NS&I has clarified the rules around Premium Bonds saying it may change certain details without telling customers. The prize draw for Premium Bonds takes place at the start of each month.
You can check if you have any prizes to collect on the NS&I website or through the prize checker app. Each draw featuresa number of big cash prizes. Big winnings on offer include the two jackpots for £1million and several prizes for sizeable amounts such as £100,000 and £50,000.
The provider publishes the list of high value winners following each month’s draw on its website, including the region where each big prize winner lives. But the region you belong to is subject to change, even if you haven’t moved house.
This is because each customer is assigned to either a town, local authority, county or Government Standard Region or country. Where you are assigned depends on the population of your particular area. Guidance on the group’s website explains: “When a winner is assigned to a town with fewer than 100,000 holders assigned to it, then we use the following hierarchy until we find a level where that area has at least 100,000 Premium Bonds holders:
Level 1: Royal Mail Postcode Address File (PAF) Town (like Blackpool)
Level 2: County or Local Authority (like Lancashire)
Level 3: Government Standard Region (like North West)
Level 4: Country (like England).”
This creates the peculiar situation where, looking at the big winners for the January draw, there is a region for ‘Inner London’ and ‘Outer London’, but also another ‘London’ region. There are also regions for particular local authorities within London, such as ‘Wandsworth’, ‘Barnet’ and ‘Bromley’.
Looking at other built-up areas, there is a region for ‘Bristol’ and another region for ‘Bristol City Of’. There is also region for ‘Lancashire’ and a region for ‘Preston’, which is a city in Lancashire.
Explaining the policy, an NS&I spokesperson said: “The 100,000 threshold is used for public reporting and transparency purposes.
“It has no bearing on a customer’s chances of winning, as every £1 Bond has an equal chance of winning any prize regardless of where the holder lives.” Given the 100,000 customer threshold, this also raises the question of whether a particular customer’s allocated region can change as the population in their area changes.
The spokesperson said: “The number of Premium Bonds holders in any given area will naturally fluctuate over time as customers buy and cash in Premium Bonds.
“NS&I does not notify customers of any changes to how their area is categorised, as this information does not affect their account or odds in any way.”
The prize fund rate for Premium Bonds is currently 3.6 percent, having been reduced several times last year. The odds of any £1 Bond that goes into the monthly draw being paired with a prize are currently 22,000 to one.
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