A pub is facing the threat of having its electricity cut off over a disputed bill of more than £55,000, despite claims the meter is faulty.
Becky Gomery and Rich Spicer, who own the Chequers Inn in Lamberhurst, Kent, are disputing the amount with Yorkshire Gas and Power (YGP) after they were billed £55,589.77 and warned that failure to respond could lead to disconnection.
The energy ombudsman has said YGP should investigate concerns about the meter and look at whether the pub had been billed accurately.
YGP said the matter was still under review by the ombudsman and it could not discuss an individual customer's account.
The couple took over the pub in March 2025 following a community crowdfunder, and said they paid a monthly direct debit of about £2,000.
Gomery said the dispute began in April after YGP requested a meter reading and billed them £39,000, with the amount later rising to more than £55,000.
She said the meter should have shown three rates but displayed only one, and an electrician said it might be faulty.
Utility Collections later told them the account had been escalated to its warrants department.
Gomery described the daily calls as "harassing".
She said their 12-year-old lives at the pub, but claimed they had been told the electricity could still be disconnected because the child was not under five.
"We are just a family living above a pub, working really hard to make this work for the community," Gomery said.
"This is going to ruin us if they cut us off. It will have a massive effect on the business."
The pub is listed asa community assetby Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and the couple are holding a fundraiser for Hospice in the Weald this month.
Gomery said they wanted a corrected bill and to be released from their three-year contract.
In correspondence seen by the BBC, the energy ombudsman said the evidence did not establish if the meter was faulty but found YGP had not "adequately or promptly" investigated an apparent mismatch between its registers and three-rate billing.
The ombudsman requested a YGP site visit to establish whether the meter was working correctly and whether the account had been billed accurately, plus an apology and £150 goodwill.
The YGP spokesperson said: "As the matter is under review by the energy ombudsman, it would also not be appropriate to comment on the substance of the dispute while that process is ongoing.
"We will, of course, fully engage with the ombudsman's process."
Utility Collections has been contacted for comment.
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