{"id":435837,"date":"2026-02-20T09:13:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T09:13:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/435837\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T09:13:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T09:13:32","slug":"i-was-given-150000-after-following-martin-lewis-simple-instruction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/435837\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I was given \u00a3150,000 after following Martin Lewis simple instruction’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Danny reviewed his Scottish Widows critical illness policy and uncovered he could claim \u00a3150,000 for a heart attack from 10 years earlier\"Martin<\/p>\n

Martin Lewis is the money saving expert(Image: ITV)<\/p>\n

One man has shared the remarkable sum of money that came his way after following a straightforward tip from money saving expert Martin Lewis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Danny said: “I just wanted to share my good fortune thanks to Martin. His advice was to check your Direct Debits<\/a> to make sure you need what you’re paying for.<\/p>\n

“I reviewed a Scottish widows critical illness policy and found it covered me for a heart attack I’d had 10 years earlier.<\/p>\n

“I phoned up and they were surprised how long it’d taken me to claim – I received a payment of \u00a3150k, including backdated interest.<\/p>\n

“I can’t put into words how grateful I am for the prompt.”, reports the Express<\/a>. Danny acted on Martin’s straightforward guidance which starts with examining what you’re being charged for.<\/a><\/p>\n

By accessing your online banking portal or app, you should be able to view your standing orders or direct debits (DDs) displayed, according to Martin Lewis.<\/p>\n

\"Elderly<\/p>\n

Danny found he was owed \u00a3150,000(Image: Halfpoint Images via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

That said, some of these transactions won’t appear in this list and will simply be recurring payments. This demands a bit more investigative effort.<\/p>\n

Whilst some banks<\/a> such as Monzo, Revolut, Halifax, Lloyds and HSBC feature a section labelled ‘subscriptions’ or ‘scheduled payments’ – not all banks offer this. Similarly, even if your bank does have one of these sections, some payments can still evade detection.<\/p>\n

The most effective approach is to simply scrutinise your transaction history. Common companies that frequently use recurring payments include – AA, Amazon Prime<\/a>, Apple TV+, Audible, AutoAid, David Lloyd, Disney+, Dropbox, Giffgaff, HelloFresh, iD Mobile, Klarna, Microsoft Office, Mubi, Netflix<\/a>, Now, PureGym, RAC, Spotify<\/a>, Virgin Active.<\/p>\n

If you’re paying for something unnecessary – now’s the moment to cancel it. Question whether it’s worthwhile, affordable and whether you’ll actually use it.<\/p>\n

However, before taking action, always verify you’re outside of any contract period and there’s no cancellation charge. The most reliable method is to contact the company directly.<\/p>\n

Utilise comparison websites or tools such as Martin Lewis’ Cheap Broadband Finder, Cheap Mobile Finder, Cheap Energy Club and 0% credit card eligibility to discover if you can reduce your expenses.<\/p>\n

\"Martin<\/p>\n

Martin Lewis shared some tips around bank accounts(Image: ITV)<\/p>\n

You can readily cancel direct debits and standing orders via your bank – although with recurring payments it’s often simpler to cancel through the company itself. Nevertheless, you possess a legal right to halt the payments through your bank if you’re experiencing difficulties.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, you might occasionally experience a situation like Danny’s and recover substantial sums. But sometimes smaller amounts can come your way too.<\/p>\n

It’s more probable to be insurance for white goods and mobile contracts you’ve overlooked.<\/p>\n

Avoiding these payments is always preferable, but if you discover you’ve been paying for something incorrectly, you can politely request a refund.<\/p>\n

One man, Joshua, explained: “My partner recently moved in and I helped her review her bills and subscriptions. I noted an odd \u00a319\/mth recurring payment since 2020, which she didn’t know what it was for.<\/p>\n

“My partner’s dyslexic and didn’t realise she’d signed up to a cashback site subscription from a pop-up. I read your article on their ban (see Complete Savings ads banned) and politely contacted the customer service team. I explained the circumstances, and they agreed to refund all payments back to 2020 – over \u00a3850 refunded. Thanks.”<\/p>\n

The exception applies to regulated financial products such as insurance, where there’s a valid argument that firms bear a responsibility to conduct regular suitability reviews.<\/p>\n

If a company has failed to do so, it has a ‘Consumer Duty’ to issue a refund. Should the firm refuse, you’re entitled to lodge a formal complaint with the Financial Ombudsman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Danny reviewed his Scottish Widows critical illness policy and uncovered he could claim \u00a3150,000 for a heart attack…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435838,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[9265,226,894,84,5361,16008,118783,4176,3263,8678,2750,22411,16821,2897,4174,4175,55991,56,54,55,4288],"class_list":{"0":"post-435837","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-apple-tv","9":"tag-apps","10":"tag-banks","11":"tag-business","12":"tag-credit-cards","13":"tag-customer-service","14":"tag-david-lloyd","15":"tag-finance","16":"tag-halifax-inc","17":"tag-heart-attack","18":"tag-heart-disease","19":"tag-hsbc","20":"tag-lloyds","21":"tag-martin-lewis","22":"tag-personal-finance","23":"tag-personalfinance","24":"tag-scottish-widows","25":"tag-uk","26":"tag-united-kingdom","27":"tag-unitedkingdom","28":"tag-virgin"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}