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 However, in many cases the paperwork we hold is probably so outdated that it’s not worth keeping. It’s hard to know exactly how long we’re supposed to keep our documents, and – when they are out of date – how to dispose of them safely.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.” 48 Log into www.cr5.co.uk your local community website! 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!
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