Shock for boss who paid hotel’s £42k electric bill
A RESTAURANT owner baffled by sky-high electricity bills was horrified to discover she had also been paying for a neighbouring hotel.
Pizzeria boss Patricia Rodrigues, 29, was having to pay out £1,300 a month for her premises and decided to get an electrician to investigate.
She discovered her bill had included up to 10 hotel rooms, adding £42,000 to her amount over seven years.
The Mondragone Ristorante e pizzeria in Brandon, Suffolk, is part of a building complex that includes the Brandon Lodge Apartment Hotel and Mr G’s Bowling centre, both owned by landlord Nolan Guthrie.
When Patricia queried her bills with Mr Guthrie, he said in a letter it had been agreed she would pay all the power bills as part of the terms of renting the restaurant.
But Patricia, who has been running the business since 2011 with her brother Fabio, claims she has never formally signed any terms or conditions, or even a lease.
Mr Guthrie had delayed agreeing a formal lease when she first rented the property and only confirmed the rental amount, she claimed.
The single mother-of-two said: “I’ve been asking for a contract and lease to be set up since I moved in.
“My bill went up to £250 then £300 and so on. Then it went to £600, £700, £1,000 and kept going.” After having a meter installed she discovered she should be paying up to £500 a month.
She said: “When the electrician switched the meter board off, the lights in the whole building went out.
“The landlord came running into the restaurant and tried to throw the electrician out – there was a big argument between them – and he said what they were doing was illegal.”
Patricia is moving her restaurant after being unable to settle the row. Mr Guthrie has declined to comment.