Whether it’s a room, a filing cabinet or – let’s be honest here –  your kitchen counter, it’s where the detritus of a year’s worth of mail goes on to live in perpetuity.

Knowing what to keep and what to toss can be a stressful question for many consumers, especially when we’re talking about bills, financial statements and important documents you think you “might need one day.

SAVE: Credit card offers

Don’t throw away credit card offers without skimming them first. Last year, credit card issuers went all-out with signup bonuses to woo new customers, and they’ll continue to do so this year.

You never know if a mailing will offer, say, 100,000 miles, giving you the opportunity to take the signup bonus and run.

SHRED: Billing statements

It’s perfectly OK to get rid of billing statements – so long as you’ve got electronic records online and have examined them all for errors.

You should always keep a copy, online or not, in case you need to dispute a charge, but you’re in the clear as long as you’ve got your e-statement on file. Check with your bank about going entirely paperless to reduce waste, and make sure that if you do throw away your billing statements, you do so in a way that prevents identity theft.

TOSS: Home improvement documents

Any records from home improvements won’t be necessary, unless you need them for tax purposes if you sell your home.

SAVE: Late payment notices

If you’ve gotten late payment notices from your bank in the mail, don’t toss them out.

Depending on your credit card, you might get slapped with a late fee or a penalty interest rate. By law, you’ll have 45 days before the penalty rate goes into effect, giving you time to dispute any errors and to work on getting your balance down while your interest rate is still reasonable.

SHRED: Your Cable Bill

Once verified for accuracy and the payment has been applied, you can shred bill statements such as utilities, phone and internet, unless you write a portion of these off for a business expense.

Don’t skimp on your shredder, though. Use one that doesn’t just cut paper into strips, since they can be easily taped or pasted back together. Opt for a shredding provider that destroys and recycles the shredded paper.

SHRED: Canceled checks

Only save canceled checks if they are needed for tax reasons.

SAVE: T-4′s

The general rule of thumb for tax statements is to keep them for seven years.

That includes tax return documents, receipts for donations, support forms, etc.

SHRED: Pay stubs

Once you’ve gotten your T-4 for the year and cleared it for any errors, you’re free to shred your pay stubs.

TOSS/SAVE: Receipts

This depends on a couple of factors.

Once a credit card purchase shows up on your account and you’re sure you won’t return it, it’s cool to shred or toss the receipt, unless you need it for taxes.

For big ticket items, like electronics, jewelry and furniture, it’s best to keep receipts just in case something goes wrong.

SAVE: Investment statements

Dividend reinvestments – keep these statements for seven years after filing your tax return.

Brokerage statements – keep a copy of your year-end statements for tax purposes; shred the rest.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/keep-toss-or-shred-heres-how-to-get-a-headstart-on-your-financial-spring-cleaning-2012-1#save-investment-statements-10#ixzz1pDLfRlOh

So after our 30 day Holiday Food Drive we were able to raise the following for the Vancouver Food Bank on Dec 23.

• 1682 lbs in Food Donations
• $1682 in matching cash donations from BCRE
• $5000 in additional cash donations from BEST Service Pro’s

As we can all appreciate, this type of drive takes time to organize and monitor and BEST wants to thank Karen, Dietmar, and Teresa for all their hard work on organizing this project and all the BEST Shredding customers who donated as well.

We look forward to bigger success next year as we try and top 2000 lbs of food.

Here are some pictures from our Holiday Food Drive!

Call or email us today to schedule your purge service and redeem 25% off your service.

Federal laws mandate that all businesses, healthcare facilities and financial institutions protect the confidential information of their customers, clients and patients, and document destruction can be at the center of that obligation. If you fail to protect confidential information it can expose your organization to severe fines, bad publicity and lost business. BEST Shredding can help you navigate these complex laws.

Confidentiality of Sensitive Information

Even if there is no legal requirement to destroy a document, there may be many practical reasons to do so. What damage can be done to your business or organization if a document falls into the wrong hands? What happens if a competitor finds your recent price quote? If an employee finds company payroll information? What if a stranger finds a credit card statement? Destroying documents is smart business, smart management, and eliminates one more thing to worry about

Employee Relations

Payroll information, performance reviews, and everyday communication with employees are just some of the information that could unsettle your business or organization if viewed by the wrong people. The issue can become more pressing knowing employees can be the ones seeking this information. A secure document shredding program can minimize these issues. The best solution is to use an outside shredding company like BEST Shredding, whereby third party confirmation provides evidence that shredding has actually occurred.

Protection Against Competitors

Finding out pricing information might be the single biggest thing that most businesses would like to know about their competitors. It is also one of the easiest – all it takes is grabbing the right trash from an unprotected dumpster. Please don’t be fooled into thinking that a simple office shredder is all that’s needed, there are plenty of stories about reconstructing documents that have been put through low cost office supply store shredders.

A Way To Avoid Lawsuits

Even if a document doesn’t legally have to be shredded, doesn’t mean it can’t cause you legal problems if it falls into the wrong hands. Document destruction is the best way to assure protection against the unforeseeable consequences of having information disclosed to the wrong person or organization. You can’t imagine all the different ways a single document can harm your company – so eliminate the possibility by having your documents professionally and securely destroyed by having a “AAA” NAID certified company handle all your document destruction needs.

A Secure Way To Clear Office Space

Expensive office space and file cabinets can slowly be filled up by old documents. One reason we are reluctant to throw things away is we don’t know how long to keep them. BEST Shredding can assist with these questions. The best solution is to call in a professional shredding company like BEST Shredding for a one-time shredding visit. We will destroy your documents, freeing up expensive office space and valuable file cabinet space.

The BEST Shredding Team,

Drop off shredding customers have until the end of December to donate and receive free shredding. For more information on our Holiday Food Drive, follow this link to our blog post with promotion details: http://bestshredding.ca/blog/?p=200

The BEST Shredding Team,

For every non-perishable food item you bring in we will shred 1 bankers box of paper for free! (Up to 3 boxes). The Food Drive will run from November 24 to December 31. You can bring in your donation to our Langley or Vancouver locations:

For more information please call: 1-855-GET-BEST (438-2378)

The Greater Vancouver Food Bank collects and distributes food to over 25‚000 people weekly through 15 food depots and over 100 community agencies located in Vancouver‚ Burnaby‚ New Westminster and the North Shore.  Each year, over 8 million pounds of food are moved through their warehouse.  The Food Bank relies solely on the generosity of individuals and organizations willing to donate funds‚ food and time.

As you probably know, due to the global economic downturn the number of people turning to food banks is on the rise.  The HungerCount 2010 Survey shows that food banks across Canada helped 28% more citizens in 2010 than in 2008.  In BC, 30% of the people seeking food are children.  Our collective offering will directly support the dignity of those facing hunger and food insecurity in the Lower Mainland, so let’s put together a vanload of nutritious food.

The BEST Team,

If you would like to make a donation to this great cause you can do so by following the link above!

For more information on BEST Shredding LIKE us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/best.shredding or visit us at www.bestshredding.ca and www.calgaryshredding.com

The BEST Shredding Team

Information contained in the files includes names, birth dates, and surgical procedures.

The privacy commissioner’s office says there have been several instances of confidential records being misplaced, citing one example of some being found in a dumpster behind a hospital.

This case, just like all others, will require the office to determine how the information was lost in the first place.

Wayne Wood, who speaks for the Information and Privacy commissioner, says there is a lot of personal information in the files.

The investigation is expected to take several week and Alberta Health Services is also examining the files.

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No company is impervious to the substantial effects that this type of negative publicity can have on your company’s brand image. Take the necessary steps in safeguarding your company from a data breach and hire a NAID Certified Document Security Company to manage the disposal of your confidential documents.

For more information on BEST Shredding and our services please feel free to contact us at 1.855.GET.BEST (438.2378)

According to the report, Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) pursued the case.  The report also makes clear that the man was arrested for making false claims about the improper disposal; not for HIPAA violations.

It is still clear that all law enforcement are taking improper disposal much more seriously than in the past.

Full Article Here

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