Islanders sitting on £50,000 in unclaimed Premium Bonds

NS&I, which runs the government-backed investment scheme, said that it has 1,551 individual prizes that have never been claimed within the Bailiwick. They include three £500 prizes, the largest unclaimed wins among local bondholders.

Unlike other investments, where savers can earn interest or a regular dividend income, premium bond holders are entered into a monthly prize draw, where they can win between £25 and £1m. tax-free.

Premium Bonds prize winners are notified when they win a prize, but sometimes people move or change their contact details without letting NS&I know.

The Bailiwick has more than 20,000 holders of premium bonds, with a combined value of £212m.

The government scheme, which started in 1957, recently paid out a £25 prize from May 1970, that had gone unclaimed for 51 years.

The oldest unclaimed prize in Guernsey is for £25, dating back to 1977.

There are currently more than 2m. unclaimed prizes in the UK, worth more than £68m.

The quickest way to check for unclaimed prizes is to use NS&I’s online prize checker or prize checker app at www.nsandi.com/prize-checker.

Customers need their Premium Bonds holder’s number or NS&I number, but if they do not have it, they can contact NS&I and their history can be traced through past names and addresses.

NS&I said that failure to advise it of a change of address would be the major reason why prizes get ‘lost’. But they are always redeemable if the person realises that they have won in the monthly draw.

‘We get reports every month saying customers have been reunited with their money but to see that increase would be a real success – it’s theirs to take and for reclaiming,’ NS&I retail director Jill Waters told the BBC.