Martin Lewis: How long should you keep bank statements, digital documents and paperwork for?

In fact, HMRC only requires many tax records to be kept for a limited period – for most individuals doing Self Assessment, it’s usually at least 22 months after the end of the tax year, while limited companies generally must keep accounting records for at least six years. That’s all about tax – I have a different take.

In this 2013 blog I warned you that chucking old paperwork could cost you, using PPI, packaged bank accounts and flight delay reclaiming as examples where those who had kept old paperwork and detail were in a far better position.

I specifically said…

This has been proven right

In the last couple of years exactly this has played out in the form of car finance mis-selling. The regulator’s proposed mass redress scheme on unfair motor finance covers agreements taken out from 6 April 2007. Yet, in reality the likelihood is that the further back you go, anything before say around 2018, your chances of success 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. Full help on what to do with these in the car finance mis-selling guide & tool.

This is because firms typically only keep detailed financial documents for a number of years – often around six, especially once an account is closed. After all, good corporate data citizens are told they ‘must not keep personal data longer than necessary for the purposes they collected it for’ – so digital shredding is often effectively seen as a positive.

One of the most common mis-selling questions I get is: “How far back can I claim?”

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. Yet these rules stretch when there’s widespread mis-selling, and regulators often allow much older cases. The real barrier isn’t time – it’s evidence.

What I’d suggest you do…

I’m not suggesting you keep every bank statement beyond six years. What I would do, for older documents though, is try and keep:

• Applications and agreements for loans, credit cards, mortgages, car finance and HP etc.

• A couple of bank statements a year showing interest, fees or add-ons. And before switching or closing accounts, make sure you download key statements and agreements.

• Opening or upgrade paperwork for financial products like packaged bank accounts and savings.

• Booking confirmations for flights or costly travel.

• Costly purchases – keep a record of who you paid and when, and keep the receipt and any warranty or guarantee.

This is enough to prove what you had, when you had it, and what you paid. Just store these somewhere safe digitally via photos or file copies (and as always do ensure things are backed up). You never know, what scandals may be revealed in the future. A small folder (or a few digital scans) may just be worth £1,000s to you down the line.