Hooked up to a headset in a call room where the phone line doesn't stop, Freya picks up a call from a desperate mum who says she doesn't know how to keep her child safe.
The parent tells the operator her daughter's medication has to be stored in a fridge, but she doesn't have the cash to top up the electricity on her prepayment meter.
Freya offers the woman a fuel voucher, and general advice about how she can manage her debt, but she knows it won't be enough to stop the terrifying situation happening again.
READ MORE: The Greater Manchester people being hit with a £25-a-day 'nightmare'
The mother's heartbreaking situation is just one example of the type of calls answered by Manchester's Citizens Advice energy and money helpline, as more people find themselves crippled by the cost of living crisis.
Freya's colleagues have already taken a call from a man who talks about ending his life so that his debt issues will 'go away.' Another caller says they feel like a terrible parent, because they can't afford to keep their children warm.
It comes as the organisation, based in Manchester city centre, warn they are seeing an 'unprecedented' demand for their services, far outweighing anything seen during the pandemic.
In the last year, the number of people the service has helped with an energy issue has risen by 144 per cent - and it doesn't appear to be letting up. As the energy price cap is set to rise again in April, bosses fear what they are seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg.
When the M.E.N visited the Citizen's Advice 'triage' call room, the phone rings off the hook. Here, advisers will sign post desperate callers to the correct services - which focus on debt, energy bills, housing and benefits.
Trained specialists will then book them in for telephone appointments, which can take anywhere from a few minutes, to a few hours. The organisation also deploys a mobile advice van which goes out into different parts of the city to support residents.
"We tend to be the organisation that people turn to when they don't know where else to turn," says Hayley Hughes, Assistant Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Manchester.
Previously their clientele was predominately made up by those on benefits, or out of work. But Hayley and her colleagues say they are seeing an increasingly diverse range of people ringing for help.
Homeowners who work full-time, and self-employed entrepreneurs, who once would have been able to comfortably manage their money, are also finding themselves slipping into debt now.
"What we have noticed a lot more is that it's not necessarily people out of work or on benefits that are contacting us anymore," says Energy Service Manager, Daphne Baldi.
"You'll see a lot of people that actually do work part-time or full-time and they simply don't earn enough anymore to cover all their expenses and they don't know what to do."
According to data from the energy regulator, Ofgem, at the end of June last year more than two million households were in debt on their electricity bills - a figure likely to have risen when the price cap increased in October.
The government previously announced a raft of support measures including the energy support scheme, and one-off cost of living payments, but advisers warn for most people, the help is not even scratching the surface. And, there are significant fears over what will happen when that help is withdrawn at the end of March.
"Before the increase in costs in October, many people were already on a knife's edge," says Pete, who works as an adviser in the energy support team.
"Whilst the energy price guarantee was really appreciated I don't think it was properly understood. With the following increase coming in April, people aren't really sure how that's going to affect them."
The organisation is calling for an urgent review for all customers who are currently on prepayment meters, which they say are having a devastating impact on residents in Manchester, many of whom are classed as vulnerable or have existing medical conditions.
It comes after an investigation by the Times revealed that British Gas sent debt collectors to break into customers' homes and force-fit the pay-as-you-go meters, even when residents were known to have extreme vulnerabilities.
Whilst Ofgem has made an agreement with all suppliers to suspend forced installations of prepayment meters until March 31, advisers at Citizen's Advice say they are still receiving calls from customers who have been 'remotely' switched over from smart meters.
"We are still seeing the odd client who is being remotely switched," says Rosi Avis, Partnership and Communication Lead. "When vulnerable customers are forced onto prepayment meters that puts them at a significant risk.
"We took the advice van out and parked outside a health centre and the staff were saying they are finding increasingly they are prescribing medical equipment to help people with their condition, but people are turning them down and refusing to have it because they think they can't afford to run it."
Advisers say the majority of people who they speak to who are on prepayment meters have very few pounds left or already in emergency credit. They warn that many households will 'self disconnect' - where they make the decision to stop using gas and electricity altogether as they can no longer afford it.
"Sometimes people already have their debt built in so when they top up £2 might go to debt and the rest of the money will go towards useable energy," says Daphne.
"I dread to think how many people have not put their heating on or just sat in darkness. They will ask us for financial help to buy clothes to keep themselves warm because they simply can't afford to have their heating on."
Last month, the M.E.N spoke to a number of residents in Greater Manchester who had been forced onto a prepayment meter, despite having known vulnerabilities.
Michael Regan is disabled and relies on an electric wheelchair to get around, but he said that didn't stop an energy company forcing him onto a prepayment meter last year after he and his two housemates fell into around £1,000 of arrears.
Like many of the people Citizens Advice speak to, Michael, 31, says he's not able to get out as much as he would like as he can't afford to charge his wheelchair. And he's terrified of running out of credit and being cut off.
The organisation estimates that 3.2 million people in Britain ran out of credit on their meter last year, the equivalent of one every 10 seconds.
Freya, who helps provide white goods such as fridges and washing machines to those in need, says callers are often telling her they are having to make a choice between switching their heating on, or putting food on the table.
"People who are on these prepayment meters have usually been moved over because they were in debt anyway so they then have money taken off their meter every time they top up.
"When I speak to people sometimes they can have 50 per cent of what they top up being taken off. Heat or eat is quite a common phrase at the moment."
Advisers in the Energy Advice Service told us it's extremely hard to get energy companies to reverse prepayment meters, meaning once customers are switched, it's nearly 'impossible' to move back to an ordinary credit meter. Pete told us he'd only ever been able to help get one customer taken off a prepayment meter.
Substandard social housing, and private rental stock, means that local residents are having to fork out more money on energy bills to combat issues such as damp and mould - which the advice team say has been rife.
They say they are seeing more and more calls from parents who are worried about mould or damp affecting their children's health.
"I had a client the other day who had an issue with damp so was using more electricity and that was putting him into debt," says Jen, who is a debt case worker.
"With private landlords it's hard to get that across to them. That's something we are seeing in terms of why people are getting into energy debt. There doesn't seem to be any long-term fix."
The Money Advice team, who have been supporting Mancunians in debt for many years, say the majority of people who call the centre now are in what they describe as a 'budget deficit' - where their income isn't enough to support their essential outgoings.
Previously, advisers were able to get callers in a position to manage their ongoing expenses. But now, they say it's virtually impossible to balance the books, meaning they are having to advise people to take on more debt or cut back on essentials such as food.
"It's more crisis management and which bill to pay and whether to pay to eat or pay to put money on their prepayment meter," says debt team adviser, Caroline.
"These people are literally just fighting fires as they come. They deal with each new bit of debt as it comes and realistically, they'll never get out of that cycle."
The team say they frequently deal with callers whose mental health is at rock bottom, and are more often having to refer people for safeguarding concerns such as suicidal thoughts.
"Sitting in the cold, essentially unable to top up, you contact your supplier but can't get through despite being on the phone for hours - you feel helpless," says Pete.
"On top of that you may have health conditions that are worsened by that cold, you may live in a property that has mould and damp, it all just compounds and you do unfortunately get conversations where people have moments of suicidal thoughts."
The advisers at Citizens Advice, many of whom are in their early twenties and work shift patterns to cover the busiest times, say demand for their services are going up, but cases are getting more complicated as well.
"People used to call up about one issue but now it's never just one issue, it's all interrelated," says Jen. "By the time they get to us the situation has escalated a lot and they really are at the point of desperation.
"Things might have gone to court or they might have bailiffs at the door. We just seem to be treading water at the moment and we aren't really sure how this pans out long-term."
What Ofgem say
Jonathan Brearley, CEO of Ofgem, said: "As a result of the unprecedented surge in energy prices, households across the country are facing significant energy bills and this has meant many are finding themselves in debt and being forced onto prepayment meters.
"I am concerned about the way customers in already distressing situations are being treated when suppliers force them onto PPMs.
"That’s why we have set out further details on the two investigations, one into British Gas for potential breaches that have been alleged indicating that something went very badly wrong at British Gas and the other into PPMs across all suppliers to assess whether this is an isolated case.
"The rules and regulations are clear that installing forced PPMs should only be done as a last resort and only where it is safe and practicable to do so.
"We expect suppliers to treat customers with compassion and professionalism and those executing a warrant should take into account what they find when they visit a home and pause the installation if they see a safety risk. Where this hasn’t happened, we will hold suppliers to account.
"However, I’m telling suppliers not to wait for the outcome of our reviews and to act now to check that PPMs have been installed appropriately, and if rules have been broken, offer customers a reversal of installations and compensation payments where appropriate. There will also be fines issued from Ofgem if the issue is found to be systemic.
"We are taking this issue extremely seriously and customers should feel reassured that where the rules have been broken, Ofgem will act."
What the government say
A Government spokesperson said: "We know this is a difficult time for families, including in Manchester, which is why the government has been paying half of the typical household’s energy bill this winter.
"We acted quickly to deliver the Energy Price Guarantee, which is saving a typical household £900 and our Energy Bills Support Scheme is providing a further £400 off energy bills, in addition to the most vulnerable households receiving up to £1,200."
What Manchester Council say
Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: "What we are seeing today is the culmination of more than a decade of austerity meeting the perfect storm of a global pandemic, cost-of-living crisis and energy crisis.
"Parts of our city were already suffering the effects of long-term deprivation and the ongoing impact of crisis upon crisis is widening the gulf. Those who were already struggling have been hit hardest, but we're also seeing people who have weathered previous economic hardships - teachers, nurses for example - forced to use food banks and unable to make ends meet.
"This should not be happening in the year 2023 in one of the richest countries in the world. As a Council, the burden being faced by our residents means we also need to spend more on support services to help Manchester people at a time when our budgets are already stretched keeping essential services going.
"In October last year we made available an additional £8m package of support on top of the £34million we had allocated in the budget to support residents, community groups and anti-poverty measures. This package included welfare schemes, a helpline for residents and access to food, expanding on the network of support set up during the pandemic to quickly help those in need.
"At the same time, we also announced a cost-of-living emergency to highlight the serious implications of the current crisis. We don't believe the national response has been effective enough in helping our residents, but we won't stand idly by."
For further help from Manchester Council with the cost of living, click here.
British Gas parent company Centrica has been approached for comment.
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