A pensioner has decided to cash in his Premium Bonds after he won nothing in six months despite previously getting consistent prizes.
X user Alf Bridge (@alfbridge43), whose profile says he is a retired soccer scout, said in a tweet to NS&I: “Nothing for six months, yet used to have regular prizes every month. I’m going to withdraw the lot as I feel something is amiss.”
A representative from the provider said in response: “I am sorry that you are unhappy the results of your investment.
“Please note that no matter how much you hold in Premium Bonds there is never a guarantee that you will win something. The investment is strictly luck based.”
Mr Bridge then asked the group if they have adjudicators to ensure each number goes into the draw. He also said: “I used to get regular small amounts. I’ll be withdrawing all my bonds and putting the money into a bank with good interest rates.”
The provider said in response: “On this channel we don’t have access to this information.”
Another customer (@JourneymanEst88) also recently contacted the group on X to question if the Premium Bonds were worth investing in.
They said: “If I have £50,000 in my account for a year wouldn’t it be expected that I’d have won more than the smallest amount just once this year? Seems it’s time to move my money elsewhere.”
NS&I said in response: “Having a greater number of Premium Bonds only increases your chance of winning a prize, it doesn’t increase your chances of winning bigger prizes.
“There is a drastic drop-off of the number of prizes available for higher denominations compared to £100 or lower prizes.”
The customer then said: “That answers it… My money would be better in a savings account as the interest earned would outweigh prizes won with Premium Bonds each year.”
The prize fund rate for Premium Bonds is currently 4.65 percent with the odds of winning at 21,000 to one.
Even those with low amounts invested stand a chance of winning – one of the £100,000 prize winners in the January draw previously had just £200 in Premium Bonds.
The prize fund rate was increased from four percent to 4.65 percent from the September 2023 draw. Customers usually get a text message or email if notify them if they have won a prize.
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