Are you Switched On about your energy costs?

There were six of us living in a house in Sheffield. We had lived together the previous year and were already halfway through our final year together as students at university when Chris announced he was heading to South Korea for six months. He was to leave in one week and in exchange we would get a new housemate. That was it; no ifs or buts or opportunities to decline, a complete stranger was moving into our inner circle.

Jhun spoke no English. He was a jewelry designer with a penchant for turning over every object within arms reach in his hands to check out its design. Despite the language barrier we all got along. The more colloquialisms he learnt the more we felt like a complete household again.

Then it was over. The final six months had passed with a click of the fingers. I’d finished my exams, some of my house mates were staying for a fourth year and moving elsewhere and Jhun was hitching a flight back home. Before he left with a cheery goodbye he asked what he owed for the bills. I was in charge and yet, I still didn't know. So I guessed, said £150 in total should cover it - don’t worry if it's any more than that because it won't be by much.

That week I closed the energy account and got ready to move back home. Two days later the bill came through for that quarter. It was £800. The minimum wage at the time was less than a fiver. Someone was going to have to work more than 160 hours to pay this thing. It wasn't going to be me…. except I’d put my name down when we set up the account. The responsibility fell squarely on my shoulders. 

I knew nothing about energy bills then. No one had given a meter reading in the 12 months we’d been at the property. The energy supplier hadn't said anything. How was I to know what I had to do? Who tells you what to do in times like that? Of all the life lessons our parents send us away with at 18 it's never energy advice. The mantra tends to be “Don’t get too drunk, protect yourself and oh, don't forget to have fun!”

Be honest - you didn't get energy advice either, did you?

In the end I did what had to be done. I gave the current readings to our supplier as a matter of complaint and with a quick tip tap on their keyboard and a long drawn out pause - we now owed £1200.  It was unbearable. 

With Jhun’s money the total amount was £1050. Split five ways we owed £210 each. I didn't want to fall out with my friends. After a day of wrestling with myself I asked for them to pay the same as Jhun, leaving me with a bill of £450 I couldn't afford. If I could reach back through time I’d clip myself about the ears a few times over for coming to that conclusion. 

There was no bank of Mum and Dad to save me. No savings. I had an overdraft tipping close to its limit and a student loan to repay. I was back at home, back in my own room, back where I grew up, avoiding daily calls from an 0800 number I just could not bear to answer.

So what became of me you ask?

My entry into the adult world was followed by the scrimping and saving needed to pay back past mistakes. And just so you know - it's hard! Carrying such a burden into job interviews can make or break the next question, because who would be able to forget what will happen if you fail to impress and can't make the next repayment. Debt lingers and rears its ugly head always at the worst of times. 

A few years later and here I am, a little wiser and working as a Young People's Energy Ambassador for ‘Switched On’ a new project being run by Citizens Advice Manchester.

I know all too well the pitfalls of not knowing what can happen if you don't know when to give meter readings and how to manage your energy account. But luckily for you there is help. At the project we are running workshops to help you to become self-sufficient and manage your energy usage, understand energy efficiency and save money. 

No one should have to figure this all out on their own. Whether you are curious to learn more or need that little bit of help, sign up to one of our workshops and see what we can do to help. For more information on workshops and 121 energy advice from the team, visit bit.ly/switchedonMCR