Why the Price Cap rise is voluntary! £87bn of lost pensions & accounts. Reclaim student loans
6/4/20261 hr 4 min
In this episode, Martin Lewis unpacks what’s really happening with energy prices and the energy price cap—what it means for your bills right now, what’s likely coming next, and the practical steps you can take to protect your household finances. From fixed vs variable tariffs to whether now is the right time to switch. We dive into the surprising world of lost and forgotten money, shining a spotlight on the billions that could be sitting unclaimed in old accounts, refunds, or schemes many of us have simply forgotten about. Martin explores where this money commonly hides, including dormant bank and savings accounts and unclaimed pension pots from previous jobs. Tell Us is all about when you have found money you didn’t know you had. From rediscovered savings accounts to surprise payouts decades later, the episode celebrates the unexpected windfalls—including a caller who found money in her knicker draw. Steffan Powell is presenting instead of Adrian Chiles this week. In Mastermind Martin asks him about reclaiming student loan overpayments before guiding listeners through how to check if they’ve paid too much and how to get that cash back. It’s quick, practical, and could put real money back in your pocket. If you want to ask Martin a question, you now can! His Question Time podcast lets you ask Martin absolutely anything and everything (within reason!) – so if you’ve always wanted to know his favourite ice cream flavour, if he’s ever pondered the meaning of life, or have a very complicated question about your personal finances, email it to MartinLewisPodcast@bbc.co.uk.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMartin Lewis· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Well, the £67 billion in lost asset pensions. You can get that money back. Really important people understand that.
Stefan Powell· Host0:10
Once bought a coat in a car boot sale for £5, and I found £9 in the pocket.
Martin Lewis· Host0:15
I mean, it's literally the smell of money, wasn't it? I mean, it's- [laughs] Hello, I'm Martin Lewis, and this is the cunningly named The Martin Lewis Podcast. I do wonder what that's gonna be about. And this is our big topic episode, where each week we lead on one main subject to help you save. Usually, most of it comes from my BBC Radio 5 Live show with Adrian Chiles, though Stefan Powell was sitting in for him this week. But there's also bonus money-saving tips and Q&As just for you lucky, lucky podcast listeners. Let's do it.
LunchMoney Lewis· Soundbite0:46
[upbeat music] I've got bills I've gotta pay. So I'm gon' work, work, work every day. I've got mouths I've gotta feed. So I'm gon' make sure everybody eats.
Stefan Powell· Host1:04
Yes, Martin is here. Hello, Martin. How's it going? How are you?
Martin Lewis· Host1:08
I'm doing very well. Thank you very much. We've got a lot to get through today, and we're gonna do something slightly different when we're starting off. We're talking about the tellers first. So the tellers this week is have you ever found money you didn't know you had? Where was it hiding? How did you lose it, and what did you do with it? We've got lots of responses from the trivial to the massive, but that then inspired me to change the theme of the podcast. Many people