. Everything is going up and they're coming out and doing that. They just wanted to get the meter out because that's how they get paid."
He added: "If I hadn't got the call, I would have gone to open up and seen their letter on the bar," he added, "and that would be the first I'd have known about it. No wonder the country is knackered."
An E.ON spokesperson said: “We are sorry for the fact that we disconnected Mr Abraham’s meter after he had agreed a repayment plan for his outstanding debt.
"We arranged to reconnect the meter as soon as we could and have apologised to Mr Abraham for the inconvenience caused.”