NS&I has explained the process for tracking down a lost Premium Bond after a woman contacted the group about a Bond purchased 37 years ago.
Twitter user Pauline Hornsby (@RENSHAW67) contacted NS&I about a Premium Bond bought for her son 37 years ago. She said: “We have lost track of it so don’t have any numbers. How can he find it to check if there are any prizes?”
The provider said in response: “He will need to trace for his account by completing our tracing form.” They added a link to this form for ‘Request to trace dormant savings or investments’.
To fill in the form, a person has to provide their personal details about some information about the savings they want to trace, including when it was purchased and how much it was worth.
The document includes a section to fill in if the holdings are in another person’s name. The form has to be signed and witnessed to be completed.
People may want to track down any lost Bonds and check for any unclaimed winnings as there are currently some 2.4million prizes that are unclaimed.
Many unclaimed prizes date back over 60 years ago, with some £80million in winnings yet to be taken home by their rightful owner.
An individual can check using the prize checker tool on the NS&I website, with an Alexa-enabled device or using the app.
Each £1 Bond has an equal chance of winning in the prize draw that takes place at the start of each month.
Prizes up for grab includes two £1million jackpot prizes, as well as other large winning amounts including £100,000 and £50,000.
A person can up their chances of winning by purchasing more Bonds. A saver can hold up to £50,000 in Premium Bonds.
A frustrated customer recently asked NS&I if old Bonds become obsolete after they won nothing in 55 years.
The savings provider assured them this is “absolutely not” the case and all Bonds are entered into the monthly draw.
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