Do I need to hoard these documents?

[Cyberus]

Bank statements, phone bills, correspondence with the bank going back till about 1997, credit card statements, P45s (document you are given when you leave work with National Insurance contributions on), receipts etc.
I am trying to have a serious clear out, but don't really know the importance of all this stuff? Does anyone?

[that_punk_guy]

I know you feel, I have tons of crap that I've kept because I'm scared I'll have to prove something about my past at some point... I really don't know.

I imagine if I tossed everything except the last 12 months I'd be just fine, but my paraniod side says different.

[Vincent]

A few years ago our friend (the one with the half-brain cat) got a letter from the Council saying she hadn't payed any council tax for an address she and her hubby lived in about 15 years ago.

She went hunting about the house, pulled out the council tax book in question and found that she did infact pay it.

So the next day she went down to the office and showed them the book.  Needless to say they were gobsmacked at seeing the relic :-D

[Cyberus]

Doh!
You see, that's what I mean... I was hoping I could throw them away!

Hang on, under English law, you can't pursue unpaid bills / clerical mistakes older than 6 years AFAIK. Is it different under Scottish law?

[cecilia]

Is it different under Scottish law?

the scots remember stuff that happened 500 hundrerd years ago and talk about like it was last week.

 :lol:  :lol:

[AccyD]

Cyberus wrote:
Hang on, under English law, you can't pursue unpaid bills / clerical mistakes older than 6 years AFAIK. Is it different under Scottish law?

The Inland Revenue can go back over your tax records for 7 years.

However, I would keep the old P60's forever to prove your entitlement to social security benefits if they are ever queried in the future.

As far as bank statements go you are free to bin these whenever you want (as the tax relating to the interest is recorded by the bank and submitted sepereatly to the IR).

Hope this helps.

[Cyberus]

@ AccyD

Thanks for that - the bank statements represent the biggest proportion of bumf I have, so I might have to take great pleasure burning them in my stove  :-)

[Vincent]

cecilia wrote:
the scots remember stuff that happened 500 hundrerd years ago and talk about like it was last week.

 :lol:  :lol:

Too right :-D

History repeats itself and all that ;-)

[blobrana]

Hum,
Theres stuff we could forget about...
There`s even a law that requires taxis (cars that take ppl around) to have a bale of straw in the boot (back of car)...

A throw-back to when taxis were horse-drawn...

But i would prefer not to forget about our history.
(perhaps that`s why were so smart?)

 :lol:

[iamaboringperson]

Cyberus wrote:
Bank statements, phone bills, correspondence with the bank going back till about 1997, credit card statements, P45s (document you are given when you leave work with National Insurance contributions on), receipts etc.
I am trying to have a serious clear out, but don't really know the importance of all this stuff? Does anyone?

I keep just about everything, find a box or a drawer (I use a top drawer in the kitchen), and just pack it all in there!

:lol:

[Dan]

We have a ten year rule here in sweden.
But don´t you just love these new receipts that fades to nothing in less than a year?

[iamaboringperson]

Actually, I've thought about this some more.

I've only been 'hoarding' these types of documents for about a year. Before that I rarely kept reciepts, and I have a product from a while ago that I want to get replaced - I don't have the reciept for it

Keep everything! How much space does it take up, anyway?

[Vincent]

iamaboringperson wrote:
Keep everything! How much space does it take up, anyway?

Just don't try to move house with it all!  We did that - absolute nightmare, how 5 people are meant to live in this house I don't know, it's barely got enough room for the two of us :-o :-P

Instead of selling your house and buying a new one, just buy a new one next door and keep all the receipts in the old one :-P

[bloodline]

Ahhhh.... the "spring Clean", yes I had one of those on Friday.

I ended up with a pile, I kid you not, nealy a metre high of these very documents.

My solution was to split the pile in two, stuff one half into a bag, and the other half into the bin. It was quite arbitary. I have great faith in Nature sorting the mess out for me.

My house, for the first time in a year, looks great.


As for the importance of history;
You can divide the world into two types of people. There are those who like to have the CD player display counting up, so that can see how far into the song they are. There are others who set the disply to count down, so they can see how much time remains of the song.

I fall into the latter category, I don't care where I've been I only care where I'm going.

Those that remember past will be coloured by prejudices of their ancestors.