Tom_vRS

Just having a spring clean, and have mountains of paperwork.

What is the recommended length of time for keeping old bank statements, credit card etc statements...?

TIA.

Tom

__________________
97/R BMW 328i in Boston Green.

walkie

Dunno, I've just put them in folders and stored them away.

__________________
Having a little break, concentrate on the more important things in life, swmbo and my training.

See you soon folks, take care - James

fatbob

It used to be five years but I don't know if the rules are still the same.

Moose

To put your mind at rest Tom, if you do need any, just ask your bank for a copy under the Freedom of Information Act and it'll cost you just £10 for upto 6 years worth of statements. The taxman can only chase you for 5 years, so worry not so much.

__________________
Sunlight Silver MX-5 1.8 Sport

Mr Grumpy

Ermmmm,
Put them all into Adsa carrier bags, and fill every available cupboard with them, but don't forget to include house insurance/pet insurance/car insurance/direct debit mandates/driving licenses/credit card bills/utility bills/council tax reminders/voting slips etc...
Just jumble them all up and then spend 3 days looking for any one of them.
Fab. way to spend a weekend when you have loads to do..

__________________
S50 VRS Number Plate for sale..ffs someone must want it....

Lummox

Any employer wont need anymore than three months.

__________________
www.unit18.co.uk
Remapping Service now available, PM for details.

Neo_VR

Buy a scanner and scan them to PDF.. thats what ive done
keep a year worth of paper ones and shred the rest

__________________
ColGod the UberMod


,___,
[O.o]
/)__)
-"--"- ORLY??

Tom_vRS

Good idea, I like it.

I have switched to paperless statements with the halifax too, should keep down on the crap.

__________________
97/R BMW 328i in Boston Green.

devonutopia

I've got loads.... I need a bloody clearout. Pretty sure my "car" "bank" and "other" folders could be combined into one.

Anyone else reconcile receipts against bank statements? GOOD! neither do I

__________________
Jason - Only a Skoda.
Custom Fabia Bonnet Lifter Kits - £45! Click Me.
Cheesy bonnet lifter video to "raise me up" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMnGECEi5Oc

See the mongrel's 260bhp Dyno Video!

walkie

Time consuming though, I would imagine

__________________
Having a little break, concentrate on the more important things in life, swmbo and my training.

See you soon folks, take care - James

Neo_VR

Ive also recently started using microsoft money.. which you download your bank statements into, and then catagorise your spendings etc.. tiz really useful, you can see how much money you p1$$ up the wall on alcohol..(amongst other things)
my general breakdown is a 3rd of my salary goes on p1$$ups and nights out
it can also help you budget for things.. eg i know ive got my car insurance due in nov, so it adjusts stuff to help saving up for it

__________________
ColGod the UberMod


,___,
[O.o]
/)__)
-"--"- ORLY??

andy2407

:cough: Spare a thought for us paper machine salesmen :cough:

__________________
The future's bright
The future's mellow
Now with a little zest of Washbrook added

bengie

bin em when i remember that i haven't binned them already

__________________
owner of a skoda octavia 4xvrs3

jinxy72

keep a year paper just in case for mortgage etc

__________________
03 vrs estate ( silver ) + 06 vrs fabia ( black )

mannyo

I do, using MS Money as Colin does. In this day and age its essential for spotting any dodgy transactions.

__________________
Manny
2005 Octavia 2.0TDi Elegance combi
my skoda website http://www.octaviars.co.uk

Join the briskoda.net folding team click Here for more info

heresmo

Re binning, I tend to tear off the name and address corner from bank and credit card statements, then recycle them and misc statements in a council communal palladin.

This is because I find that shredders tend to generate a lot of dust if used indoors, plus I can't be bothered taking all the staples out.

I keep important things for a few years, which seems to keep me happy LOL.

Mo

__________________

Emily-Elizabeth

I throw them away as soon as I have opened them.

I always thought that it was not good to keep that sort of thing for security reasons.

__________________

Wardy

I keep everything at the moment, and, like others, it needs sorting out and organizing

MS Money, or similar, does sound like a good idea too. As does the scanning idea - good thread people

I'd never just throw information like this away, or even recycle it - SHRED it! The information that can be gained is just too precious IMO.

Steve

__________________
Wardy's Fabia vRS
xenons : sunroof : cruise : OEM+


"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting." - Steve McQueen
"If in doubt, flat out." - Colin McRae

Neo_VR

The only thing that bugs me about m$ money is the fact they dont really "support" UK banks.. the only way to get your statement into the program is downloading it from internet banking.. whilst US accounts it can connect with directly every time you run the program and keep itself up-2-date.

Its handy for me as ive got money all over the place (well owe money all over lol) and i can see where im at straight away, and it can help me balance my payments across accounts, and slap my wrists if i overspend on something.

__________________
ColGod the UberMod


,___,
[O.o]
/)__)
-"--"- ORLY??

heresmo

I agree in principle of course, though shredding isn't good if any asthmatics or housewives (LOL) are around because of both inhaled and settled dust as mentioned. The diagonal shredders seem to be a better bet for security BTW.

I periodically put any very sensitive papers into a big bucket of hot water and detergent, like making papier mache, i.e. gloop. Then transfer to a poly bag with a hole in the bottom to drain. They are pretty unreadable then

As said, checking statements for rogue transactions is essential. I heard this week that a card had been cloned in the US but with a difference. They had somehow changed the name on the card (so not identity theft as such) but kept the number so could still defraud the account holder. Luckily the bank accepted that he wasn't in the US nor had lent his card out, though it had seemingly clearly happened via his internet purchases.

Mo

__________________

Martin Keene

Always. How else will you know if you've been had?

Moose

And printers that work at banks to actually print the things!

__________________
Sunlight Silver MX-5 1.8 Sport

robmawer

AFAIK most bank statements will have three holes punched in them down the left hand side...this is so that they can be stored in a nifty little binder, which can be had by asking a friendly bank teller for one.

Keeps them all neat and organised, then if you need to calculate your interest for a tax return, it's easy enough to flick through them with a calculator.


Rob.

__________________

heresmo

It must be Monday morning. That's far too sensible Rob. You'll never get into my Daft Bats Party saying things like that : I wouldn't be surprised if you could remember where you last saw your calculator as well

OTOH there's hope for us all yet

Mo

__________________

Goochie

Internet banking is a wonderful thing

All of our bills and statements etc. are dealt with online, with the exception of the BT phone bill which, is only kept as paper for those times when you need proof of address (van rental etc.)

We have a cross dhredder that chops paper into 1/4" squares for anything else. We shred anything with even just our name and address on then put the shreddings back in the envelopes the paperwork came in and pop it in the paper recyclying box.