‘It was a better fit for my lifestyle’
WHEN LALIA DECIDED TO SWITCH BANK ACCOUNTS, SHE WAS SURPRISED AT HOW EASY IT WAS TO MOVE TO THE RIGHT ONE
“IT’S really important to have a bank account that fits your needs,” says Lalia Chappez. “Especially in lockdown, when I do everything online: savings, transferring to suppliers… I needed a bank account that made that really easy.”
Lalia is a finance officer and a mum of one, living and working in Yorkshire. She’s also one of the seven million people who have used the Current Account Switch Service since it was launched.
For her, using the service was about finding a current account that suited her particular lifestyle – both at home and abroad.
“I had heard of a new account with a different bank that was really good when you travel, which I do. It’s mostly online based and there’s no branch, which I quite liked.
“They offered a really quick and easy way of switching, and good fees – especially when I go to see my family in France: I can withdraw money without any fee. It was a better fit for me in general.”
The Current Account Switch Service takes the pressure off moving accounts, as the new bank switches your payments and transfers your balance, while the old bank takes responsibility for closing down the original account.
The service is covered by a guarantee, and your switch should be completed in just seven working days.
SMART MOVES
Lalia says she would definitely advise anyone who wants to move current accounts to trust the switch service: “I would tell them that it’s much easier than people think, and that banks have really put in place a lot since a few years ago. It’s now really easy and secure.
“It would have taken me much longer to contact everybody I had direct debits with – it takes all the pressure off. It’s a really good facility.”
While Lalia is happy with her new account, she would still consider switching again: “I’d use the switch service again, absolutely. I hope it won’t
FIRST it was daffodils, now farmers have warned of a potential shortage of leeks, partly due to coronavirus, as Wales gets ready to mark St David’s Day.
The UK’s supply is now said to have almost run out due to a 15% surge in demand as more people cook at home during the pandemic, coupled with last spring’s cold temperatures, which led to smaller crops.
The British Leek Growers’ Association said yesterday that suppliers are having to import more expensive Continental leeks from places like the Netherlands to “fill the void” and meet demand in time for Wales’ national day.
Chairman Stewart Aspinall said: “This unexpected growth in demand, coupled with a harsh spring in 2020, which affected seed populations, means that we’re experiencing a shortfall, with supply ending earlier than normal.
“There should be leeks on the shelves, but if people want to keep eating them they might not be able to find British ones.
“And it’s at a time when the vast majority of the population are looking to buy more locally sourced produce, rather than international ones with a higher carbon footprint.”
Nic Joseph, owner of Ritec Valley Organics in Penally, Pembrokeshire, which delivers boxes of its own produce to customers, said his leek crops ran out around two weeks ago.
He said: “We are selling some wholesale leeks to a couple of people but not with the box scheme.
“I’d be quite sad if people couldn’t buy Welsh produce in Welsh supermarkets for St David’s Day.”
Tim Casey, who grows leeks for his Bomber County Produce business in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, said suppliers to supermarkets are having to cast their nets as far as Turkey and Spain to make sure orders are fulfilled.
But David Petersen, chairman of the National St David’s Day Parade, said there are alternatives: “St David was renowned for eating bread and water only. So we are encouraging people to have a St David’s Day lunch of bread and water, and donate the cost difference to the Marie Curie cancer charity.”