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Why Even Small Businesses Need Document Shredding Services

When you run a small business, there are always things you look at and wonder if you really need them.  One of those might be document shredding services.  It is easy to think that there’s no real danger that any paperwork from the business could end up in the wrong hands – but this can be a costly mistake.

Documents and the law

 

Under the 1998 Data Protection Act, if you work with documents that contain personal information of individuals, you have a legal obligation to protect that information.  This means if you dispose of paperwork that contains any of this information, you must make sure it is done so using secure paper shredding.

 

While there are many great office shredders available for normal non-confidential waste, paperwork carrying information covered by the Act is best disposed of in a secure document shredding system.  This ensures that no criminal can get the shredded pieces of paper and put them together to access the information they contain.

What is personal information?

 

If you are unsure what counts as personal information and if you need to have certain documents shredded, you can see a full list on the government website.  However, examples can include customer contracts, CVs, payroll information and anything that contains information about a person including name, address, bank information and other sensitive data.

Identity theft risks

 

Businesses have learned costly lessons about the problem of identity theft from documents stolen from their premises.  While theft isn’t something you can completely stop, if you don’t take steps to make sure waste paperwork is disposed of properly, then you can be responsible.  That’s why even small businesses use a professional shredding and disposal service to handle all potential sensitive paperwork.

 

Look for a service where you can be provided with secure containers to store the documents at your property before having them collected and securely destroyed.  Reputable shredding companies will be able to provide you with a destruction certificate to evidence that the documents have been shredded in line with data regulations so that you can be sure that there is no risk of the data being restored and used for illegal purposes.

 

For more information on our document shredding services, visit our website or contact us directly.

 

 
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