The article highlights a significant issue concerning Premium Bonds, revealing that over £100 million in prizes remains unclaimed by winners. This substantial sum is spread across 2.5 million unclaimed prizes, including 11 instances of the second-largest prize, £100,000. The government-owned bank responsible for operating the scheme, National Savings and Investments (NS&I), is facing increasing criticism for allegedly not doing enough to locate these winners. Critics argue that the current process for tracing accounts is unduly difficult, particularly for individuals who were gifted Premium Bonds as children or those who only ever possessed paper records, which predate digitisation.
Premium Bonds are described as a lottery-style, government-backed savings account where the return on investment is determined by a monthly prize draw, ranging from £25 up to a £1 million jackpot. NS&I asserts that every jackpot millionaire has successfully received their winnings. Since its inception in June 1957, NS&I's Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment, known as ERNIE, has drawn a staggering 772 million prizes worth a combined £37 billion. Despite this, the £103 million currently unclaimed represents a mere 0.28% of the total prize money awarded over nearly seven decades, a point NS&I retail director Andrew Westhead emphasized in defence of the bank's efforts.
The reasons for these unclaimed prizes are varied and complex. Many winners may have relocated and failed to update their contact details, leading to missed notifications sent via text, email, or post. A significant challenge arises with bond holdings that were never formally registered or where individuals are simply unaware they were gifted bonds, often as children, and thus never received the crucial paper certificates containing account numbers. The article features the poignant case of Melanie Clarke, who struggled to trace her late father Hugo's Premium Bonds, highlighting the difficulties faced by families, particularly those from the Windrush generation, who may have purchased or been gifted bonds decades ago without leaving clear records or wills. NS&I acknowledges that bonds purchased before digitisation are "much harder to trace."
Critics, including wills and probate solicitor Patrice Lawrence, are vocal about the need for reform. Lawrence, who has personally assisted several individuals in tracing accounts, expressed shock that a government-owned bank is "sitting on nearly £100m that doesn't belong to it during a cost of living crisis." She has initiated a petition advocating for a simpler tracing process where basic details like names, dates of birth, and addresses at the time of purchase would suffice to locate an account. Other difficulties highlighted include a general lack of awareness about the significance of Premium Bond paperwork found among a deceased relative's possessions, and the bureaucratic hurdles faced by minors who were gifted bonds but were unaware they needed to transfer them upon reaching 16.
Further criticism comes from consumer groups like Which? Money, whose deputy editor Sam Richardson points out that NS&I is not signed up to the government's own 'Tell Us Once' service or its private equivalent, the 'Death Notification Service'. These services are designed to simplify the process of notifying multiple organisations after a death, a crucial omission that complicates matters for bereaved families. While NS&I claims its services require "more individualised contact with executors," the sentiment from experts like BBC Morning Live's Iona Bain is that the process remains too rigid and bureaucratic, often leading to a "computer says no" experience even when individuals believe they have sufficient details.
Despite the challenges, NS&I does offer various avenues for people to find their accounts, including an online tracing service, a helpline (08085 007 007), and the ability to register original paper bonds online. They also suggest using MyLostAccount, a service associated with UK Finance and the Building Societies Association, which can trace old accounts with various providers. Legal representatives, such as those acting under a Power of Attorney or as an executor of a will, can also initiate traces. However, the core of the criticism remains that NS&I needs to significantly improve its proactive efforts and simplify its tracing mechanisms to reunite more people with their rightful winnings.