My doubly good result
BANK SWITCH WAS SO SIMPLE THAT BUSY BOSS CHANGED BOTH HIS ACCOUNTS
BUSINESSMAN Mike Page knew he’d get better value out of his company account by changing banks – but he fretted that the challenges of the pandemic would slow the switch down.
“I wanted to be sure that it wasn’t going to take too long,” remembers Mike. “That was my main concern.”
Mike needn’t have worried. Changing to a new business current account was so simple and quick he moved his personal account as well.
The speed of the process, with the Current Account Switch Service, was particularly handy for Mike: as the very busy boss of start-up business T&T Eco, which sells ecological cleaning products, he didn’t have much time to spend away from working to meet rising demand as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.
But Mike was eager to make the change, as he hadn’t been happy with the services and charges at his previous bank.
“It was the simplest thing ever really,” explains Mike. “Everything can be transferred without any action from you and it’s very easy to check.
“I spoke to the bank about my concerns over the fallout from Covid-19 slowing down the switching process. But they reassured me that this wouldn’t be an issue because all the transactions are done online – they don’t require any human engagement or faceto-face discussion.”
GETTING THE BEST DEAL
Many company owners may think that this is not a good time to be giving themselves extra admin. But Mike says that changing accounts required a minimum of effort from him and meant he could quickly move to a bank that was better suited to his needs.
“I think it’s absolutely everybody’s priority and responsibility to look at getting the best deal and service out of a bank that they can,” says Mike. “And the switch service is so tried and tested that there should be no concerns.”
The Current Account Switch
Guarantee also means moving accounts is easy to do and will be completed in just seven working days.
After all, everyone needs the best value from their account just now but – like Mike nobody wants any extra stress.
THE Western Morning News is a strong supporter of the region’s tourist industry and hugely supportive of efforts that expand the experiences that our region can offer visitors, including making the very best use of our many natural resources.
But we, like the Government, would urge caution when it comes to lifting the restrictions on fishing for bluefin tuna off the Devon coast, even under strict catch and release criteria.
While the status of the species – only recently returned to our waters – remains unclear, the time is not yet right to declare Torbay a centre for bluefin angling, or put it into the same category as, for example, Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, which has seen a mini angling boom on the back of the return of the bluefin.
We accept that recreational angling can be a major driver for the tourist economy. Fishing remains among the nation’s most popular participation sports. Anglers who target the hard-fighting bass which are found off the Devon and Cornwall coast have long argued – correctly – that the species has at least as great a value as a sportfish as it does as a commercial catch.
Retaining healthy bass stocks for the anglers was and remains a powerful argument for the careful management of the bass fishery, particular when it comes to keeping out the indiscriminate pair-trawlers from overseas which once targeted the species relentlessly.
The same argument could well be used for bluefin tuna. Anglers raised on Ernest Hemingway’s classic, The Old Man and the Sea, and thrilled by modern-day accounts of tuna fishing in other parts of the world would, we are sure, flock to the South West to pit themselves against these powerful Leviathans.
But the only serious research so far carried out shows, according to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, “high levels of uncertainty around the extent of the recovery of this iconic species.”
Until that work is complete and the status of these iconic fish is better understood, Torbay and other South West resorts with sizeable fleets of angling boats might be better to keep their powder – and their tuna lines – dry.
It may not be long before answers to the question about whether there are sufficient bluefins in our water to make them a bona fide target fish for sportsfishermen and women emerge. Once that point is reached, a recreational fishery must be seriously considered.
Devon and Cornwall already have enviable reputations for the quality their watersports, from wild swimming to surfing.
Country sports, too, attract significant numbers who come to shoot and to fish. Adding a new string to that bow would be welcome and, done properly, sustainable.
Coronavirus has badly damaged every aspect of the hospitality business, including the charter boat operators.
Being able to offer bluefin trips would be a huge boon. But there is no point over-selling and then under-delivering on this opportunity. Let’s wait for the research before – metaphorically – diving in.