Rehearsal Rooms in St Andrew’s Street South, Bury St Edmunds, to take legal action after Yorkshire Gas and Power ordeal

A Bury St Edmunds business owner says there is ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ after problems with his energy supplier left his premises without power.

Neil Attridge, 50, owner of The Rehearsal Rooms in St Andrew’s Street South, has been dealing with ongoing issues with Yorkshire Gas and Power which he believes to be linked to a faulty smart meter.

The situation worsened last month when the company cut the power to his business — a venue for musicians and artists to hire for rehearsals, teaching or writing — forcing him to rely on a generator to keep it running.

After Neil launched a fund-raising page, which raised more than £5,000 to help keep the business afloat, Yorkshire Gas and Power has confirmed it will reconnect the power on Friday, July 11.

“Hopefully, this means there’s finally some light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “But it has been a very dark tunnel to get through.”

After switching to Yorkshire Gas and Power last July, Neil believes a faulty smart meter led to bills more than three times higher than usual.

Despite paying for several months, the costs became unsustainable and his repeated requests for a replacement meter were refused.

The Ombudsman later ruled in Neil’s favour — however, the company was still demanding £4,858 before it would restore electricity.

Neil is now pursuing legal action against Yorkshire Gas and Power by taking the company to a small claims court and seeking £7,000 in compensation for loss of earnings.

He said he has compiled 85 pages of evidence to support his case.

“The whole situation has been a complete nightmare — and it could’ve been avoided if they’d just fixed the meter a year ago,” he said.

“Some of these energy companies are just a law onto themselves, so I’m trying to make the point that they shouldn’t be able to get away with things like this.”

Following strong support from the town’s music community with the fund-raising page totalling £5,675 — a benefit gig is set to take place at The Hunter Club on Saturday, August 2.

‘RoomsFest’ will run from 1pm to 11pm, organised by promoter Seymour Quigley of Washing Machine.

The event will feature a line-up of bands and artists with links to the rehearsal space which has served the town for more than two decades.

Tickets cost £10 with all proceeds going directly to support the venue. More information can be found here.

Neil added: “The response has been amazing — you never really know how much people care about your business until something like this happens.

“This gig is about turning something difficult into something positive and I hope to see lots of familiar faces there on the day.”

Yorkshire Gas and Power was approached for comment.