A gas customer who was cut off for non-payment of bills has been awarded damages after the High Court ruled the utility firm had acted unreasonably.

The ruling could set a precedent for other householders who fell foul of Isle of Man Energy’s new billing system which was introduced in 2022.

It resulted in a deluge of complaints about a wide range of issues, including bills not being issued, inaccurate meter readings and problems with direct debits.

David Brown, of Santon, argued his disconnection, which took place in August last year while he and his family were away on holiday, was unlawful and he sought an injunction requiring his gas supply to be restored.

He had also sought damages of between £15,000 and £50,000 for breach of contract and losses which included the need to resort to more expensive forms of energy to heat his home, loss of earnings and damage to his home through damp.

Mr Brown represented himself in court.

Isle of Man Energy issued a counter claim for the outstanding bill for liquid petroleum gas which totalled £3,428.

The claimant said his non-payment of gas was not as a result of fuel poverty but from a lack of confidence in the company’s accounting procedures and the validity of the bills he had received.

In fact the amount he was being charged for his gas usage was correct except perhaps for an estimated bill for £150.

But the high court heard that he had not received a number of invoices, and this meant that the bills and reminders he did receive were contradictory and confusing.

Mr Brown attempted to contact Isle of Man Energy, formerly Manx Gas, by telephone but his calls went unanswered.

His two letters, one sent recorded delivery in November 2022 providing an actual meter reading, and one hand-delivered at the end of July 2023 referring to the notice of disconnection, were both inadvertently - ‘one could say carelessly’, said Deemster John Needham - lost.

As a result, the claimant believed he was justified in withholding payment, and he claimed his subsequent disconnection was unlawful.

Isle of Man Energy argued that the disconnection was lawful on the basis that Mr Brown had not paid his bills for a period of 11 months before he was cut off.

It said that by his own admission, he had been able to pay the total arrears if he had chosen to, but through his stubbornness in not paying a penny, he had become the author of his own difficulties.

Deemster Needham found that Isle of Man Energy was in breach of contract for failing to provide invoices for September 2022 and March 2023 and had breached its duty of care by failing to provide a replacement invoice for November 2022 and in failing to react to the claimant’s July 2023 letter.

Mr Brown, however, was in breach of contract for failing to pay anything for invoices that were accurate and based upon actual meter readings and for nevertheless continuing to use gas.

But Deemster Needham ruled: ‘While I find that disconnection was prima facie justified, the lack of rendering a number of invoices coupled with the defendant’s non-reaction to and subsequent loss of the claimant’s important letter of July 2023, appeared to me to amount to a situation in which disconnection was not reasonable in the circumstances.’

He awarded Mr Brown damages of £4,610 for breach of contract but this was offset by the £3,278 legally due to Isle of Man Energy for gas used prior to disconnection, resulting in a balance of £1,331 to be paid to the claimant within seven days.

The Deemster ruled that Isle of Man had a duty as soon as practicable to reconnect the gas supply to the claimant’s premises and this should be done without additional charge.