game-time1uk.icu
My name's Tommy. I'm 36. I've lived in Lymington my whole life. I work as a plumber. Got my own small van, been self-employed for about 8 years. Things used to be okay. Not exactly rolling in it, but I could cover the bills, treat the missus now and then, and get the kids decent trainers. The last couple of years have been a slow, grinding nightmare. You want to know what's destroying families across this country right now? Energy bills. Everyone talks about it, nobody fixes it. Last winter, my electricity was £180 a month. This winter? £520. Same house. Same bulbs. Same shit. I sit in the dark now. Not because I'm eco-friendly — because I'm trying to keep my head above water. My wife Karen works part-time at Tesco. She used to be full-time, but her mum fell ill, so she's been helping out there. That's knocked about £800 a month off our income. Meanwhile, everything else went up. Food. Fuel. School trips for the kids. You name it. The debt's been stacking up for about 18 months. Credit cards. A loan to fix the roof. Another one when the boiler died. Now we owe £29,000. And the bank's stopped playing nice. --- Last Tuesday, the letter arrived. From British Gas. Brown envelope. I already knew what was inside before I tore it open. "Final Notice: Your account is £1,247 overdue. If you don't pay within 14 days, we will cut off your supply." I stood in the kitchen, gripping that letter, and felt something crack inside me. Karen was at work. The kids were asleep. The house was freezing — 14 degrees. I had a hoodie and a coat on and was still shivering. But I couldn't turn the heating on because my direct debit was already maxed out. That's how bad it's got. A plumber who can't afford to warm up his own home. That night, I didn't sleep. Sat in the kitchen in the dark, listening to the wind outside. Wondering when the last time was that I saw my kids properly smile. --- I was desperate for money. Any money. The next day, I spotted a job on a tradesman app: a
