Premium Bonds savers have been alerted to a simple mistake that could prevent their payments from being processed. This issue was highlighted when a new customer contacted NS&I after noticing that a transfer they had made did not appear to have gone through.
The customer queried: “Yesterday morning I transferred money for the first time into my Premium Bonds account via my online banking. The money has been taken out my bank as a ‘pending transaction’ – however, it has not gone into my Premium Bonds account as the balance hasn’t changed.”
In response, NS&I asked if the customer had entered an incorrect detail during the transaction, asking: “When you made the bank transfer, did you put your account holders number as the payment reference? ” The customer admitted: “Off the top of my head I don’t think I did, I remember seeing the instructions underneath and thinking it said account holder’s name so just put my name in.”
NS&I explained that this could be the root of the problem, stating: “If you have put your name instead of the holder’s number, the funds will be returned back to your bank. As soon as these have, you can then send the payment again with the holder’s number as the reference.”
When the customer asked how long it would take for the funds to be returned to their bank account, NS&I responded: “When a bank transfer has been rejected, we send it back to you the next working day.” Premium Bond holders have been reminded that with every purchase a minimum of £25 must be spent.
In the chase for monthly prize draw winnings, many customers set their accounts to reinvest any gains back into new Bonds. A recent query was raised by another customer with National Savings & Investments (NS&I) over an awaited refund.
The individual expressed their concern, saying: “I posted an application on Thursday 12 September for some Premium Bonds refund, but not heard anything yet. What is the turnaround time please?” In an official response to the query, NS&I stated: “The form will take up to eight working days to process and the funds to be paid to your bank account.”