Are you sitting on a cash windfall?
Across the UK over 928,000 Premium Bonds prizes worth over £41 million remain unclaimed including over 16,000 in Devon worth more than £695,000.
NS&I are calling for Premium Bonds holders to come forward to claim their prizes, and to sign-up to have their winnings paid directly into their bank accounts to reduce the chances of prizes going unclaimed in future.
Premium Bonds prize warrants can go undelivered and unclaimed as a result of changes in Premium Bonds holders’ addresses, or if Bonds were bought for them as a child and they have subsequently lost track of them. For customers to avoid missing out it’s important for them to keep NS&I up to date of any change in contact details.
There are a number of people in the region due to receive £1,000 after failing to claim their prizes in previous draws.
Almost a third of the UK population have invested over £51 billion in Premium Bonds, and every eligible Bond is entered into the monthly prize draw. Investors forgo interest to have the chance to win tax-free prizes.
Every month almost 2 million prizes are distributed, either by warrant (like a cheque) or paid directly into holders bank accounts. The latter service was introduced fairly recently and NS&I are encouraging Premium Bonds holders to reduce the chances of their prizes becoming unclaimed by opting to have any prizes paid directly into their bank.
To sign up holders should click here.
Jill Waters, NS&I’s Assistant Director, Retail Experience, said: “It is likely that the winners of the unclaimed prizes are unaware or have forgotten that they have Premium Bonds.
"Prizes often become unclaimed as a result of people moving house, or forgetting that Bonds have been bought for them as a child, or executors are unaware the Bonds are held when someone dies.
“By opting to manage your Premium Bonds online you could reduce the risk of missing out on prizes as they can be paid directly into your bank account.”
There is no time limit for claiming prizes. Premium Bonds investors can check to see if they have won by visiting nsandi.com and using the Premium Bonds prize checker on the homepage.
Ways for customers to check if they have a prize owing to them:
Online at www.nsandi.com
The Premium Bonds prize checker is on the home page of the NS&I website at nsandi.com – customers simply need to enter their Premium Bonds holder’s number into the search facility.
In writing:
You can write to NS&I, quoting their name and address, any former names and addresses, date of birth and, if known, their Premium Bonds holder’s number.
Premium Bonds, National Savings and Investments, Glasgow, G58 1SB
Since the first Premium Bonds prize draw in 1957, more than 304 million tax–free prizes worth approximately £15.4 billion have been paid out.
Premium Bonds are an investment where, instead of interest payments, investors have the chance to win tax-free prizes. They were officially launched by Harold Macmillan, Chancellor of the Exchequer, in his 1956 Budget.
Premium Bonds offer investors 100% capital security, backed by HM Treasury, as well as the sense of fun that comes from potentially winning tax-free prizes.
For the November 2014 draw, ERNIE paid out almost 2 million prizes, together amounting to almost £58 million in value. There were 51,412,662,885 eligible Bond numbers in the draw.
The Premium Bonds prize fund rate is 1.35% and the odds of each individual Bond number winning a prize are 26,000 to 1.
