Up next in 10
As households brace for an 'awful April' of bills increases, Andrew Marr is joined by founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, Martin Lewis.
'We always have April peeing down on the nation's finances, but this time water bills is the really big one.'
When discussing rising water bills, Lewis said that "we have the perverse situation in water of privatisation with no competition - some might say the worst of all worlds."
Lewis advised bill-payers to check if "a water meter will save you" from the full impact of a 26% average rise, saying "if you’ve got more bedrooms than people you’ll probably be better off with a water meter."
Lewis also said electric vehicle owners should renew their tax charge before new taxes come in from midnight on 31 March.
He explained why he blames ‘the last 20-25 years of governments’ for the soaring cost of household bills.
‘Get angry!... It’s outrageous that we haven’t done anything.’
Listen to the full show on Global Player: https://app.af.globalplayer.com/Br0x/LBCYouTubeListenLive
#andrewmarr #martinlewis #thameswater #personalfinance #moneysavingtips #moneysavingexpert #costofliving #uknews #news #LBC
LBC is the home of live debate around news and current affairs in the UK.
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Now, lots of bills are going up this week. Water bills, electricity bills, a TV license bill
0:06
bills on moving house, driving an electric car, and many more bills. The cost of living
0:10
is going up again. Is there anything we can do about it? Well, the best man to help us answer
0:15
this is the money-saving expert himself, Martin Lewis. I'm delighted to have you on the show
0:21
Martin. Good to see you again. This is a really tough week. Just put it in context
0:26
in terms of other moments when we've had bills going up. Yeah, I think the big one, I mean, we always have April showers or more likely April paying down on the nation's finances
0:37
But this time, I think water bills is the really big one that is receiving a lot of shock
0:43
That's an average rise across the country of 26 percent, 26 percent average rise
0:51
And there are things you can do on that. You go into ccw.org.uk, the Consumer Council for Water's website
0:56
Check if a water meter will save you. There's 5.4 million people eligible for social tariffs you want on them
1:02
And the eligibility criteria has got a little easier if you're earning under £22,000
1:06
If you've got a medical condition, that means you need more water. There's the water shore scheme
1:10
Or equally, if you've got three or more children, you're on benefits. So while we have the perverse situation in water that we have privatisation but no competition
1:20
some would argue the worst of both worlds, there are still actions you can take to cut your bills down
1:25
And just on the water meter, people think it's trivial. Emma tweeted me, looks like, well, it looks like Martin was right
1:32
Got a water meter fitted. My Thames water bill has gone from £54 a month to £23 a month, a £372 a year saving
1:39
And while water meters rates are still going up, if you can save substantially
1:44
which is normally for people who have more bedrooms than people. So you've got more of the same number of bedrooms than people
1:50
You're probably better off on a water meter than the savings can be significant there
1:54
but yeah it's particularly horrible and you can save on most of the things you listed barring
1:59
stamp duties a bit too late just a quick one we'll do ev car if anyone's got electric car
2:03
got an electric car they going to start taxing it from tomorrow this is the thing to understand You can pay for another tax year on any vehicle whenever you want Normally why would you do it early
2:15
But currently, until midnight, you can tax your electric vehicle for free
2:20
So even if you only taxed it three months ago, if you go on now and retax it
2:24
you get the next year for free, prolonging the period when you start to pay tax on it
2:29
So pretty much anyone with an EV, that's a loophole in the system. Just go today if you haven't done it and renew your tax charge while it's still free
2:37
Well, there is some really, really good advice. Looking across the piece, clearly almost everybody is going to see higher bills coming this year
2:47
When it comes to retailers themselves, however, there's been a very, very interesting poll or survey published today
2:54
which suggests that retailers are more optimistic about their profits and their growth prospects than they have been for 10 years
3:02
So overall, you know, the economic outlook isn't quite as bleak as perhaps I was suggesting
3:08
Well, let's hope they're right, because, of course, they're going to be having employees of national insurance put on top of them
3:13
and the rise in the national minimum wage, which I'm supportive of. But that's still going to certainly hit retailers who have many low paid staff
3:21
So I haven't seen that. I don't know why they're saying they think they're more optimistic
3:25
I have to say that's not the feeling I'm getting from consumers right now. I think, you know, we had the winter fuel cut last year
3:31
We've recently, there are many people who are on benefits, especially those with disabilities
3:35
who are very worried about what's going on. And this host of price hikes is not feeding in
3:41
with positive consumer sentiment right now. But again, you know, my message is always you can act on it
3:45
What are the retailers saying? Why do they think things are improving? They're probably just chirpy people
3:50
I don't really know. I just saw the story that that sort of thing. There's an argument that says talk up the economy
3:56
You know, talking down the economy is self-defeating, as the government, I think, learnt when it came into power
4:01
when it said how bad everything was. Well, what people do is retrench. They don't spend
4:05
They try and protect their savings, and they take money out of the economy. So I think for retailers, there's certainly positive spin
4:10
that things are going to get better and everyone should be more relaxed and open their purse strings It probably beneficial It probably beneficial for all of us at the moment to be absolutely honest Although you know my job is to tell people how to protect themselves rather than to think of the wider picture
4:23
I think we were first talking, Martin, in the aftermath of the pandemic
4:27
when there was a surge in price rises and inflation. Everybody was talking about it
4:31
Have you known a week like this week with so many prices going up so fast all at once
4:38
Well, they always go up at this point of year. and actually i mean in the round broadband and mobile bills were going up 18 19 percent two
4:47
years ago they're going up six or seven percent this year council tax bills are slightly higher
4:51
than normal water's higher than normal energy is going up but that was higher two years ago so
4:58
it's been again we have to be very careful between speed and acceleration if you know what i mean
5:05
price rises are about the rate of acceleration um speed is the actual how fast we're going
5:11
all of these rises are on top of the other rises that we've had in the past in most cases barring
5:15
energy so things are continually going up and prices are higher and higher and higher so but the acceleration isn't as high as it has been previously but in a combination
5:25
i think and i think water has just tipped everything over the edge because that's the
5:29
bill that most people don't think about and it's gone there just just on energy we'll do energy
5:33
very quickly um price the price cap's going up 6.4 percent tomorrow we went up 1.2 percent in
5:39
january it went up 10 in october which means bills have got price cap is going to be 18 percent
5:43
higher than last summer now but you can currently fix uh eight percent below the current price cap
5:51
before it even goes up six percent and the predictions are for the rest of the year it'll
5:55
be roughly where it is now so you know get off your hands people the the if you like the the
6:01
bronze lining to this horrible storm of price rises is that people are resistant to change
6:09
But right now, if you do nothing, what you pay is going to change anyway. So do something
6:14
and let what you pay come down. Go and get yourself, go on to Comparison Site, in fact
6:18
go on to Money Saving Expert. We're the only one that's whole of market by default, as far as I aware and you see all of the energy prices and go and get yourself your cheapest fix You know if it council tax we got a council tax check and challenge system and check whether you entitled to any discounts If it broadband and mobile
6:32
20 million people are out of contract and paying over the odds. And there are millions eligible
6:36
for social tariffs on broadband as well. There are so many things out there people can do
6:41
So yes, get angry. You know, feel aggrieved that the prices are going up
6:47
But if you're not doing anything to protect yourself, then maybe you need to look in the mirror when you get angry too
6:52
and not just say it's a state of the externalities, but it's also you. So if you can, and I know there are some people it's complicated
6:58
but if you can take action, do. Get off your bottom, stop moaning and start tapping is what you're saying
7:05
You said get angry. Who should people be getting angry at, do you think
7:09
You mentioned the water companies right at the start. Well, I always think it's cathartic to get angry
7:14
I mean, I think certainly, you know, 14 billions and billions of pounds have gone in profit at the same time that huge amounts of debts have been built up by our national infrastructure
7:25
I mean, that was the worst privatization out there, in my view. It absolutely hasn't helped anyone, hasn't worked right
7:31
We have to look at the construct of the way things are being done. So, I mean, I think we can get angry at governments of probably the past 20, 25 years for never getting on top of this
7:40
always allowing bills to go up, always being somewhat prosaic about it and factoring in what they look at
7:45
Get angry at the fact that we have allowed now, it's slightly changed
7:50
for years above inflation rate price rises on broadband and mobile without legislating at the unfairness when they're mid-contract
7:56
I mean, it's outrageous that we haven't done anything about that. I mean, if you look in above inflation price rises, guess what that does
8:04
That drives inflation the next year because it's an accelerating factor for inflation
8:08
We now have rules that say they must give you pound-based price rises when you signed up
8:13
Yes, but for many people, they're actually bigger than the above inflation price rises
8:17
So, you know, there's a whole host of regulatory and government and competition issues
8:21
that have just allowed this to go on. So get frustrated, get angry, but most of them all, take action yourself
8:26
and do what you can to protect yourself. Martin, I always like talking to you
8:30
I like talking to you especially when you get angry. Thank you very much indeed for that
#Finance
#news
#Business News
#Economy News