Beverley Auston outside the Old House pub

by Lewis Dyson

A landlady fears she will have to close her historic pub after being hit with a whopping £17,000 electricity bill by bungling Npower.

Shocked Beverley Auston, 56, was told the supplier had been undercharging her for three years.

She is now desperately trying to find the money to keep open the Old House pub on Sheppey.

Beverley switched to the energy giant in August 2009 after requesting a more efficient way to manage the pub’s energy.

They installed three new meters for separate day, evening and overnight rates and delighted Beverley found her monthly bills drop from £450 to just £150.

She claims that when she quizzed Npower about the price drop she was told there was no mistake.

"she is worried sick, she feels ill and she is not sleeping. it is like she is getting pushed out and she doesn't know how to deal with all this" – nick auston, after his mum was hit with a £17k electricity bill

She also says that during the three-year period an engineer from the company read the meter and confirmed it was correct.

But last August she had a letter from Npower saying an error had been made with her billing and had to pay £17,000 or be disconnected.

After some negotiation the company offered her discount of £1,600, but a final agreement could still not be reached.

Beverley now plans to contact the energy services’ Ombudsman and is also instructing her solicitor to fight the matter in court.

She said: "It has had a knock-on effect because my business readings have been out for three years."

Her son Nick Auston, 34, an interior designer, said: "It is wrong that they can do this. It is an old pub that has been on the island for hundreds of years.

"They are now telling us that they are going to come in and just turn off the power and they know that the business will have to close down.

"She is worried sick, she feels ill and she is not sleeping. It is like she is getting pushed out and she doesn't know how to deal with all this."

An Npower spokesman said: "Timely and accurate billing is extremely important to us, and we would once again like to offer our sincere apologies for the problems Mrs Auston and her son have experienced on this occasion.

"We are now simply seeking to recover payment for a proportion of the energy we have already purchased and supplied to their business."