premium bonds and BR

littleannie_2

Hi
can anyone answer this one please...
started filling in the dreaded forms after alot of thinking. They want to know if i have any premium bonds. Have checked and have £125 ponds worth much to my astonishment. They were bought for me when i was a child. Never won on them. They are now 40 years old.
But do i declare them or shall i cash them in and use it for my 3 year olds christmas. Do you think they would find out , or can they even find out if i had any, or should i say i cashed them in and keep receipts to prove what i used them for, but it wont be debts.

Please can any one advise.
Thanks

tigerfeet2006

I am afraid these wil have to go to the OR, sorry. If you cash them in when you know you are going BR they will not be happy. Though what they can do to you for using the £125 don't know. Make you pay it back? One poster had a £1 PB taken by the OR. Oh! and yes they can find out all sorts.

betterlatethannever

I lost my £2 of premium bonds. I think it was rog that lost his £1 of them.
Unless you have a good reason for needing the £125 (eg for the BR fee) and are prepared to explain it to the OR then i'd just surrender them

philnicandamy

I lost a £2 one bought for me as a child...37years old now

Praxis99

Prior to going BR in Sept this yr I cashed in my £100 worth of bonds after waiting of course till after that months draw - just in case!. This was not queried by the OR, if it had been I'd simply have explained it as going towards essential living expenses which it was indeed used for.

Probably fair to say if your going BR then £125 is going to make little or no difference to your creditors but clearly will be helpful to you re your Xmas expenses.

Refunds are very quick - less than a week in my my case and can be paid directly into your bank account or via a cheque. The relevant form you need is available here: http://www.nsandi.com/products/pb/cashin.jsp. Good luck with the form filling!