NS&I warns Premium Bonds prizes worth thousands are still unclaimed
NS&I is reminding its customers to check if they are part of the several thousands of savers who have still not claimed their Premium Bond prizes.
NS&I recently reminded the public about unclaimed prizes after the announcement of the March 2024 prize draw results this week.
There are still a whopping 34,312 unclaimed prizes in West Sussex, home to one of this month's lucky jackpot winners, totalling an impressive £1,131,800.
The biggest prize that no one has claimed in this region is valued at £5,000 and was awarded during the prize draw of March 2007.
A person from Hampshire has won the second jackpot, and there is another prize of £5,000 that has not been claimed in the same area since January 2019.
There are over 64,000 uncollected rewards in Hampshire, which amount to a total of £2 million.
The most ancient reward that no one has claimed yet is worth £25. It was won in two separate draws, one in April 1962 and the other in August 1963.
NS&I informs the individuals who have won on Premium Bonds, however there are moments when they are unable to make contact due to a change of address or alterations to their personal information without prior notification to NS&I.
This could result in prizes going unclaimed, particularly if the saver has opted for cheque payments.
According to NS&I, the most efficient method for prize winners receiving their rewards is to have previously chosen to have the funds deposited directly into their bank account or used to purchase additional Premium Bonds.
Over 90 percent of the rewards are currently distributed through this method, as NS&I believes it is quicker and more reliable than sending out payments with cheques.
Customers have the option to utilize NS&I's prize checker application or online prize checker to investigate any unclaimed prizes from their Premium Bonds.
During the month of March 2024, a total of over 5.8 million rewards, with a value exceeding £451 million, will be available to be won.
The Premium Bonds prize checker app from NS&I gets a regular update on the day after the first working day of each month.
The lucky person from West Sussex, who owns Premium Bonds worth £50,000, became the first winner of the jackpot in September 2022 when they bought the winning bond.
Another lucky winner has won the second jackpot prize of £50,000 and resides in Hampshire. In February 2021, they purchased the winning bond.
Andrew Westhead, Director of NS&I Retail, has offered his congratulations to the fortunate individuals from West Sussex and Hampshire who have won a £1 million jackpot. They can now begin pondering on how to utilize their tax-exempt earnings.
This month, we've given out an astounding £451 million in prizes to holders of Premium Bonds. The prizes ranged from £25 to a whopping £1 million, and a total of 5.8 million prizes were awarded.
This month, a couple of fortunate winners who had a deposit of £100 were granted an enormous sum of £100,000 as recognition that each bond is valuable.
