A Premium Bonds holder was pleasantly surprised if a bit confused after she discovered she had 23 unclaimed prizes despite never getting a notification about any of them.
Twitter user Anne Hodgkins contacted NS&I to ask how she could transfer over her winnings. The retired woman asked the group: “Your app informs me that I have 23 unclaimed prizes.
“I have input my bank account on the system. How do I initiate transfer of the prize money? I have never received any notification of these prizes.”
As Premium Bonds prizes are worth at least £25, the 23 prizes would be worth at least £575 in total. The largest individual cash prizes on offer include £100,000 or even a £1million jackpot.
The provider replied to explain the process. A representative said: “If you give us a call on 08085 007 007 and ask the AI assistant to transfer you to an agent, they will be able to get the prizes re-issued to your bank account.”
Customers can check if they have any unclaimed prizes using the prize checker tool on the NS&I website. This allows a person to check for prizes from any of the previous monthly draws.
A person can also check if they have any prizes to collect using the app or with an Alexa-enabled device.
One customer recently contacted NS&I as they were unable to cash in their Bonds despite calling up several times.
They said: “Having issue where can’t cash in Premium Bonds online or over the phone – got to use an online form and says will take eight working days!?! This is totally unacceptable.”
The group replied to clarify how the process works with the online form. They said: “If you have completed an online form it can take up to eight working days but that is at most.
“So we can try to advise you further could you explain why you were told it cannot be done over the phone?”
The customer said they weren’t able to do the transaction over the phone because of “system issues”. They added: “I spoke to three different (all very nice) people none of whom could make it work. Very frustrating.”
Premium Bonds are entered into a monthly prize draw, with each £1 Bond having an equal chance of winning a prize.
A person can increase their chances of winning by buying more Bonds, up to the limit of £25,000. You have to buy at least £25 worth of Bonds each time you buy more.
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