How long ?

[hell2bwith76]

How long is it sensible to keep invoices ,bills, Ebay notices etc ? I find that i have so many documents in the cardboard cases it`s silly ,yet i think ( probably stupidly) that i need to keep them as a record of what i have bought etc.

 

[Saphire]

Unless something is very expensive or guaranteed for longer, I tend to keep invoices for about a year.
I agree that they pile up...I try to have a good clear out every few months, and receipts for food, and sundries I never bother to keep in the first place.

 

[hell2bwith76]

i forget most mine

You forget a A4 sheet or sheets of paper ? How do you manage that ?.I have paper records stretching back 12 years or more ,filling office folders .
I think i`ll have a big bonfire one day before Summer arrives .

 

[LadyOnArooftop]

In 2019 the Working Tax people wrote to me, completely out of the blue, demanding an over payment they'd made to me in 2011! I had no paperwork to prove otherwise, and you can't argue with these people, so i just paid up. A few months ago they wrote to me again, demanding an over payment from 2011. I just though WTF? They were asking for the same money again! I knew this because fortunately I had kept the letter from 2019 and could compare the amounts. And I had bank statements going back far enough so i could see that the money HAD been paid. With this documentary evidence I phoned them up and the chap on the other end informed me that debts to them are never forgotten, but in this case he conceded that I owed nothing. Good of him! Since then, I don't throw any paperwork out.

 

[Saphire]

In 2019 the Working Tax people wrote to me, completely out of the blue, demanding an over payment they'd made to me in 2011! I had no paperwork to prove otherwise, and you can't argue with these people, so i just paid up. A few months ago they wrote to me again, demanding an over payment from 2011. I just though WTF? They were asking for the same money again! I knew this because fortunately I had kept the letter from 2019 and could compare the amounts. And I had bank statements going back far enough so i could see that the money HAD been paid. With this documentary evidence I phoned them up and the chap on the other end informed me that debts to them are never forgotten, but in this case he conceded that I owed nothing. Good of him! Since then, I don't throw any paperwork out.

I looked after my mums finances at the end.
I had a letter sent to me claiming my mum had been overpaid a sum years before. I had no idea what they were on about, my mum didn't understand what they were on about, I am sure even the pension people wasn't sure what they were on about either.
After my mum died, I actually kept one of her bank accounts open with the amount in they said she owed.
I never heard anything. After a time I closed the account.

Sometimes I think these people have no idea what they are doing, and I would bet many times people pay out when they dont need to.

 

[hell2bwith76]

Well ,thank you all for your help in me to decide what to keep and for how long . I was about to call a day on many bank statements and other "useless" documents. I`ll need a rethink now .

Btw Gods Person; don`t just throw the paper away. If it has your name and address on it unscrupulous people can use that information to rob you ! You need to shred it well .

 

[PennyDreadful2]

How long should you keep bills and paperwork from a former address? I still have loads of paperwork, from somewhere that I lived at, nearly 10 years ago! I keep most of my clutter in banana boxes that I have never unpacked.
It drives me nuts.

 

[LadyOnArooftop]

How long should you keep bills and paperwork from a former address?

Good question. I still have all the solicitors bumf from the house sale a few years ago. I've no idea why I've kept it. But it got me thinking... How long should you have your mail redirected to your new address? I booked a year's slot with Royal Mail (it's not cheap) and I did get a regular stream of letters redirected to my new home. When the year was up, I was asked did I want to renew the redirection, I declined. I often wonder what letters, cards etc I never got to see

 

[Clarity]

Anything tax related keep until after ya dead. Them tax people come back years down the line saying you owe them. You need evidence.

Keep all solicitors papers re house purchase sale etc til after ya dead. Your family may need them. Same for anything legal.

Utility bills are online now, council tax I keep about 3 years.


Receipts for electrical a couple of years

Owt else few months. Supermarket receipts throw once you've checked to make sure you've not been swindled.

These are decent tips should practise this myself!

 

[megs233]

We . that is my husband and I keep all things for 5 year's. But on a DAY day of year we sit down and go through them ,what's over 5 years gets shredded . Son stores for ten years . told him he a fire risk sometimes.

On subject of owing taxes they will not always chase for silly amounts.

 

[hell2bwith76]

i been told that people gets mails out trash cans and gets people information . . . . . i rip some mails but some i just throw away because im at part of my life where I feel like giving up

At this time my wife just cuts or tears up the name and address on such stuff as junk mail ( gardening magz etc) and of course the main thing to remember is the name/address label stuck on to medical prescriptions by the Pharmacist.