BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.

Hello, I'm Martin Lewis, and this is the cunningly named The Martin Lewis Podcast.

I do wonder what that's going to be about.

Now, usually much of it comes from my BBC Radio 5 live show with Adrian Charles,

and this one is extra special.

Oh, yes indeedy, because I'm on a break, so it's a good excuse for a Best

Bits pod. The producers have put together what they think are some of the most pertinent

and still relevant elements of the podcast we've done so far this year. Let's just hope they're

right. Though worth noting, if I do mention specific products, do be aware

they could have changed, so double check before you take any action. We don't want you listening

to February's Best Buys once you're in August. And this week's pod should be energising, because it's an

energy interview special. I'll speak to the boss of the energy ombudsman who took your questions, including

why do we pay more in the UK? And I speak to the boss of Octopus Energy, the UK's biggest energy retailer,

asking about prices, smart meters and more. It's bound to be electric. Play the theme tune. I'll begin with a listen to when I put your questions to the chief executive of the British Energy Ombudsman, Jonathan Brearley.

Let's start, because it affects a lot of people, energy bills, obviously, and talk us through where we are, as you see.

Okay, so the energy price cap that dictates the price 80% of homes in England, Scotland and Wales

went up by 10% in October. Now, how do you know if you are on a price cap tariff? The price cap tariff is your default tariff. It's a tariff you've on if you've done nothing. It's a tariff you move to if your fix is finished and you haven't changed again. If you're not sure, you almost invariably are on the price cap.

Unless you're on a specific fix or you've chosen some form of specialist tariff, you are on a price cap tariff. And that means that the price you pay is dictated by the man sitting across the desk from me right now by OffGem. Firms can't go above that and most of them tend to price it exactly that. It was originally meant to be a safety net tariff. It was meant to be there to protect people who didn't switch. But since the energy crisis, very few people have switched. So we now have a quasi-price regulated energy market. We hope we will move away from that. I call the price cap a pants cap. It is not one you should be on right now. Jonathan, the head of off jump, is nodding. Most people, we want you off the price cap, yeah? Look, absolutely. This is meant to be a backstop. So we'd like to see more people get back into the market and find better deals from the... And so go and get yourself a fixed because on the huge balance of probabilities, I mean,

80, 90% probability, you'd be better off getting yourself a fixed deal now than sticking

on the price cap, but people have lost faith in switching.

Then today, and the reason I suspect Jonathan is here and it's great coincidence of timing,

although I suspect it isn't a coincidence of timing, is that there was a big announcement

...