Pensioner Bonds Guide

bigfreddiel

spenderdave wrote: »

Well I sent a postal application off on Friday so will see what happens. I was not happy in doing £10000 on my debit card and from the experiences of others that seems to have been borne out - a cheque seems more logical for that amount of money (since they don't allow direct transfers).

The last thing I would want to do is send a cheque for £10k through the post! This must be the worst way to do it. Using a debit card is the most secure method

Cheers

fj

Sand_castle

nilrem wrote: »

Has anyone who sent via Royal Mail to apply for these bonds received anything yet?
I was already registered with NS&I and posted my applications over a week ago (because of the inability of the web site) so far nowt is showing on my savings page and my cheques remain un-cashed!

Hi, I sent off the forms by first class post on the 15th and the cheques left our account on the 21st, I received the paperwork from NSI today

Sterlingtimes

mike88 wrote: »

You don't have to be pre registered to apply online. The question asks whether you are registered and then goes on to say don't worry if you are not as you will be registered during the application process.

Applied for my mother, but got no Registration email with NS&I number. Cannot therefore make a further application. Letter received by post requires the documents that are generally difficult to provide. As people get older, passports may not be reviewed and driving licences may no longer be valid.

nilrem_2

bigfreddiel wrote: »

The last thing I would want to do is send a cheque for £10k through the post! This must be the worst way to do it. Using a debit card is the most secure method

Well some of us had little choice when the website was not working but I don't see how it's wrong to send a cheque via post. plenty of people have done it for years and many institutions still send cheques out this way when a bond matures and you withdraw it.

Obviously I prefer on-line transfer but it's not always possible.

colsten

bigfreddiel wrote: »

The last thing I would want to do is send a cheque for £10k through the post! This must be the worst way to do it. Using a debit card is the most secure method

Nothing inherently unsafe about posting a crossed cheque.

I-LOV-MONEY

Application sent electronically on Friday. My account was debited today.

Terry98

miller wrote: »

I wonder how many pensioners claim back the starting 10% rate on savings who are eligible. I'd guess it's not more than half, but who knows?

I see they are abolishing the 10% rate on savings in April.

So all the HMRC staff time saved, and more, will be used trying to process the R40's from pensioners with these bonds!

Brand

mike88 wrote: »

That's not how my application worked. I had not pre registered but paid online.

Yes I have tried the site today and yes they have changed it so that you can proceed without having registered.
Two weeks ago I could not do that.
I suspected that the website was put up solely as a place to hold the brochure and the phone numbers etc, but behind it, NS&I was an old-fashioned paper-based service.
I applied by post instead on 16th Jan.
I rang yesterday and it seems they do not demand a password in order to take a query on the phone, so I am puzzled why the website says you need a password.
They can't actually look up to see if my application was received or accepted though.
I was asked Is that postcode in capital letters? so I guess the temps are in, so I will double check (eventually) the details are correct.
The problem with many orgs is that top brass take sudden initiatives and the senior managers below them are either scared to be negative, or else don't bother checking the details lower down of whether if the organisation can actually pull it off,

nilrem_2

Brand wrote: »

Yes I have tried the site today and yes they have changed it so that you can proceed without having registered.
Two weeks ago I could not do that.
I suspected that the website was put up solely as a place to hold the brochure and the phone numbers etc, but behind it, NS&I was an old-fashioned paper-based service.
I applied by post instead on 16th Jan.
I rang yesterday and it seems they do not demand a password in order to take a query on the phone, so I am puzzled why the website says you need a password.
They can't actually look up to see if my application was received or accepted though.
I was asked Is that postcode in capital letters? so I guess the temps are in, so I will double check (eventually) the details are correct.
The problem with many orgs is that top brass take sudden initiatives and the senior managers below them are either scared to be negative, or else don't bother checking the details lower down of whether if the organisation can actually pull it off,

So are you saying that you phoned to ask about your application and they could not tell you either whether they had received it or if it had been processed? I was going to ring about mine today but if what you say is right there is not much point!

Defeated

nilrem wrote: »

Has anyone who sent via Royal Mail to apply for these bonds received anything yet?
I was already registered with NS&I and posted my applications over a week ago (because of the inability of the web site) so far nowt is showing on my savings page and my cheques remain un-cashed!

In the past whenever I have applied for savings via mail the cheques are cashed as soon as the institution receives them and normally within a day or two.

Talk about a shambles!

I'm in the same boat. Been checking my dad's account every day but cheques still not cashed. We sent the cheques by recorded delivery and they were signed for last Thursday, but NS&I has presumably been sitting on them ever since. All my family has an account with NS&I of one sort or another and we all agree it's the worst bank in the world. The private sector ones are bad (some of them), but as nilrem said, this one is a complete shambles.