THE Evening Press has come to the rescue of an Italian delicatessen owner in York, who feared that he may be forced to close because of a dispute with his electricity company.

Paolo Silesu, of Il Paradiso Del Cibo, claims that ever since he arrived in Walmgate in July 2003 he has been pressing npower for meter readings and quarterly bills, but none came until last month when he received six at once - with a cumulative total of £3,649.18.

Worse still, he was also sent a final notice ordering him to pay within five working days, or face the prospect of legal action and another £500 in costs.

He alleges that when he phoned to complain and ask for time to pay on a quarterly basis, he was told he could pay over nine months, but would have to fork out an initial £900.

"I can't afford that. That could be the difference between staying open and closing.

"When I told them I'd phoned four times to complain that there had been no meter reading, they said there was no record of it. But can they deny that they eventually took nine readings and yet failed to send a single bill?

"Only after I had made my fourth phone call did they realise that there was something wrong and bombarded me with bills. They said I should have put money aside, but how did I know how much to put away when I had no clue about what I was being charged? Of course I'll pay, but six bills arriving at once after nearly two years is unreasonable and incompetent."

The deadline for the five days had now gone, and Mr Silesu said as he was about to visit his sick mother in Sardinia, he was afraid that when he returned he would find his electricity cut off and his business would be at an end.

But after the Evening Press questioned npower over the issue, the electricity firm's spokeswoman said: "We are very sorry for any confusion we may have caused with Mr Silesu.

"npower takes complaints of this nature very seriously and we are contacting him to arrange an acceptable payment plan over 18 months."

Updated: 11:31 Friday, August 12, 2005