23/08/2026
WHY WAS THE BEDFORD CLOSED FOR FOUR DAYS? WHOSE FAULT IS IT?
We’ve had lots of people asking why The Bedford was closed from Sunday through to Wednesday, so we thought we’d explain exactly what happened and let people make their own minds up.
First, a little context about how the pub operates.
We rent the entire building from Greene King for approximately £1,250 per week.
We have to purchase our drinks through Greene King and we also pay them 6% of all our sales as commission, automatically invoiced through their Zonal till system. We pay various other costs as well, including building insurance.
In return, responsibilities for repairs are split.
If something breaks inside the pub, such as toilets or internal leaks, generally that’s our responsibility and we pay for it.
Greene King are responsible for certain parts of the building and, importantly, the cellar cooling and beer systems.
Because these systems are essential to operating a pub, cellar cooling faults are covered by a 4 hour on site response, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
So here’s what actually happened.
FRIDAY 15TH AUGUST
At around 7pm our beer started pouring badly and some products were coming through warm.
We investigated and discovered the cellar temperature had risen to 24°C. It should be approximately 10 to 14°C.
We immediately reported it to Greene King.
We were told an engineer would attend within the 4 hour response time, meaning somebody should have been on site by around 11pm that evening.
Nobody arrived.
We stayed open as best we could, mainly serving bottles from the fridges and soft drinks.
SATURDAY
We called Greene King again in the morning and were told somebody would attend early afternoon.
Eventually, at around 8pm, an Aurora engineer arrived.
He told our staff he couldn’t carry out the work because he had forgotten his ladders.
We explained that we actually had two different ladders at the pub that he could use, but apparently neither would do. He needed his special telescopic ladders.
He told us he would be back shortly with a bigger van.
He didn’t come back.
We made further calls to Greene King and were promised somebody would return on Sunday.
SUNDAY
Nobody arrived.
More calls and more promises.
By this point we were unable to operate the pub properly and had no option but to close.
This was particularly painful because it was the opening weekend of the football season and we have a huge Arsenal following.
MONDAY
Still closed.
More calls to Greene King and again we were repeatedly told somebody would definitely be attending.
Nobody arrived.
TUESDAY
The original engineer finally returned.
Same engineer, same small van, but this time he had remembered the telescopic ladders.
We were told the problem was dust.
He cleaned the system, but it still didn’t work.
We made further calls to Greene King and, having now found Aurora’s contact details ourselves, started chasing them directly as well.
WEDNESDAY
Finally, a different engineer attended.
This time we were told the system was actually low on gas.
He managed to bring the cellar temperature down to around 21°C and told us an emergency standalone cooling system had been ordered and would be delivered on Thursday.
Thankfully, with the separate beer cooling lines working, we were eventually able to get the beer cold enough to reopen.
Over those four days alone we made 12 calls to Greene King, 5 calls directly to Aurora and sent 5 emails to Greene King.
That’s 22 separate attempts at communication trying to get an essential pub system repaired.
Throughout that period we were repeatedly told engineers were coming “today”, “this afternoon” or “shortly”.
That also meant keeping staff available because we genuinely believed the problem was about to be fixed.
TODAY, SUNDAY 23RD AUGUST
More than a week after we first reported the problem, the cellar cooling system is still not fully fixed.
The promised emergency standalone cooling system still hasn’t arrived.
Remember, this is supposed to be a 4 hour on site response, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
The reality is that we lost four full days of trading, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as suffering severely restricted trading beforehand.
We’re currently calculating the full financial impact, but our initial estimate is that this has cost The Bedford in excess of £10,000.
This includes lost turnover during the four days we were closed, reduced trading while we couldn’t serve draught beer normally, missing a major football Sunday, staff costs while waiting for engineers we had repeatedly been told were coming, wasted stock and other costs directly caused by the closure.
We contacted our insurer regarding the losses, but unfortunately our Business Interruption claim was declined because the closure wasn’t caused by physical damage or another insured event.
Their view is that this is instead a contractual issue relating to Greene King’s responsibility to repair and maintain the cellar cooling system.
To be clear, we’re not complaining because something broke.
Things break. We understand that.
What we don’t understand is how something covered by a 4 hour on site response, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year can result in 22 phone calls, 5 emails, four full days closed, more than £10,000 in estimated losses and, more than a week later, a system that still isn’t fully fixed.
So after all of that, we’ll leave it to you.
WHO DO YOU THINK IS TO BLAME FOR THE BEDFORD BEING CLOSED FOR FOUR DAYS AND LOSING £10,000+?
A. GREENE KING
For not ensuring an essential repair was completed within the agreed response time despite 22 calls and 5 emails.
B. AURORA
For the delays, the first engineer arriving without the ladders he said he needed, not returning as promised and the problem not being correctly resolved on the initial visits.
C. THE CELLAR COOLING SYSTEM
Things break. Maybe nobody is really to blame for the original failure and it’s simply one of those things that happens when running a pub.
D. THE BEDFORD / OURSELVES
Should we have done more? Should we have ignored the normal procedure, called our own refrigeration engineer and worried about who paid for it afterwards?
E. A BIT OF EVERYONE
The cooling system failed, communication broke down and several things went wrong afterwards.
F. SOMEBODY ELSE
Tell us who and why in the comments.
We’re genuinely interested to know what people think.
For us, the biggest issue isn’t that the cooling system broke. Equipment breaks.
The question is how a fault with a stated 4 hour on site response, 24/7, 365 days a year, turned into four days of closure, 22 phone calls, 5 emails, more than £10,000 in estimated losses and a system that, more than a week later, still isn’t fully fixed.
A, B, C, D, E or F?
The Bedford
