Questions To Ask Before Choosing A Shredding Company

When it comes to selecting a company to carry out your document shredding services, you will find that there are plenty to choose from.  This guide is designed to provide you with some questions you can use to identify the best company for the job – and ensure that your confidential waste is handled in the best manner.

Are Their Staff CRB Checked?

If you are trusting your documents to another company, you need to know that all their staff will treat it with the utmost confidentiality.  Make sure their staff – irrespective of whether they will be handling your job or not – are CRB checked.  All Shredsec staff are CRB checked.

Do They Offer On-Site and Off-site Shredding?

Off-site shredding tends to be the least expensive service for most homes and businesses and is therefore the most popular.  However, on-site shredding (when a shredding company shreds your documents at your site using a shredding truck) is popular with public sector customers who want the reassurance of knowing seeing the papers destroyed in front of their eyes.  Shredsec offer on-site and off-site shredding.

Do You Receive A Free Certificate Of Destruction?

You should receive a Certificate of Destruction every time your paperwork is destroyed.  This is an important document to enable you to prove that your material has been shredded and it should contain: date of shredding, details of the material that was shredded and a real signature (not digitised).  Shredsec provides a Certificate of Destruction with every job.

Is The Company Fully Insured?

There are many smaller waste management companies that provide shredding services as a separate offering.  You should make sure that the company you employ is fully insured for shredding operations and holds the relevant public liability insurance cover. Shredsec holds full public liability insurance for shredding works.

Do They Require Pre-Sorting?

Many shredding companies stipulate that your waste material has to be sorted before it collected so that plastic folders, binders, etc, are handled separately.  If this is the case, you should question the capabilities of the company because any professional shredding company will be able to handle all kinds of materials without the need for pre-sorting.  Shredsec’s large industrial shredders can shred whole lever-arch files and so no pre-sorting is required.

Are Discounts Applied To Large Volumes?

If you have more than 1 tonne of paperwork to be destroyed (approximately equal to 65 archive boxes or sacks) then you should enquire about the discounts available from the shredding company.  If they do not offer a discount then you should question their operational credentials.  Shredsec provides discounts to organisations that are disposing of large volumes of paper.

What Are Their Service Capabilities?

The number of vehicles and collection routes utilised by larger shredding companies means that they are capable of responding to your ad-hoc and regular service requirements very quickly.  Shredsec can usually accommodate a collection from anywhere in London and East Anglia within 24 hours.

Do They Require Upfront Payment?

Any company that asks for pre-payment of their shredding services should be questioned.  Shredding services are no different to most other services in requiring payment after the shredding has been carried out.  Shredsec sends your invoice on the day of shredding with 30 day payment terms.

To find out more about how Shredsec can help with your confidential shredding, contact us today on 0800 567 7570 or email service@shredsec.com