{"id":243,"date":"2025-11-26T13:17:01","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T13:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uniquebeautytips.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/26\/martin-lewis-reveals-how-long-you-should-keep-bills-receipts-and-paperwork\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T13:17:01","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T13:17:01","slug":"martin-lewis-reveals-how-long-you-should-keep-bills-receipts-and-paperwork","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/uniquebeautytips.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/26\/martin-lewis-reveals-how-long-you-should-keep-bills-receipts-and-paperwork\/","title":{"rendered":"Martin Lewis reveals how long you should keep bills, receipts and paperwork"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The financial guru is urging people to rethink their document disposal habits (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When decluttering<\/a>, you may be tempted to chuck that pile of papers you’ve kept ‘just in case’… but don’t consign them to the bin just yet.<\/p>\n

In the latest edition of his newsletter, the Money Saving Expert (MSE) founder<\/a> recommends hanging onto financial documents for longer than you might think; at least<\/em> six years in some cases.<\/p>\n

The ‘conventional wisdom’ is to keep bank, credit card<\/a> and other paperwork for this long, because it’s believed that’s how far HMRC<\/a> can ask you to go back if you\u2019re being investigated for tax purposes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This timeframe applies most to limited companies rather than individuals doing self assessments, who normally only need documentation for around 22 months after the end of the financial year.<\/p>\n

But beyond tax, it’s a good idea to retain certain records, as they could prove vital one day \u2014 something those who reclaimed<\/a> mis-sold PPI and packaged bank accounts will attest to.<\/p>\n

‘Evidence of systemic mis-selling often takes years to work through the system \u2013 if it\u2019s related to a pension<\/a> it could be many decades,’ Martin explained back in a 2013 blog post. <\/p>\n

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A well-stocked filing cabinet could really pay off (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

‘It\u2019s impossible now to say what you may need the paperwork for in a few years\u2019 time. Therefore for safety, keeping old documents as long as you can \u2013 even for now-closed products \u2013 is a reasonable precaution.<\/p>\n

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The personal finance guru was proven right then, and is now highlighting the issue due to the recent car finance scandal<\/a>, where regulators are proposing a mass redress scheme<\/a> for unfairly-sold policies taken out from April 2007.<\/p>\n

According to Martin, ‘the likelihood is that the further back you go… your chances of success [with a claim] increase greatly if you have kept some form of paperwork, either the finance document itself, an old credit report with it on, or bank statements showing repayments.’<\/p>\n

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Comment now<\/title><\/use><\/svg>Do you think keeping financial records for years is practical or unnecessary?<\/span><\/span>Comment Now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

This is because the vast majority of companies will get rid of customer documents for a maximum of about six years \u2014 especially if an account is closed. <\/p>\n

‘For complaints to firms or the Ombudsman, the usual rule is six years from when it happened, or three years from when you realised something was wrong,’ Martin continues<\/a>. <\/p>\n

‘Yet these rules stretch when there\u2019s widespread mis-selling, and regulators often allow much older cases. The real barrier isn\u2019t time \u2013 it\u2019s evidence.’<\/p>\n

The most important documents to keep<\/h2>\n

You don’t need to hoard every single bank statement for decades on end, but to make sure you don’t chuck something important that a claim eventually hinges on, he suggests holding on to these documents for as long as possible:<\/p>\n