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£30 million of premium bond prizes go unclaimed
Photo by Adrian Clarke
Government-backed savings provider to search nationwide after thousands forget to claim prizes worth up to £100,000
Thousands of people have won premium bond prizes and never claimed their money, National Savings and Investments (NS&I) said today.
The Government-backed bank is now launching a nationwide search to track down 550,000 winners whose unclaimed prizes are worth more than £30 million.
One unclaimed prize is worth £100,000, two are worth £25,000 and ten are worth £10,000. The oldest unclaimed prize dates back to November 1957 for the sum of £25.
Prizes commonly become unclaimed because people fail to pass on new addresses when they move house; forget that bonds had been bought for them when they were a child; or executors are unaware the bonds are held when someone dies.
Sally Swait of NS&I said: "Following the expense of Christmas, tracing unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes may prove to be a welcome source of extra money.
"We urge anyone who believes they could have unclaimed prizes to check with us. The easiest way is to use our website and there is no time limit on claiming the prizes."
Around 23 million people hold premium bonds, worth a total of £26 billion. Savers can hold up to £30,000 in bonds but instead of interest payments, bond-holders have a chance to win tax-free prizes, anything from £25 to £1 million every month. Each month’s prize fund is equal to one month’s interest on the total value of all eligible bonds.
The winner of the unclaimed £100,000 prize is a female whose last known address was in outer London – and she holds only £25 worth of bonds.
To see if you have won a premium bond prize, go to www.nsandi.com and enter your Premium Bond holder number into the search facility. Alternatively write to Premium Bonds, National Savings and Investments, Blackpool, FY3 9YP.
If you have lost your holder number, call the NS&I helpline on 0845 964 5000.
There is no time limit on claiming prizes and each unclaimed prize is held until the winner can be tracked down.
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