Family owned and run pub, The Stansfield Arms in Apperley Bridge, have won their fight against greedy energy companies following the intervention of Bradford East MP, Imran Hussain.

Chris Green, the Director of The Stansfield Arms in Apperley Bridge reached out to Imran in mid-January 2022 after spending three months being repeatedly denied the option of taking up a new contract by energy companies as a result of the growing uncertainty in the energy market.

After refusing him a new contract in October 2021 due to a fluctuating energy market, Chris’s energy provider, E/ON N-Power placed his business on an ‘out-of-contract’ rate, which led to his bills soaring from an average of £3,500 per month to £9,223.40 in December 2021, at a time when his business was already being squeezed by a combination of Covid pressures and reduced sales over the Christmas period.

However, following Imran’s intervention on his behalf, Chris secured a better contract with E/ON N-Power that saw his bill fall by half from 54p per unit to just 25p per unit. Despite securing a better rate for his business, Chris nevertheless remains deeply concerned that many other struggling businesses across Bradford will be facing similar situations where they are exploited by greedy energy companies hiking bills this winter.

Speaking on his call for VAT to be removed from energy bills, Imran said:

“After a decade of failed energy policies under this Conservative Government, we have been left with a broken energy system that is serving shareholders, not the public, and private energy companies who are playing fast and loose with the rules whilst exploiting struggling families and businesses like the Stansfield Arms.

“Whilst I’m glad that we were able to get a good result for Chris, the Government have to urgently listen to families and small and medium businesses both in Bradford and across the country, reform our broken energy system, and immediately scrap VAT on energy bills to save families and businesses who are struggling this winter.

Chris Green, Director of the Stansfield Arms in Apperley Bridge said:

“We are a family-owned and run pub in Apperley Bridge, and despite many challenges over the years, we have always managed to survive whilst winning many awards along the way. Yet whilst the Coronavirus pandemic and reduced sales over the Christmas period has been a strain on our business, the biggest pressure we have right now is the rising cost of utilities.

“Indeed, we have seen our utility bills rise from an average of £3,500 per month to well over £9,000 in December last year. This massive increase is quite simply unsustainable for any business, let alone a smaller family run business such as ours, and it’s clear that many other businesses across Bradford will go to the wall because of the increase in utility bills.

“I therefore cannot thank Imran enough for getting involved and for his help in securing a lower tariff when no other energy company would speak with us, saving our business. However, whilst Imran’s help will ensure we can get through this period and allow our business to recover, the Government cutting VAT from energy bills would be a huge plus and would give us the greater financial security that we need.”