CR5 Issue 160 Sept 2018

Life Begins
By Kate McLelland
Drowning in documents? It’s time to free up your files
Overstuffed filing drawers, bulging
boxes of payslips, tax records,
bank statements and invoices that
go back years. Sounds familiar?
We’re all guilty of hoarding
personal documents, many of
them kept just in case we need
to refer to them again in future.
However, in many cases the
paperwork we hold is probably
so outdated that it’s not worth
keeping.
It’s hard to know exactly how
long we’re supposed to keep
our documents, and – when
they are out of date – how to
dispose of them safely. Here are
some essential tips for handling
and processing your personal
documentation.
Which documents should I keep,
and for how long?
The tips below are based on
guidance provided by trusted
organisations such as the Citizen’s
Advice Bureau and HMRC, but
there are no hard and fast rules.
For instance, if you are selfemployed
and claiming expenses,
you might need to keep some
of your documents for a longer
period.
Bank, credit card and loan
statements: according to moneysaving
guru Martin Lewis, these
should be retained for at least six
years. However, he recommends
keeping them as long as possible
just in case there’s another misselling
scandal, like the recent PPI
affair.
Utility bills: it’s probably worth
holding on to these for 12 months,
as this allows you to keep track of
what you actually use.
Receipts and warranties: you
should keep hold of important
receipts for six years, but
warranties can be disposed of
after the date they expire.
Insurance documents: don’t
throw old policy documents away
if there’s a chance someone may
make a retrospective claim against
you. Alternatively, if your policy
insured you against injury at work,
you may be able to claim after
the policy has elapsed, provided
you can prove your medical issue
relates to the time in question.
P45s and payslips: HMRC
recommends that individuals
keep tax-related paperwork such
as payslips and P45s for at least
twenty-two months from the end
of the relevant tax year.
Medical records: any documents
you hold relating to your
medical history should be kept
indefinitely. Your GP will also hold
this information but there may
be times (for example, if you’re
applying for travel insurance)
when you’ll need dates and details
of medical treatments.
Personal documents: these
include birth and marriage
certificates, National Insurance
certificates, court orders and
decrees, deeds, copies of wills,
share certificates, motor vehicle
documents and mortgage papers.
Such documents should be stored
securely and kept forever.
Don’t throw your identity out
with the rubbish
Earlier this year a concerned
neighbour on the Doddington
Estate in Wandsworth, London,
stopped to film three people
rifling through a refuse bin that
contained letters and other
paperwork. She reported this
activity anonymously to the Daily
Mail, warning: “I’ve seen people
of all kinds going through the bins
before, so I’ve become more and
more concerned about this... I
want my friends and neighbours
to be aware that this goes on
and take the time to destroy any
personal information from the
letters they are throwing away.”
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Many criminals are prepared to
scavenge through bins and even
landfill sites to obtain personal
data. Identity theft and incidents
involving stolen bank details
have become big business for
fraudsters, and just one document
with one person’s financial
information can earn them
thousands of pounds.
So what’s the best way to dispose
of financial documents such as
bank statements?
Shredding: if you tear up a
document by hand, the chances
are that a criminal could still put it
together like a jigsaw. Shredding
is a much safer option and you
can buy a cheap, hand-operated
shredder from around £10.99
upwards. The safest types of
shredder are the ‘cross-cut’ or
‘micro-cut’ varieties, which cut in
two directions rather than one,
but they are more expensive. If
you have literally hundreds of
documents to destroy, you could
consider using a commercial
shredding service, but be aware
that most charge a minimum fee
of around £80.
Burning: incinerating your
documents is a simple solution,
but do bear in mind any local
authority restrictions if you
are planning to light a bonfire.
Consider the fire risk and make
sure your smoke doesn’t cause
nuisance to neighbours.
Soaking: you can destroy paper by
mulching it in a bucket of water.
When it dissolves it should be easy
to tear it up, but make sure it’s
reduced to an unreadable pulp
before throwing it away.
It’s ironic that in this digital age,
when the ‘paperfree office’
should be a reality, we’re actually
using more paper than ever, so
by recycling your paper waste
you are ultimately helping the
environment. Tackling those piles
of outdated paperwork will also
create more space in your home,
as well as ticking off another task
on your ‘to do’ list. So what are
you waiting for? Don’t delay, start
sorting!