Bankers should look after your money – let the experts look after the other services

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Bankers should look after your money – let the experts look after the other services

I am often bombarded with sales calls, emails, letters, flyers and now tweets, asking me to buy this product or subscribe to that service – none of which I have requested.

I hold the view that if I am looking for a particular service, then I will look for a solution – preferably in my local area to begin with, and if not, and then ask for recommendations from others. I believe that business and life in general just flows that little bit better this way.

A trend which has developed over recent years is that more and more consumers are convinced that their bank is their only choice, or their preferred supermarket can look after everything “from cradle to grave” they’d have you believe.

Perhaps I am in the minority, or maybe it’s because I work for a local, family owned and managed business, that I genuinely believe that buying from someone you can have more than just one conversation with is important and should be valued.

One case in point is a firm of solicitors locally, for whom I have recently reviewed their insurances covering each of their offices. For years, they have entrusted this to their bank, and for years it now becomes apparent, they have been paying far too much, without any advice or support, let alone a single visit over the years.

My approach was to visit them, discuss their requirements, and identify potential gaps in their cover, before conducting a thorough exercise with carefully selected insurers. The result is that I have saved them almost £2,000 immediately, and offered them much wider cover, in this case specifically designed for the legal profession.

This is just one example where the power of using local really does reap rewards. I am sure that many professionals and tradesmen in the county will give testimony to why they prefer to operate locally.

Cutting out the middle man, or simply letting the bank handle everything doesn’t always pay. If you, your family, business contacts or clients are still going down the supermarket aisle or are part of the banking queue, could I ask you to do them, and me a favour – have a word?

Andrew Long Cert CII

Cass Stephens