When Andrew Johnson was wrongly switched to an out-of-contract energy rate, and issued a monthly electricity bill of nearly £5,000, it was just the start of his “Kafkaesque nightmare”.
Johnson, 59, faced a long battle with his energy provider Gazprom, now SEFE Energy, which refused to admit a mistake even though his bills were five times the correct rate. As his debt racked up to nearly £40,000, Johnson was forced to contemplate bankruptcy and closing his thriving butchers in the picturesque Leicestershire village of Woodhouse Eaves.
He said: “They just refused to listen. They don’t play by the rules.”
Eighteen months of stress ensued in which Johnson told staff he might have to let them go. It was only after the ombudsman found in his
