Brits hang onto old bills
Most people store financial documents for at least two years with only a fifth of people throwing their bills away within a year, according to HSBC's Green Survey.Coinciding with the launch of HSBC's green banking options, the poll has revealed that although 85 per cent of people would like to reduce the amount of paper they have at home, 82 per cent of people hang onto bills for utilities, credit cards and council tax. Some 80 per cent of people also keep hold of financial communications such as bank statements.While only 21 per cent of Brits discard their bills within a year, 42 per cent of people keep them for one to two years. Some 33 per cent of people hang on to bills for at least three years. Communications and items sent from the bank, such as statements and paying-in books, are also kept by 49 per cent of people for more than three years after their receipt.People held onto bills and bank paperwork in case they were needed for future reference. Mike Oliver, head of current accounts at HSBC, said: "It's clear from our research that as a nation we are keen to 'go green', but we’re finding it hard to detach ourselves from paper. We only occasionally re-use or refer back to the paperwork we keep, yet we just can't bring ourselves to get rid of it on a regular basis."At HSBC from July 2nd, we are launching a range of green options to give customers the opportunity to go largely paper-free with their current account. If they want to do their bit for the environment, they can say goodbye to monthly paper statements, cheque books, paying-in books, letters and paper marketing material."
Share this..
Related stories
Why won't the UK government protect ALL of your savings?
As news that Gordon Brown has increased protection for savers to £50,000 per institution is released it seems as though calls for 100% protection of savings have been ignored. This has prompted many to ask why the authorities are not able to guarantee all savings and what they may fear?
While on the surface it may look as if Gordon Brown is not prepared to help, in reality it woul...
Have you reviewed your financial situation since the turn of the year?
While there have been signs that the UK economy may be stabilising in the short term, many people are still burying their head in the sand with regards to their own financial affairs and hoping everything will "come right" in the end. However, even if the UK economy was to recover in the short to medium term there will still be a significant lag in the employment market with unemployment set to ri...
Read MoreHow can the authorities force lower energy bills?
As the great energy cost debate continues to roll on more and more UK consumers are starting to ask how and when the government can actually push through lower energy costs. The last few weeks has seen a major fight between the government and the energy companies with energy regulator Ofgem also entering the fray. Despite threats of legal action and increased regulatory powers for Ofgem the energy...
Read MoreRiots add to woes in Greece
The Greek authorities are coming under more pressure as the announcement of wage cuts in the public sector sparks a number of riots across the country. This is the latest stage in what is certain to be short-term pain for medium to long term gain but this is no good for those caught up in the Greek budget deficit issue. Despite coming out fighting last week and complaining about the speed at wh...
Read MoreUnauthorised overdraft rates at 10 year high
Despite the fact that the current and the previous UK governments promised to assist UK consumers with their banking arrangements and standard of service from the financial industry, it has been revealed that the average unauthorised overdraft rate in the UK is at a 10 year high of 14.22%. When you consider this rate is against a backdrop of just 0.5% for UK base rates it really does show how expe...
Read More
