NS&I has issued a warning about an important letter going out to Premium Bonds customers.
The update came after a customer got in touch with a query about their account settings.
They asked over X: “I ticked by ‘reinvest in Bonds’, but I have the maximum amount, so one week after the draw I’ve now changed it on my profile to ‘send to nominated account’ which I changed online, genuine mistake, how long will it now take to receive my winnings?”
A person can hold up to £50,000 in Premium Bonds. Savers often set up their accounts so any winnings in the monthly draw are automatically used to buy more Bonds.
By buying more Bonds, you increase your chances of winning a prize, with the odds of winning currently at 21,000 to one.
In response, a representative of NS&I spelled out the process in this case, explaining: “If we already had your nominated bank details on our records, this months winnings may have been sent to your bank account.
“If this hasn’t been paid to your bank account since the beginning of the month, the system will have issued a warrant (like a cheque) to be posted to you.
“You can, however, call us to cancel this and pay the prize to your bank account.”
Another customer recently contacted NS&I confused as they had received a surprise £300 in payments into their bank account.
The bemused saver asked: “I have just received three x £100 into my bank account.
“However your app told me I had won nothing this month and had won nothing for six months. This is nonsense. What is going on?”
NS&I responded to the to clarify the rules for Premium Bonds. A representative said: “Please note it is an essential feature of the Premium Bond scheme that winning is solely a matter of luck, and there can be no guarantee of any level of return whatever the value of the holding.
“The random nature of the prize draw means that there is no predictable pattern to the frequency or value of prize wins. It is possible to experience months without winning a prize, as well as months with multiple wins.
“If you would like to query the results of our prize checker to what you have received to your bank account, please call us on 08085 007 007 and an advisor can check into this for you.”
