An Aberdeen Chinese takeaway is planning on closing up shop after its gas bill rose from £1,000 to more than £10,000 per quarter, in a matter of months.
While Martin Tang’s family have owned the Royal Crown Chinese Takeaway in Torry for almost 50 years, he now says he is now being forced to close due to rising fuel costs.
And – not only has his gas bill gone through the roof – he is facing an electricity bill of more than £4,000, up from £1,300 last quarter.
‘It was just so unbelievable’
That is an extra £11,700 the 62-year-old will need to find each quarter to make ends meet.
It is the biggest crisis he has faced in the business, that he has been running on Crombie Road, since 2002.
“At the beginning of last week, when I received the first bill, it was a shocker. It is still a shocker to me,” he said.
“My utility bills, have been steadily rising for the last 10 to 15 years but it has never increased by such an amount.
“It was just so unbelievable, how can they justify that?
“It’s just not workable for me as a small business, I am going to have to close down the shop altogether.”
When the electricity bill first came through the door it was originally for more than £5,000.
But Mr Tang queried it and it was reduced to around £4,000 after another meter reading was taken.
He has since been in contact with his provider, SSE Scottish Hydro, since another bill first came through the door two weeks ago.
‘There is no way I can find that kind of money’
He has received offers for a fixed-term contract with energy suppliers, but he says they are unaffordable.
Unlike individual homeowners, small businesses are not covered by the energy price cap that is put in place by Ofgem.
He said: “There’s no way around it because I am looking at the new contract they are quoting me and it is around £31,000 a year.
“There is no way I can find that kind of money.
“I currently charge £6.50 for a chicken curry, I just I can’t even contemplate how much I would have to charge my customer before I can break even.”
The busy and popular shop in Torry has a loyal customer base, and does not use Just eat or Deliveroo.
Staff to lose jobs
One of its employees, Natalie Hood, said: “Mr Tang phoned me last night and said ‘we might not open tomorrow’.
“It is going to pull the rug out underneath us. I wouldn’t have a job. There would be no notice either.”
The 43-year-old, originally from Dundee, added: “His blood pressure has been going up over the past few weeks.”
Mr Tang believes that big businesses have been making profits while communities suffer.
He continued: “I often think some of the big firms out there are just there to make money that they don’t consider about the ordinary people – the normal people.
“There’s no way I can continue on any of these prices that they have quoted me.
“It looks like I won’t be retiring until I find another part-time job or something.”
A spokeswoman for SSE said: “As a responsible business, SSE Energy Solutions is committed to engaging with all customer queries.
“Our customer services team will be in contact with Mr Yang tomorrow, Monday, discuss his account and work towards a resolution.”
Conversation