Restaurant owner mistakenly pays her landlord’s $76,000 power bill

For seven years, Patricia Rodrigues couldn’t work out why her power bills were so expensive — until an electrician revealed the truth.

For seven years, UK woman Patricia Rodrigues couldn’t work out why she was paying power bills of nearly $2400 (£1300) a month for her small pizza restaurant — so she finally called an electrician.

That’s when the 29-year-old from the UK town of Brandon, Suffolk discovered she had also been paying for the other two businesses in the building, both owned by her landlord Nolan Guthrie.

In addition to the £833 ($1500) a month rent for her restaurant, Mondragone Ristorante e Pizzeria, she was also powering the Brandon Lodge Apartment Hotel and Mr G’s Bowling centre next door, adding nearly £42,000 ($76,000) to her bills since 2011.

“My electricity bill went up gradually — it went to £250 then £300 and so on,” she told Metro.co.uk. “I was thinking maybe it is just getting busier at the restaurant which means we would be using more electricity — but then it went to £600, £700, £1000 and kept going.”

After having an electricity meter installed, Ms Rodrigues was told she should have only been paying between £400 ($730) and £500 ($910) a month based on her usage of just 100 kWh on a “busy” day.

Ms Rodrigues didn’t realise she was paying the power bills of two other businesses. Picture: SWNS

The hotel in Ms Rodrigues’ building had a free ride. Picture: SWNS

She should have been paying just $730 a month. Picture: SWNS

Instead she was forking out nearly $2400. Picture: SWNS

Her landlord allegedly claimed she had agreed to pay for his power. Picture: SWNS

It’s cost her $76,000 over seven years. Picture: SWNS

“The three-phase electricity supply contact through a standard meter is also supplying electricity to two further circuits in separate premises to your own,” the letter from Forest Electrical said. “In short, you are paying for the electricity to two different dwellings/businesses other than your own.”

Ms Rodrigues said when she challenged Mr Guthrie about it, he sent her a letter claiming she had agreed to pay all the power bills as part of the terms of renting out the restaurant. She denied this, saying she had never even signed a formal lease or contract because Mr Guthrie had delayed.

“When I opened the restaurant, it didn’t enter my mind that we would be paying for someone else’s electricity,” she said. “Then we started seeing that our bills were getting really high. I have been asking for a contract and a lease to be set up since I have moved in, and I think this is why he’s never done so.”

Ms Rodrigues, who still hasn’t been repaid the money, said she was moving her restaurant after being unable to settle the dispute. “It has been really hard for me,” she said.

“I held on for so long, because if they threw me out I would have nothing. I have had the police in here because I was worried about him. I just wanted to run away and disappear — it has been so expensive for me.”

Mr Guthrie declined to comment.

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