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00:00Thank you so much. Thank you.
00:13Electricity use costs are to jump 5.1% on the 1st of January.
00:20Yet millions of you can beat this rise and save hundreds of pounds more with simple moves.
00:25And chances are you're also sitting on hundreds of pounds in unclaimed energy credit too.
00:31And now, literally right now, is the perfect time to check.
00:36I'll talk you through what you need to do.
00:38And later I'll be joined by the boss of Britain's biggest energy retailer, Octopus.
00:43And yes, I'll be putting your questions to him, the nice ones, and the not so nice.
00:47He's on his way on the back of a motorbike. Let's hope he makes it in time.
00:50Seat's empty, but hopefully he'll come soon.
00:52And in news you can use, we just learnt an hour ago the national minimum wage is set to rise.
00:58I'll tell you the new rates and show you, crucially, how to check if you're one of nearly 400,000 people
01:04who are on minimum wage but still being underpaid right now.
01:08Plus, how to also check which network has got the very best mobile signal in your home.
01:15I've got a warning that the top three 400 quid bank switch is about to vanish.
01:19And more people will, one day, be able to get that unbeatable 50% boost to their savings.
01:26Now, to a woman so plugged in, she could power the whole studio.
01:31Jeanette Quatsy, everybody.
01:33Ooh. Nice.
01:37I was so intimidated, did I want to set your name wrong?
01:39Thank you very much. Did you decide? No.
01:41As always, of course, send us your questions on X or on threads.
01:44You can use the hashtag MartinLewis or you can send an email to the team,
01:47martinlewis at ITV.com.
01:49And always remember, if we don't use them tonight, we may use them in a future show.
01:53And a huge good evening to our wonderful studio audience. How are you doing?
01:56Wave those wallets if you've got them. Wave your wallets, everybody.
01:59All right. Now, Martin, we had our Christmas show last week, didn't we?
02:03Big Christmas special. We covered free cash for Christmas.
02:06And Leanne has been in touch.
02:08And she's saying, like the lady in your audience,
02:10I have wanted to switch bank accounts since I've had since I was 11 years old.
02:14I'm now 50. I've finally done this. I've received my 175 pounds.
02:18Why did I wait so long? Thank you so much.
02:22I love you, Leanne. I'd be glad to hear it.
02:24I always think I've got two jobs.
02:26One, giving you the information, but also being a call to arms
02:29on when you need to act to be able to best look after yourself.
02:31So that's great news. Also in last week's show, you might remember,
02:33I talked about 28 firms who had incorrect information
02:36on their websites about return rights.
02:3824 had corrected them. Four still hadn't.
02:41They all have now after we named them.
02:44So that's all fixed now.
02:45Your return rights on most big stores' websites,
02:47you can now actually trust them.
02:48So, I know you're coming up to energy as well,
02:51but I wanted to ask you this before you do your practical questions,
02:53because I know it's something you normally wouldn't cover,
02:55but lots of people are asking this.
02:57The gas prices are at the levels we saw in 2018,
03:00but the energy prices that we pay are three times more,
03:02including the standing charge.
03:04How do they justify this?
03:06Well, the gas prices are actually a little bit higher than 2018,
03:08but nowhere near three times as high.
03:10I actually have quite a lot of that in today's show.
03:13There are some things going on that you need to know about
03:15that are causing that problem.
03:16You might not like it, but you need to understand it.
03:19So I will be covering that as we go through this time.
03:21OK.
03:22And we've got lovely Roberta here in the audience as well.
03:24A little bit nervous to ask the question,
03:25so I'm going to ask for her.
03:26Currently on a variable tariff,
03:28and you want to know if you should switch, Roberta.
03:30Is that right?
03:31Is that right?
03:32That's correct.
03:33And it's just a standard variable tariff.
03:34Standard variable.
03:35Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
03:37You absolutely should.
03:38Watch this, my big briefing.
03:42Okey-dokey.
03:43Look, let me explain.
03:44You may be surprised at this headline.
03:45Electricity usage costs up 5.1% in the new January price cap
03:49that lasts for three months.
03:51Now, that's because on Friday, if you saw the news,
03:53they said it was up 0.2%, yeah?
03:55That's what you saw.
03:57But that is not the full story.
03:59Now, just as a note, remember, it's a cap.
04:01It's not a cap on what you pay.
04:03If you use more, you'll pay more.
04:04It's a unit rate and standing charges that are caps
04:06on most firms' price at or near the cap.
04:08This is the real picture of what's going on.
04:11These are the new average direct debit price cap.
04:14It does vary by region.
04:16Electricity costs.
04:18The unit rate, the price you pay for each unit,
04:20kilowatt hour, going up 5.1%.
04:22The standard charge, the hated daily standing charge,
04:25is going up by 2%.
04:27The gas standing charge is going up by 3%.
04:31But the gas unit rate is dropping by 5.7%.
04:36Now, when you hodgepodge that altogether,
04:39it gives you an average 0.2% rise.
04:44But that's not the real picture.
04:46I mean, take someone who's got high electricity use
04:48and low or no gas.
04:50Well, in reality, they're going to see a rise of 4%.
04:53So while it looks like not much is happening in January,
04:56actually, there are significant price changes coming.
04:59Many of you, the majority of you,
05:02the huge majority of you,
05:04are paying hundreds of pounds more than you need to,
05:07and I want to talk you through that.
05:08I should also note, if you're on prepay,
05:10the moves are about the same,
05:11but it's 3% cheaper than standard direct debit
05:13on the price cap.
05:14Payment in receipt of bills is about 8% more.
05:16So let's get through.
05:17And, Roberta, this is you. I'm so sorry.
05:19But, ladies and gentlemen, I don't call it a price cap.
05:21I call it...
05:22Pants cap.
05:24A pants cap.
05:25Because if you can get off it, which most of you can,
05:27you should.
05:28So are you on the price cap?
05:30If you don't know, you probably are.
05:3163% of homes in England, Scotland and Wales are.
05:34Northern Ireland is on a different system.
05:35This doesn't apply to them.
05:37The price cap only applies to firm's bog-standard default
05:42domestic tariff.
05:43Now, people get in touch with me and say,
05:45my standing charges are higher than the price cap on my fix.
05:48Yeah, because you're on a fix.
05:49It's not price capped.
05:50It doesn't have to follow the price cap rules.
05:51The price cap is only for these variable tariffs.
05:53So be really plain.
05:55You are capped if you've never switched.
05:58You are capped if you were on a fixed or a special deal
06:00and it ended and you did nothing.
06:02Are you the never switched or are you the fixed deal ended?
06:04I've been fixed before.
06:05So this is you here and you didn't fix again.
06:08You're not capped if you're on a fixed or a specialist tariff.
06:12Then the prices are not locked in.
06:14They can charge what they like and it's up to the competitive market.
06:16Now, just to be really plain, if you're not sure,
06:19if you recognise one of these names, these are all price cap names.
06:22They tend to be called standard or standard variable or flexible.
06:25Those are the things that go in and you can read them on the screen there.
06:28So if you're price capped, you're probably paying too much.
06:31OK.
06:32Well, TJ has been in touch.
06:33He's tweeted in saying,
06:34What I don't understand is that Ofgem are again announcing increases in energy bills.
06:38But then Martin says we have tariffs out there 10% lower and more offers next week.
06:43So basically, cheaper energy can be given to people yet Ofgem refused to do it.
06:48The price cap was introduced to be a backstop tariff for the people who could not engage in the competitive switching market.
06:58To make sure that those vulnerable people could not be ripped off.
07:01And when it was first introduced, it was a minority of the population.
07:05Then we had the energy crisis. Firms went bust. People got nervous.
07:09And suddenly, virtually everybody was on the price cap.
07:12And still 63% of homes are on the price cap.
07:16It was not meant to be a tariff you were on.
07:20I call it a pants cap, not because implicitly it's wrong,
07:23because it's trying to protect, you know, a 90-year-old with onset dementia who would never switch.
07:27But those of you who can switch, Roberta, you should do.
07:30That's what's going on there. You have to understand the price cap.
07:33You shouldn't be on it. Ofgem don't want you on it. The government don't want you on it.
07:35The firms probably do want you on it. I don't want you on it.
07:38That's the most important thing. OK, we can move on.
07:41Shall I move on? OK, we're getting into... This is the big bit now.
07:43This is the graph. I'll try and go slowly so you understand,
07:46because this is what you need to know. So...
07:51These are the wholesale rates.
07:54These are gas and the electricity tends to move with gas.
07:57How they have moved since September.
07:59You'll see they were high and then they've come down relatively.
08:03Now, I should say, before that, we had the energy crisis.
08:05They were nearly five times as high.
08:07If you go back to 2018, 2019, before the energy crisis,
08:10well, they were about this sort of level then.
08:12So they nearly have come down, not the whole way, but back to where they are.
08:16Now let's look at the price cap.
08:19There we are. It's gone up. It's gone up.
08:22It's gone down. And these are recent ones.
08:24And it's gone up 0.2%.
08:26But what I really want to bring out to you is this 0.2% rise is based on the period from the middle of August to the middle of November.
08:38And those are the wholesale rates, the underlying wholesale rates for them.
08:42I'd like you to compare that to the prior three months.
08:45There we go.
08:46Which you say is higher, this one or this one?
08:49The first one?
08:50Yeah.
08:51It was.
08:52Wholesale rates have come down.
08:54But the price cap is going up.
08:57And I've not said that before.
08:59And the answer to why it's going up is because of policy costs.
09:04Investment in nuclear.
09:06Debt forgiveness for people who cannot afford to repay their debts.
09:10The warm home discount cost because that's been extended to more vulnerable people.
09:14Ultimately, what we have, and whether those are rights or wrongs is a political decision.
09:20But what I find quite bizarre, policy costs are put on your electricity bills because electricity is universal.
09:28The government is trying to encourage more people to use electricity with things like heat pumps and less people to use gas.
09:34But because they put all their policy costs on electricity, electricity prices are going up.
09:40And as the wholesale rate has dropped, gas prices are going down.
09:43So we are in a perverse situation.
09:47The government wants you to use electricity, but its policy moves are putting electricity up and gas prices down.
09:54Pew!
09:55Yeah.
09:56Let's have a look at what makes up your bill.
09:58Because this is what you were asking me about before, Jeanette.
10:00Mm.
10:01So let's go through it.
10:02So on the price cap, 40% is the actual underlying gas and electricity used.
10:0722.6% is the cost of infrastructure, moving it around the net and the grid and getting some new renewables on board.
10:1413.4% is policy and government schemes.
10:17These are going up.
10:18Levees and green is 7.3%, vulnerable customer support.
10:22The warm home discount is 6.1%.
10:2411% is operational costs of the firms that you're going in there.
10:284.8% is VAT.
10:30For those thinking, why isn't it 5%, it's because the reciprocal 105 divided by, don't worry.
10:35Unpaid bills, people not paying their bills, 3%.
10:39Profit's 2.6%, more or less than you thought.
10:42Yes.
10:43Profit's 2.6% and 1.6% headroom, which is for other things.
10:47And some, if that isn't used, it can sneak into profits.
10:50That's what's making up your bills.
10:52So, with that in mind, let's have a look at the prediction for where the price cap is going to go in future.
10:58Here we are.
11:00Up in April.
11:02Now, that up in April is not due to wholesale rates.
11:07That up in April is because it's predicted we're going to pay more for connecting renewables in distant parts of the country.
11:14We're going to pay more because so many people are moving to heat pumps in electric vehicles.
11:17There's more stress on the grid and we need to build capacity on there.
11:21Again, using electricity, even though we bring the gas price down.
11:24So, wholesale rates could bring this down if the wholesale rates, the price of gas and electricity got cheaper,
11:30but we're on a start point that it's going to go up if that doesn't happen.
11:33In fact, they've already come down a bit. This was 4%.
11:36And the truth is, it is very likely our energy bills, unless there is intervention, are going to keep going up
11:42because of the investment that's needed until the mid-2030s over the big picture.
11:46So, what am I going to tell you to do about it?
11:49Well, that's where it's going to go. Where's the cheapest fix on the market?
11:55There. So, look, we're currently here.
12:00This is about typical bill, just under £200 cheaper. If you use more, it'll be much more cheaper.
12:05But the most important thing about doing this at this time of year,
12:08we've just had the announcement of the price cap till March.
12:11We now know what your price, who's not fixed, will be until the end of March.
12:15That's the high use period. That's when you're using your gas and electricity.
12:18And we know what you're going to pay now. And this is the cheapest fix on the market.
12:2211% cheaper. And it's predicted afterwards it's going up, not down after that.
12:27And then maybe come down a little bit.
12:29So, what the huge probability is that a fix now, not only will it give you peace of mind, you know exactly what you're going to pay, which is very important.
12:36Once you fix, the rates are locked in. They cannot move for a year.
12:40But it will also be an instant saving. And you'll save over the high use period.
12:44And you will very likely, less guaranteed, but crystal ballgazing, continue to save after that.
12:49Which is why I say the price cap is a...
12:54Pants cap.
12:55I think I proved my point. Yes, it's a pants cap.
12:57So, we've got success on this from Miriam who watched this and saw the graph on a previous show.
13:06And she's saying, I watched your last full show on energy about fixing energy bills.
13:10I want you to say thank you as I saved myself £1,478 from swapping.
13:15Amazing.
13:19Even I think that's an enormous amount.
13:21I suppose she went for an 18-month fix and that's the saving over the 18 months.
13:25She's probably got £5,000 a year energy bills anyway and the differential was about 20% because that's really big.
13:30She saved money.
13:31I'm saying, £200 to £500 you're doing is more normal, not that type of level, yeah.
13:35But that was really good. And this as well from Julie, because she's speaking of fixes here.
13:38She's asking, we have been with our provider for a number of years and if I want to go on to a fixed rate,
13:42I have to have a smart meter? Why does that need to happen?
13:45Well, that was very common a year or two ago that the cheapest fixes all required you to have a smart meter.
13:49Most of them don't anymore.
13:50In fact, I'm about to go on to the cheapest fixes now.
13:53None of these require you to have a smart meter.
13:56So, ditch and switch and go to someone else for my answer if you don't want the smart meter.
14:00Though I like a smart meter.
14:01Okay, fixing gives you peace of mind that the rate won't change.
14:04Although, of course, if you use more, you pay more and your direct debit would go up.
14:07Cheapest always depends on your region and how much you use.
14:10So, these are not locked in cheapest for you because it depends.
14:13Use a whole of market comparison site.
14:16One that defaults to showing you all the tariffs, many of them, almost all of them.
14:20Hide the tariffs that don't pay them.
14:22So, if you want to see it, you have to tick a little box that you'll struggle to find.
14:25And some of the cheapest tariffs will be missing there.
14:28It's worth noting, by the way, comparison sites these days, you don't even need to know your usage.
14:32They actually know...
14:33Once they know who you are, you've done it.
14:35And they know your usage.
14:36You don't have to put any details in.
14:37It's very simple.
14:38So, what are the cheapest fixes?
14:39Well, you've got a fight between Eon Next and Outfox at the top, around 10.5% to 11% cheaper.
14:45You've got an Octopus one, which is a 12-month fix.
14:47The Eon Next is a longer fix.
14:48So, you've got a little bit...
14:50That one actually locks you in until the end of next winter, which is quite useful.
14:53The Octopus one, the reason I'm highlighting that, is unlike the others, which have got early exit fees.
14:58So, I don't see you'd need to leave because prices are unlikely to be coming down.
15:01There's no early exit fees on the Octopus one.
15:03So, if you want an absolutely no-risk fix that you could get out if you needed, it's that.
15:07You've got an even longer 18-month fix with Eon Next.
15:10And I put this one at the bottom.
15:12It's an EDF fix.
15:13This is the cheapest fix for people who've got smart prepayment meters.
15:17The other fixes are not available to them.
15:19That's the price on smart prepay.
15:21It's actually cheaper if you're on other forms of payment.
15:23If you're on old-school prepay key and card meters, you're going to have to stay on the price cap
15:28because there aren't any fixes or cheap tariffs available for you that I know of at the moment, I'm afraid.
15:32So, that's what's going on.
15:33All available for new and existing customers.
15:35None of these for Northern Ireland.
15:36Totally different energy system.
15:38Question for you.
15:39It comes from another Martin, not yourself.
15:41So, it says, my current energy tariff is due to expire mid-December.
15:44Is that the right time to fix it again or should I just wait until the spring energy cap is set?
15:48I'm going to hold the last bit because...
15:50Okay.
15:51First thing to understand, if you're on a fix, within the last 50 days of your fix, so day 49 towards the fix, they cannot charge you an early exit penalty.
15:59You are free to leave.
16:00So, at that point, I would do a comparison.
16:03If the new fix is cheaper than your existing fix, ditch the existing fix and go to the new fix.
16:10If it's the other way round and your existing fix is the cheaper one, well, I would stick on it until the very last day because it's cheaper than the cheapest fix on the market.
16:18You may as well stick there.
16:19As for this waiting until the spring energy cap, okay, I get this question so often.
16:23Let me try and make this plain.
16:25The cost you can fix at has nothing to do with the price cap whatsoever.
16:29It is totally chalk and a duck.
16:31They are not related in any way.
16:33They have nothing in common.
16:35So, the price cap is based on a time lag of what has happened in the past.
16:38The rate you can fix at is what's going on in the market today.
16:42So, it's almost looking right now and in the future.
16:44So, fixes move up and down.
16:46So, the fact the spring energy cap has nothing to do with the price of a fix.
16:49That's just about the price of the price cap.
16:51And people always say, would it be better to wait till the price cap?
16:54That's irrelevant.
16:55That's about what the past.
16:56The rate you can fix at depends on the now.
16:58We don't know what's going to happen in the future.
17:00So, if you can save by fixing, you don't have an exit penalty fix.
17:03If you can't save by fixing, wait as long as you can on your current fix.
17:07And then don't go on to the price cap.
17:09Go on to the cheapest fix available at the time.
17:10Make sense?
17:11Yes.
17:12Okay.
17:13Kerry.
17:14Kerry's also got a question for you here.
17:16Kerry's asking, how do I work out if I should fix my electricity tariff
17:20when I have a cheap EV charging at night rate?
17:23I'm with Octopus.
17:24I feel like I'm on the episode of Mastermind at the moment.
17:27Okay.
17:28Right.
17:29So, the Octopus are most of the two-tier EV tariffs.
17:32Basically, you pay the price cap rate for electricity during the day, and then you get a super cheap rate,
17:37say, 9p a kilowatt hour at night.
17:39So, really, the question is, how much of your energy do you use in that cheap period between, say, midnight and 5am in the morning when you get super cheap rates?
17:49Not just your car.
17:50Have you shifted other uses there?
17:52Shift as much as you can, not your tumble dryer.
17:54Fire risk if you put a tumble dryer on overnight while you're sleeping.
17:56If that's over 25% of your energy usage at the very cheap period, you're probably better on an EV tariff.
18:03If it's not, you're probably better just going for the cheapest fix.
18:06It's a very rough rule of thumb, but hopefully that helps and makes sense.
18:09Let's go through to some of those more specialist tariffs now, four of them.
18:13If you're a very low user, the EDF tracker is basically a price cap tariff, but with 50 quid lower standing charges.
18:20It lasts a year.
18:21It's best for those really low usage, under about £1,000 a year of use.
18:25Just before that...
18:26Sure.
18:27I need a sip of water.
18:28Yes, sorry, right.
18:29So, Phil actually, just on that, he's asking, is it best waiting to see if the standing charges come down in the spring?
18:34Standing charges aren't coming down in the spring on the price cap.
18:37What's happening in the spring is the regulator has said that firms will have to offer a low or no standing charge switchable deal.
18:44I'll be asking Greg if he turns up. It's still very empty, slightly very...
18:49..about that one.
18:50You may want to wait, but we just don't have a clue at what rate they're going to offer those and how much they're going to charge on the others.
18:57So, you might want to just go in for this low user option now.
18:59I simply don't have the data to be able to answer that properly, I'm afraid.
19:02OK.
19:03Got an electric car, we've covered it.
19:05I talked about the two tariff rates, which most of them are.
19:08The alternative is that OVO and Scottish Power, you can get one of their normal tariffs
19:13and then they give you a cheaper rate just for charging your car through a special charger,
19:17which may be good if they had a cheap fix, although neither of the two currently offer the cheapest fixes,
19:22but it is worth watching out for.
19:24We'll move on to sophisticated users now.
19:27If that's not you, just move on past this bit.
19:30Rapid price change tariffs can lead to big savings.
19:33These are mainly for existing Octopus customers.
19:36He's not here, so I can tell you this.
19:38What I would do if you want it, you switch to Octopus's standard variable tariff.
19:42Once that's signed up, the next day you switch to one of these,
19:45because you're now an existing Octopus customer.
19:47You've got the Agile, which is electricity only, prices change every half hour,
19:51and you've got the Tracker prices change daily.
19:53Let's have a look at a graph on that.
19:55OK.
19:56So here you go.
19:57This is the price cap.
19:59Cheapest fix would be about here.
20:01This is Tracker over the last seven days.
20:03It's not been that cheap.
20:04It can be cheaper if wholesale rates are going down, but it's generally cheaper.
20:07This is Agile.
20:09Peak rates between four and eight at night can be very, very expensive.
20:14But overnight, it can be super cheap, and there are times you get paid for using electricity.
20:22The cost is negative at the right moment.
20:25So if you are a sophisticated user who can move, maybe you've got a battery storage in your house,
20:30who can move your usage away from peak time and into the other times of the day,
20:34it can be incredibly cheap, but it isn't for people who don't know what they're doing.
20:38And then I'll finish on my last one.
20:40I think you've had enough.
20:41I think it's got too complicated.
20:42It's my last one.
20:43I promise no more.
20:44And then I'll take some questions.
20:45If you've got solar panels, many people say,
20:47should I get an all-in-one deal where I get my solar panels and I get my energy from the same firm?
20:51Well, you can be paid a lot more for your solar export guarantee for generating electricity if you do.
20:57Again, it just depends.
20:59My rough rule of thumb is over 15% of the energy you use, you are generating and sending to the grid.
21:05Then linking them together is worth it.
21:07If it's less than that, if you're not sending that much to the grid, just go for the cheapest energy deal that you possibly can.
21:12I'm done with that.
21:13Yeah, brilliant stuff.
21:14Well done, Martin.
21:15Well, coming up, energy firms are sitting on over £3 billion worth of your direct debit credit.
21:21Martin's going to show you how to reclaim what's yours.
21:23We'll see you in full.
21:25Welcome back. We're talking energy bills. We talked about fixing in the first part.
21:41Roberta, are you going to fix now?
21:43That's good to hear. I'm glad the explanation worked.
21:46Greg Jackson is here. He's got off the motorbike. He's in.
21:49Welcome to Greg from Oxford.
21:52Jeanette, what's going on online?
21:54Yeah, it's really, really busy online.
21:55Lots of people asking about direct debit credits and getting that credit back.
21:59Coming to that. We are going to come to that.
22:00Coming to that. But also online, they're talking about the Chancellor perhaps reducing VAT on energy bills.
22:05What will change or impact any of that, do you think?
22:08I don't think that's what's going to happen.
22:10I think the most likely thing she'll do is she'll take a chunk off energy bills.
22:12I would like to see her reducing money off the standing charge because then everybody gets the same amount, flat rate.
22:17I think it's more likely she'll take some of the renewable obligation off the unit rate that you pay for electricity.
22:25So that would mean the people who use more will save more on the back of it.
22:28Now, the important thing to understand about this is that should come off everybody's bills, whether you're on a fix, whatever type of deal you are.
22:34If it only came off the price cap, it would be absolutely perverse because it means it would go against the market competition philosophy that it wants it work on.
22:41So my suspicion is we're going to see an announcement that effectively takes 2 to 3p off the unit rate that everybody is paying for their energy bills.
22:50When that'll come in, I don't know. But you know what? I've got the boss of the biggest energy company here.
22:55Greg, would you think the same? That's my guess.
22:57Yeah, I think it would make a lot of sense.
22:58I mean, the renewable obligation is a sort of historical research and development in energy.
23:03It's crazy it stays on our bills for maybe years to come. So it would good to get rid.
23:07OK, so we're both thinking the same thing, so there's probably a good chance that'll happen.
23:10All right. Or maybe not.
23:11Direct debit, energy, credit.
23:14Rebecca's got the question. I think a lot of people are asking.
23:16Our direct debit is £200 a month and we have £746 in credit.
23:21Should I leave it there or request I'm back for Christmas?
23:24OK, we're getting into the sexiest piece of energy now.
23:26The thing that I really enjoy. There is a sine wave coming, everybody. There is a sine wave coming.
23:30The answer to your question is yes, you in your circumstances will get some back.
23:34But let me carry on with my big briefing to explain why. Here you go.
23:37Monthly direct debit is designed to spread the cost so that you don't have huge bills in winter when you're using most.
23:43Effectively, you overpay in summer and you underpay in winter.
23:47So the first thing you do before you get to that, Rebecca, is you check that your direct debit isn't too high.
23:52If you've got a working smart meter, it's doing it automatically, sending the meter readings in.
23:56If not, then do a meter reading yourself.
23:59Make sure the company has factored in your latest meter reading before you go any further and that you're not in any debt.
24:04There are online is my direct debit correct calculators.
24:07And if it's too high, then you want them to lower your direct debit.
24:09But where Rebecca's really asking about is this one.
24:12Are you owed hundreds of pounds of credit?
24:14Energy firms collectively are sitting on over three billion pounds of our money.
24:18Some of it they should be.
24:20Some of it they shouldn't be.
24:22And this is the perfect time to check because of the energy direct debit cycle.
24:28I wasn't asking you to do that, but I really enjoyed it.
24:32We'll do that after the show ends.
24:34Right. Let me get you onto this. Here we go.
24:36So this is the energy direct debit cycle.
24:42It does depend on when you started, but this is to give you an idea.
24:45What happens during the year is that as you're in those winter months, you start to get more and more into debt or you use up your credit.
24:51And then once you start to move into summer in about May, it bottoms out and you start to build up the amount of credit you've got until the middle of November.
25:00I.e. right now when you are in the maximum amount of credit and you want to be, you've stored it up like a squirrel scoring up its nuts in order to be able to eat them when you're hibernating in the winter.
25:14So this is that point. I should say, I mean, I wanted more graphs.
25:17I wanted one that goes like that.
25:18If you start in May and I want one that goes like that, but they wouldn't let me.
25:21They said, we just will do.
25:22So this, what my general rule of thumb is at this point of the year, right this point of the year, why it's the perfect time.
25:28If you're more than two months of energy direct debit in credit, then you want to get the excess back.
25:37That's my rule. More than two months.
25:38So let's do the maths for Rebecca.
25:40Two months is £400.
25:42I'll be asking for £350 back because she's got £750 in credit.
25:46And that's how it moves.
25:47Let's move on to the next graphic.
25:48I think I've covered the rest of that there.
25:50Final quick note for you.
25:52By the way, you just asked the firm for the excess.
25:54Final quick note.
25:55If you are sitting there going, I hate direct debit.
25:57You know, I hate monthly direct debit.
25:58They come in.
25:59They're charging me too much.
26:00I don't like, I don't trust them.
26:01I don't trust them, Greg.
26:02I don't trust them.
26:03That's the most important point on this chart.
26:05There you go.
26:06If you say, I just want to pay when I get a bill, you pay 8% more, right?
26:11You don't want that.
26:12If you're really going to do that, ask for variable direct debit.
26:15That's where you are billed each month for what you use.
26:18And they take that amount out by direct debit, but you're still on the direct debit rate.
26:22So it's 8% cheaper.
26:23So if you're going to get rid of your monthly direct debit, shift the variable direct debit,
26:26not payment in receipt of bills, Greg agrees over there.
26:29Yes?
26:30I checked a bit earlier when you were talking about this.
26:32I checked.
26:33I'm £290 in credit and we pay around £220 every month direct debit.
26:37Oh, Jeanette.
26:38That's why I love you.
26:39Bring me my graph back.
26:40Put my graph back.
26:41You're like perfect sweet spot just over one month in energy direct debit credit.
26:45So you don't need to do anything.
26:46OK.
26:47You've got your storage.
26:48You're ready for the winter.
26:49You don't want that money back because it's going to help you during the winter months.
26:51That's absolutely perfect.
26:52Perfect stuff.
26:53Right, Mark has been in touch.
26:54And Mark is saying about this time last year, of course we do this annually.
26:57Because it's a cycle, yeah.
26:58Every year at the same time.
26:59I went to my energy supplier for a credit refund and got back £1,002 and got my monthly direct
27:04debit down to £38 instead of £136 too.
27:07Wow.
27:08Thanks.
27:09Congratulations.
27:10So my observation on that is that that monthly direct debit is too low.
27:15What I suspect happened is he had a lot more credit.
27:17He got a gram back and they said, we won't give you the rest back but we'll just lower
27:20your direct debit until you catch up.
27:22Because £38 is too little for almost everybody on a direct debit.
27:27And it's not that much more than just a standing charge, yes.
27:29Brilliant stuff.
27:30I think we can go to break now.
27:32Yeah.
27:33So, coming up next, Martin puts your questions to the boss of Britain's biggest energy retailer
27:38who has 24% of the market share.
27:41So don't go anywhere.
27:53Welcome back to our show all about energy bills.
27:56We've talked about the importance of fixing and getting off the price cap.
27:58We've talked about getting your energy credit back if you're too much in credit.
28:01Now we're talking to the boss of Britain's biggest energy company.
28:04Seems strange to say that.
28:05You're not British Gas.
28:06You've overtaken British Gas.
28:07Greg Jackson, by the way, everybody.
28:09Hello.
28:10Give him a round of applause.
28:11Hello.
28:13Yeah, I mean, that's quite a change.
28:17Yeah, I think, look, energy is more competitive than it used to be.
28:20I think there's not just us.
28:21There's a whole load of companies you were showing on the screen earlier that either didn't exist,
28:25you know, a decade ago, or, you know, new versions of old companies.
28:30That's good for customers.
28:31I've got to say, the rest of the system, all those fixed costs you were talking about earlier,
28:35that's a real problem.
28:36Well, yeah, so I was talking about how it was perverse that they're trying to encourage people to use electricity,
28:40but because of the way they do the policy and they put all the costs on electricity bills,
28:43electricity prices are going up and gas are going down.
28:45It's not going to help people get heat pumps, which is what they want, is it?
28:48No, I mean, I completely agree with you.
28:49And I think, look, those high electricity costs are because of policy choices.
28:54They've been made over decades, but, you know, it's time we revisited them,
28:58because we've got to get electricity costs down, not just to get people to electrify,
29:01but because people can't afford their bills.
29:03Well, look, I mean, we shouldn't be doing this, but I'll just have a moment for myself.
29:06One of the things I find really difficult is we put all these costs onto electricity bills.
29:10Electricity bills are regressive.
29:12Now, really rich people don't have proportionately higher energy bills compared to poor people.
29:16So a much better way to look after people would be take the costs off electricity bills
29:20and put them on general taxation and bring energy bills down,
29:22and then it would be a more progressive system.
29:24But I'm not here to make those type of points.
29:26So let me ask you the first question.
29:27This came from a Martin. It's not me, I promise.
29:29Why are energy prices in the UK higher than practically anywhere else?
29:32How can you justify record profits year on year when they're in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis?
29:39Why should the UK not impose a windfall tax on excessive profits?
29:43I mean, first of all, I should say, as energy retailers, our profits are capped by the price cap.
29:48And so, you know...
29:492.6%.
29:50Yeah, and, in fact, we don't make that because of things like the fixed deals.
29:53So, on an average £1,700 bill, we made about £10 or £11 profit last year.
29:59That's not the reason for high bills. It's all of that waste in the system.
30:03Now, you talk about international comparisons.
30:05It's worth saying they're hard to make because taxes vary by country,
30:09and the way that they put them on bills or in general taxation varies.
30:12But the UK, along with Germany, have got the highest consumer prices,
30:15and we've got, by far, the highest prices for businesses,
30:18small businesses as well as big industry.
30:20And that's because, you know, countries like us in Germany
30:23have followed roughly the same policies for the last decade,
30:26and we now need to revisit those because they're loading more and more fixed costs into the system.
30:30In fact, Martin, let me tell you, there are so many fixed costs in the system now
30:34and planned that even if the wholesale price of electricity falls to zero,
30:39bills probably wouldn't come down.
30:41Wow.
30:42But there are people making excess profits.
30:44There are oil and gas companies out there who have made billions
30:47or, you know, getting on for trillions of pounds because of the high energy prices.
30:52And this... So, you're a retailer. I don't know if you have a generation arm or not.
30:56We do, but it's... We don't actually own the generation.
31:00We manage it on behalf of other... Fine.
31:02I mean, they have made excessive profits, haven't they?
31:05Undoubtedly. The profits that are being made are from those global oil and gas companies,
31:10many of whom are not British, by the way, because we're buying our gas from Qatar
31:13and from the USA and elsewhere.
31:15And particularly some of the very big, highly subsidised renewable generators
31:20who are getting paid at a rate that's attached to the gas price.
31:23When gas was particularly expensive, they were earning a lot.
31:26Now, there was a bit of a windfall tax there, but where we are today,
31:30you know, there's a lot of profit made in that sector.
31:32They're set to be a lot more, and there are two things that make it worse, Martin.
31:36The first is we built loads of these wind farms where there's no grid.
31:40It's like building a factory where there's no roads.
31:42But we pay these wind farms for the electricity they can't deliver,
31:46and then we're going to pay a fortune to build new grids to connect them.
31:50And that's part of the reason the price is going up in April,
31:53is to connect some of those to the grid, isn't it?
31:55Yeah, and that cost is going to keep going up.
31:56And look, we also spent, I don't know, we spent about £1.3 billion a year turning off wind farms.
32:02I want to go do some more practical stuff with you now.
32:04Kelly commented, we know there's going to be enough gem rules
32:06that companies have to have low or no standing charge tariffs offered coming in the spring.
32:10Will Octopus have a no standing charge tariff in 2026? Can you tell us?
32:15Yeah, I don't know yet. We're working on it. I think these go back to those fixed cost problems.
32:20Because the day that you switch to us, we get charged, or essentially over the next year,
32:25we will get £200 of fixed costs, even if you use no power.
32:28And the question for energy companies is, you know, obviously,
32:31if everyone was costing £200 and not spending anything, you know, companies wouldn't survive.
32:36So, first of all, we will do what we can.
32:39But my worry is people will have very high unit rates to recoup that money,
32:43and it'll end up not being good value for most people.
32:45Which is why I would complain it wasn't within the price cap,
32:47because there's no price regulation on the unit rates.
32:49But that's getting a bit too complicated for the audience, I suspect.
32:51Dawn, I would like to put a question to the person in charge of Octopus Energy.
32:55I sadly lost my husband almost a year ago and had to pay all the bills.
32:59I have to pay the bills, but I'm struggling to pay the energy bill from your company,
33:02as I claim Universal Credit and PIP. Is there any other way I can pay the bill?
33:06What would you say to Dawn?
33:07Well, first of all, I'm really sorry about her loss,
33:09and I know how hard it is doing with bills when spouses die.
33:13If Dawn gets in touch, there's a bunch of things we can do.
33:16First of all, we can make sure she's getting all the support from a whole bunch of agencies.
33:20We've got ways of looking that up for her, so we can help with more than just energy bills.
33:24On energy, I think this year we've given 70,000 people standing charge holidays.
33:29It makes a big difference when they're struggling.
33:31If they're in debt, we can do you pay, we pay.
33:34For every pound they pay, we'll pay a pound.
33:37And then there's, you know, we've got 300,000 customers where we've visited them to help reduce energy wastage so they can save money.
33:45So there's a lot of ways we can help.
33:47The main thing is, look, our company and others, if you phone them up, there are a lot of ways they can help.
33:52And some of them are a lot more helpful than you.
33:55If we find you've got access to more support and benefits elsewhere, it's bigger than your energy bill.
34:00I would echo that.
34:01Always talk to your energy firm first if you're struggling.
34:03On this one, there are special rules.
34:04You can put yourself on the Vulnerable Customer Priority Services Register,
34:07which you have to be treated in special ways.
34:09Going quiet isn't the right way.
34:10Look, there are lots of these octopus questions.
34:13I should say whichever firm we had on would probably have similar ones.
34:15Mina.
34:16How can energy companies keep money and refuse to refund any?
34:19I have nearly £700 sitting in Octopus's account and has asked for a £200 refund as I needed to pay other bills.
34:26They are refusing but have reduced my direct debit.
34:28Why is my money treated as theirs?
34:30That doesn't sound right to me, Greg. Why is that happening?
34:32No, it doesn't.
34:33If Mina emails me, greg.jackson at octopus.energy, I'll have that looked at.
34:37And anybody else in that situation, if they have too much energy credit,
34:40you shouldn't be reducing the direct debit, you should be giving them their money, shouldn't you?
34:43You are. In fact, I think we refund 25,000 customers a week.
34:4770% of them are self-serve online, so there's no one getting in the way.
34:51There are one or two things.
34:52You need to make sure you've got up-to-date meter readings,
34:54because otherwise we don't know the real state of your account.
34:57And the other is, obviously, if you've got a smart meter, that will automatically be the case.
35:01And then the other one is, there are actually quite a lot of fraud attempts on refunds.
35:04So sometimes there's a few extra days delay for fraud checking, but it shouldn't stop it.
35:09OK. And you'll look after that one particular case, but anybody else should be getting in touch.
35:12And you can quote what he has said on the programme.
35:14Rewind it back. Watch it on ITVX.
35:16Quote his words down and say, Greg Jackson told me this.
35:18That'll help the customer service.
35:20Can I say, Martin, there's one other thing.
35:21You showed the sine wave earlier, the curve.
35:23For Octopus, every customer that's on a normal tariff, we do a personalised version of that,
35:28so they can see the extent to which they're paying too much, too little,
35:31they've got too much credit or too little credit.
35:33It's called the balance forecaster. It's well worth checking.
35:36I can't play favourites, but I love the idea of a personalised sine curve.
35:39Anyway.
35:40So, Jenny. Jenny.
35:43I'm going to sub Jenny's question because it's complicated.
35:46What she's saying is, if we take the pain of increasing energy bills now,
35:49is there a guarantee that the money from the increases will go to renewable infrastructure
35:53and bring bills down in the future?
35:55Now, this is policy, this is government, but you probably know better than anyone.
35:59Do you think the investments we're making are going to mean cheaper bills,
36:02and when will we see cheaper bills?
36:03Yeah.
36:04So, it's definitely going into that infrastructure, renewables plus the grid to connect it.
36:09The models suggest that we'll see cheaper bills from maybe 2035,
36:14possibly a bit earlier if we're faster building.
36:17That's not good enough.
36:18That's why we say that we need to look now at where can we save money on those new network bills
36:23so we can cut bills a lot sooner.
36:25We can't wait that long.
36:27One thing I would say, Martin, earlier, you mentioned some of that network build
36:30was for things like electric vehicles because they put more strain on the grid.
36:33But actually, when you talked about smart tariff electric vehicles,
36:36it reduces the strain on the grid.
36:38And so, one thing we should be doing is saying that if we can make electricity cheaper,
36:42put more electric cars on the road, it actually cuts these infrastructure costs for everybody.
36:47And I think we need to have a bit more vision about doing this faster and cheaper.
36:51I have to say, time-of-use tariffs, and you are transparent on yours and publish the algorithm,
36:54my great concern is if everybody's doing a tariff that changes every half hour,
36:58how do these people find who their cheapest one is if it moves every half hour?
37:01And so, I think that we should have rules in place that say,
37:05firms who are going to do time-of-use tariffs,
37:07they must publish the underlying algorithm and the cost base
37:10and guarantee that that will last for an amount of time
37:12so that people can help and do some comparisons.
37:15We're getting very complicated.
37:17I hope it hasn't too complicated for those of you at home,
37:18but I think this is important stuff.
37:20Eileen, do you think it's fair that everyone is having an extra £6 charge
37:24added to their energy bills to cover the debt owed to utility companies?
37:27A lot of people go without rather than going to debt,
37:29so why should they pay less for energy firms to get more money?
37:32You know, this is a really difficult area,
37:34because I know that most people do want to pay their bills,
37:37but I see messages from customers now that are saying,
37:40I can't afford my bills, why are they going up to pay for other people's?
37:44I think there's a couple of things.
37:46First of all, you know, we've got to recognise
37:48that one of the causes of the debt is bills are too high.
37:51That's why you and I are both saying we need policy changes
37:54to bring them down fast.
37:56I think the second thing is that how energy companies behave
38:00makes a big difference.
38:01If companies are transparent, if you've got easy-to-read bills
38:04so people know where they stand, then much less life is getting to debt.
38:07But the most important thing is, if people phone up,
38:09we can find a lot of ways of helping you get out of it
38:11without adding to other people's bills.
38:13I'm sorry, I'm going to have to go to a break now.
38:14I'll try and get one or two more questions for you after the break.
38:16Greg Jackson from Octopus Energy, everybody. Thank you very much.
38:19Thank you. Thanks, Greg.
38:21Well, coming up next, it's just been announced
38:24that the minimum wage is set to rise.
38:26What are the new rates?
38:27Plus a £400 bank switch deal.
38:29We'll see you after this.
38:37Kelly, Vogue, Eddie and Tom have spent the night from hell
38:39in the jungle nursery.
38:41Find out how they get on and see how many stars Jack can bring home
38:44from the latest trial, Drown the Hatch.
38:47Join us for all that when I'm A Celebrity continues
38:50live from Australia at nine o'clock tonight.
38:53We will see you there.
38:56Welcome back to the show.
39:02Social media has been alive tonight.
39:04Electric, if you like.
39:05Look at this from Daniel.
39:07He's saying, I've just switched while sat watching the show.
39:10Been paying £226 a month direct debit for over the last year
39:13on a standard variable.
39:15Pants cut!
39:16Just fixed for 12 months with the same company
39:18for £130 a month.
39:20£1,200 saving over the next year.
39:22Also £76 in credit. Wow.
39:24CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
39:27Again, I suspect some of that saving will be their drop
39:29to direct debit rather than natural lowering costs,
39:31but there will be a big saving in there.
39:32Well done.
39:33That's really good.
39:34And just this quick question for you here, Martin, from Carol.
39:36Carol's asking, my energy company keeps saying my meter is out of date.
39:39I've had it for ten years.
39:40Are they just trying to make me get a smart meter?
39:42Er, no and yes.
39:44I'm just waggling this because I've got some questions on the computer
39:46so it doesn't go off.
39:47Look, meters do date and they do have a use-by date
39:52beyond which you can't use them.
39:54Now, the thing to do is check, do they have an M.I.D. certification?
39:57If they have an M.I.D. certification, they should not expire.
40:00If they don't, they probably do expire.
40:02There's a brilliant page on the Citizens Advice website
40:04that takes you through how you know if your meter expires or not.
40:07That's where I'd probably send you to.
40:09If your meter expires, they have to fit a new one.
40:13Almost all firms these days only have smart meters,
40:16so there's no requirement for them to fit a smart meter,
40:18but they don't have any others.
40:19If you really hate a smart meter, and I tend to be a bit of a fan,
40:22you can see what, you know, you don't have to do the readings anymore,
40:25it's up to date and you can see what you're using,
40:26but I know some people don't like them,
40:28then you can ask them to turn off the smart functionality.
40:31So, you get a smart meter, but it only works as a dumb meter, if you like.
40:34So, Carol, I hope that answers your question.
40:36Now, I'm going to ask Greg a question or two that have just come in.
40:41So, I don't normally use computers. I'm stealing your job, Jeanette.
40:45Joe got in touch.
40:47I would like to know why energy companies can have so many different prices
40:50for the same product.
40:51Yeah, that's a great question.
40:53What happens in energy is every day the wholesale market is changing,
40:57and it can change dramatically.
40:58You know, if there's news about an issue in the Gulf,
41:00the price of gas will go up loads.
41:03On a sunny day, the price of electricity will plummet.
41:05And so, every day we're going to the market,
41:08getting the cheapest energy we can.
41:10We'll buy it a year in advance for fixes.
41:12And then, as you said, like, three months afterwards,
41:15we set the price, cap price.
41:18I can't bring myself.
41:19So, it's really based on those variable costs.
41:23And it just depends on what's going on the day we go to market.
41:25So, you're buying it in.
41:26When somebody gets it, you can price them one.
41:28And if it's more expensive a week later, you'll charge them more.
41:30If it's cheaper, you'll charge them less.
41:32Exactly.
41:33There is one thing, though, which is, you know, we talked about the more complex tariffs.
41:36They don't have to be complex.
41:37There are simple ones, for example, some of the two-rate tariffs,
41:40because there's a general pattern that electricity in the UK is expensive around about tea time.
41:45It's super cheap overnight, and it's very cheap on sunny days around the middle of the day.
41:49And so, if you can use electricity more at the cheap times and avoid the expensive,
41:54there are other things you can do.
41:55And that makes it more variable, but you'll get a bargain.
41:58I just need to be careful.
41:59Most people, you don't have time-of-use tariffs, so you'll pay the same all day.
42:02But if, as a society, if you get people off 4 to 8pm,
42:05then we don't have enough redundancy in the system that would bring all our prices down,
42:09which is why time-of-use tariffs comes in.
42:10But I have to go to my news you can use at this point.
42:13You absolutely do.
42:16OK, totally different subject.
42:17Just announced at about 6 o'clock this evening,
42:19new minimum wage rates from 1 April 2026.
42:22For those aged 21, the main one is going up 50p an hour, which is up about 4.1%.
42:27For those aged 18 to 20, it's going up 85p an hour, which is up about 8.5%,
42:31because they're trying to get that closer to the one for slightly older people.
42:34For those on apprenticeships or under 18s, it's going up 45p an hour, up 6%.
42:40Important to understand, those are not just if you're paid by the hour.
42:43They apply to everyone, however you are paid.
42:46So if you were working full-time, you know, and it varies on the number of hours you're doing,
42:51this is roughly equivalent to £900 a year more, £1,500 a year more or £850 a year more.
42:58But this is the thing that people don't know.
43:00There are many people on minimum wage who are actually being underpaid
43:04because their employers are not following the rules.
43:06370,000 people in 2024, the last time we had numbers from, were being underpaid.
43:12And this is not small firms. This includes big household name firms.
43:15Don't think this is only small backstreet employers. It isn't.
43:18Now, there are two big reasons this happens.
43:20If you have to buy your uniform, your tools, your safety equipment and your clothing,
43:24the cost of that should not take you below equivalent minimum wage over your pay period.
43:29What does that mean?
43:30So you take the cost, you subtract it over your pay period.
43:33So if you're paid by the month, it's in a month. If you're paid by the week, it's in a week.
43:36If that takes you down below minimum wage for the hours you've worked,
43:39you have been underpaid, then you should get that money.
43:42You should also be paid for all your working time. Overtime, security checks, handovers, opening up, on call.
43:49And you shouldn't get less than minimum wage once your full working time is taken into account.
43:54Your pay should be at least equal to minimum wage for that period.
43:57Those are the big ones.
43:58A few more. Tips can't be within the minimum wage. They have to be on top.
44:02If you're on commission and you don't get enough for minimum wage, your employers have to top you up.
44:06Is your apprenticeship real? There's a special lower minimum wage apprenticeship rate.
44:10They can't have that rate and not do a proper apprenticeship.
44:13So you need structured training as part of your apprenticeship.
44:16If not, you need to be paid the other minimum wage rate because you're not really an apprentice.
44:20And big one for 18- and 21-year-olds. You should get a pay rise on your birthday
44:24because you're now in a different minimum wage bracket if you're on minimum wage
44:27and on the 1st of April when it moves.
44:29If you think you're underpaid, call ACAS, which is the arbitration service, for free help.
44:35You can complain to your employer. Many people won't want to do that.
44:38Or you can complain anonymously via gov.uk.
44:41Obviously, if you're a single employee, then they'll know it's you.
44:44But for most people, that will help.
44:46Yeah. Quickies now. We haven't got time for long.
44:48Mobile. Which network's got the strongest signal indoors and out where you live?
44:52They actually really rate the Map Your Mobile tool on ofcom.org.uk.
44:56It's detailed. Well worth checking to see where you get the best signal.
44:59By the way, if you think it's wrong, then do feedback to them.
45:01The more people feedback, the more accurate it gets.
45:03And there's a little button below.
45:04Ending on Thursday, 400 quid of free cash for switching to Barclays.
45:07It's Barclays Premier. It's only for people who earn over £75,000.
45:11It's only for higher earners. You also get Apple TV.
45:14But it's worth looking at. Biggest cash bonus we've ever seen.
45:16Also, the standard free £200 for everybody else.
45:19You've got to join its Blue Rewards scheme to get the £200.
45:21But as soon as you're paid, you can get rid of the Blue Rewards scheme
45:24that costs £5 a month, and it only normally lasts a month or so.
45:26But there are loads of other free cash deals available at the moment.
45:29It's a great time to be switching bank accounts.
45:31Have a look back at last week's show on ITVX.
45:33And finally, the unbeatable Help to Save scheme will be extended
45:36to 1.5 million people.
45:38We'll learn this in the budget tomorrow from 2028,
45:40they've told me officially.
45:42It's for those people on Universal Credit who are also working.
45:44You get a 50% boost on up to £50 a month,
45:47saved over two years via gov.uk.
45:49From 2028, it will also apply to those people who can't work
45:52because they've got parental or kinship responsibilities or they're carers.
45:55You've got a quick case study on that. Success, haven't you?
45:57We do, very quickly. Single mum, part-time job from Esther here.
46:00After you covered it two years ago, I took your advice.
46:02I started a Help to Save account, received a £600 bonus.
46:05I can't thank you enough.
46:06Really important. Look at that.
46:07Haven't got time to clap because, most importantly, Thursday night...
46:11Where am I? Thursday night, 7.30.
46:13It's my budget special.
46:15The practical change is coming in the budget
46:17and Rachel Reeves is coming on the show.
46:19Get in touch with your questions for me or for her about the budget.
46:22We'll be watching it tomorrow. It's a big day.
46:23Thank you to everyone here. Thank you to Greg.
46:257.30, not 8. Thursday night.
46:27Bye-bye. Thanks, Jeanette. Bye-bye.
46:32Well, stay with us here on ITV1.
46:37I'm a celebrity, get me out of here, is on the way next.
46:41APPLAUSE
46:44APPLAUSE
46:46MUSIC
46:51MUSIC
46:52MUSIC
46:56MUSIC
46:58MUSIC
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