A PUB landlord is facing a £7,000 power bill after an 18-month row with his energy supplier.

Eddie Hall, 44, is celebrating after finally resolving the dispute with Business Energy, the corporate division of British Gas.

Problems began when Business Energy took over Mr Hall's account after previous supplier Enron went bust.

He said: "It has been a nightmare. They took two payments out by mistake. I rang them and they said they would not take any more money until the problem was sorted. That was 18 months ago."

Despite dozens of visits to the Blue Bell Inn, at Kip Hill, near Stanley, County Dur-ham, by a firm contracted to read the meter, Business Energy maintained it did not have an accurate reading and could not send a bill.

It also changed the pub's meter while Mr Hall was on holiday and took about £5,000 from his bank account, despite pledging not to touch any money until the situation had been resolved.

Mr Hall said: "They were taking amounts out without telling me and with no bill to back it up.

"They said they were not getting the meter readings through, but the meter man was here nearly every week."

His final bill for the period reached £9,462.04. But Business Energy agreed to a 20 per cent discount, leaving him with a £7,570 bill.

"I am still not sure that this final bill is right, but I am going to settle it just to get it all over with," he said.

Stephen Chawke, of British Gas, said: "We are truly sorry for the upset and inconvenience that our actions caused Mr Hall. His experience has certainly fallen short of our usual high standards of service.

"This problem arose because a meter exchange took place at the property and we were not notified of the new meter details.

"This created difficulty in producing an accurate bill and caused problems when liaising with the third party which supplies us with readings.

"Thankfully this matter has now been resolved and a bill has been produced. We are confident that he will have no further cause for concern."

Energywatch has set up a dedicated business unit to take up cases of people such as Mr Hall. It can be contacted on (0845) 906 0708.