Food For Thought As Leading Litigation Firm Saves Restaurant £12,000

One of the North East’s favourite foodie destinations saved a five-figure sum after Energy Solicitors Limited (ESL) took a bite out of an unexpected energy bill.

Sunderland restaurant Six was suddenly faced with a surprise demand for £24,000 following a lengthy dispute with SSE - a major gas and electricity supplier.

But after reviewing the case and submitting a detailed defence, ESL achieved a £12,000 settlement — saving its relieved client the same amount again.

“Six entered into an electricity supply contract with an energy supplier that was due to end in December 2021,” explained ESL’s Victoria Myers.

“However, the owners were unaware of the end date and received no notification from the supplier to that effect.

“Despite their best efforts they found themselves at the centre of a dispute that dragged on and on.”

In November 2022 an invoice sent by the energy supplier stated that the restaurant owed more than £16,000 in unpaid electricity charges. This was despite a direct debit being paid in full every month.

“The team at Six understandably queried the invoice and after months of chasing they finally received an email attachment that was meant to show a breakdown of the charges,” added Victoria.

“However, the files were corrupt and our client simply could not open them. This added frustration was relayed to the supplier — only to be met with silence.”

Unsure of where to turn next, Six continued to pay its direct debit, hoping that a reasonable resolution could be reached.

But out of the blue the restaurant received court papers stating that the supplier was now seeking to recover £24,000.

“Once we reviewed the case it was clear that Six had grounds to question that figure,” added Victoria. 

“Given the circumstances we pushed for a lower settlement and the restuarant eventually paid £12,000 to the energy supplier.”

In the current climate of soaring food inflation, rising energy costs and the onset of higher National Insurance contributions, every penny counts for under-pressure restaurateurs.

And Clinton Mysleyko, of Six, said: “We can’t thank the ESL team enough for fighting our corner and saving us so much money.

“As soon as we suspected there was a problem we did everything in our power to put things right but sometimes specialist support is required.

“ESL took a deep dive into our case and felt confident enough to contest the amount the energy supplier claimed we owed.

“We couldn’t have got this far without them. We could have been £12,000 out of pocket and helpless to do anything about it.”