Nearly 2.9 million Premium Bond prizes worth a total of £126,787,100 are currently waiting to be claimed, according to NS&I. The government-backed savings provider told Consumer Editor Katie Elliott that many Britons are unaware they are owed a windfall.
Premium Bonds are a savings account run by National Savings and Investments (NS&I). Instead of earning interest, each £1 bond enters a monthly prize draw, with tax-free winnings ranging from £25 to £1 million. However, some prizes have not yet reached their winners.
Who is owed the most?
The most unclaimed cash is owed to Londoners and those in the South-East, simply because there are more Bondholders in these areas than in other regions. In London alone, one £100,000 prize and nine prizes worth £25,000 are up for grabs.
Most unclaimed prizes are due to relocation or changes to contact or bank details that haven't been updated with NS&I. While 99% of prizes do reach winners, that small 1% still represents millions of pounds of unclaimed cash.
How to check and claim
The best way to avoid prizes going unclaimed is to have them paid directly into your bank account or automatically reinvested into Premium Bonds, up to the £50,000 holding limit. You can check for unclaimed prizes by entering your holder's number into NS&I's online prize checker or the prize checker app.
If you find you are due a prize but haven't received it, you can call NS&I on 08085 007 007 if you've already registered for its online and phone service. If not, you should register first. Alternatively, you can write to NS&I, Sunderland, SR43 2SB, including your Premium Bondholder number, current and previous names, and current and previous addresses, along with your signature.
To track down lost accounts, perhaps from a relative who has passed away, use NS&I's online tracing service, searchable on Google.
