Maximum initial Premium Bond Investment

passau91

I cannot find any existing advice on the MSE forum threads, so please forgive me if this has been answered anywhere else.

With NS&I, I hold £19K in an index-linked 5 year fixed savings product from 2017, £2 (yes Godparent gifts of 2 x £1 premium bonds from my birth year) and that's it.

I've now become convinced that for me, investing a lump sum in Premium Bonds would be a better option than leaving it in a Natwest Savings Builder account.  However, when I try to buy further premium bonds of £34K, a warning comes up that I can only invest £15,998 in Premium Bonds otherwise I exceed my holding - but everywhere says the maximum you can hold is £50K.  Does anyone have any idea why I cannot buy £34K?  I am loathe to contact NS&I to ask, as (due to Covid, no doubt) their website asks you to refrain from calling them and there is no chat functionality that I can see.

Eco_Miser

That does seem strange to me, but rather than waste time trying to figure it out, I would buy 15,998 bonds now, and see what happens. Maybe try to buy the rest tomorrow.

On reflection £50,000 - £34,000 - £2 is £15,998. Is that warning saying that after you have bought £34k worth, you will only be able to buy a further £15,998? Or have you actually already bought the £34k worth without realising it?

Alter_ego

Have you got an online NSANDI account? That would clarify your holdings.

Costabit

I dont suppose that your original £2 worth of PBs has won £34K sometime in the past, and you have had the winnings reinvested as more PBs ?
That will give you a total holding of £34002 meaning you can only buy £15998 more
Will be a nice surprise eh ?

passau91

Costabit said:

I dont suppose that your original £2 worth of PBs has won £34K sometime in the past, and you have had the winnings reinvested as more PBs ?
That will give you a total holding of £34002 meaning you can only buy £15998 more
Will be a nice surprise eh ?

Wouldn't it just! Sadly, I doubt it. 

passau91

Eco_Miser said:

That does seem strange to me, but rather than waste time trying to figure it out, I would buy 15,998 bonds now, and see what happens. Maybe try to buy the rest tomorrow.

On reflection £50,000 - £34,000 - £2 is £15,998. Is that warning saying that after you have bought £34k worth, you will only be able to buy a further £15,998? Or have you actually already bought the £34k worth without realising it?

Weird, isn't it. Proof positive, when I log on using my phone, it says that the maximum I can purchase is £15,988

Alexland

Are you sure you haven't already attempted to buy £34k of bonds even if the transaction gave an error or is still in progress?
Seems too much of a coincidence that NS&I have reduced your allowance by exactly the amount you were thinking of adding. They are not mind readers.

spider42

I had exactly the same issue a few months ago (although with different amounts). I called them, and was given the explanation that if you start an application, and get as far as entering an amount for the investment, then their system deducts the amount you've entered from the remaining maximum, even if you haven't proceeded to the end of the application! Apparently a day or two later, it releases it again, and you then have the correct maximum amount available again. 

Did you start applying and got as far as entering £34,000 for the proposed investment amount by any chance?

I was doing it my application on the last day of the month, so this prevented me from investing the full £50,000 that month, which I was I was intending to do. I was advised on the phone that there is absolutely nothing they can do about it. It seems to be a known issue with their systems, as the advisor knew exactly what the problem was as soon as I called. I was told the maximum limit would reset itself again in a day or two, which it did (although I then decided to wait until the end of the following month, as there is no benefit investing early in the month, so you may as well earn a bit of interest on it in a normal savings account in the meantime).

Hopefully you will still be able to get in the £34,000 this month once your allowance has reset. It might be worth giving them a ring just to confirm that you have the same issue that I did.

passau91

spider42 said:

I had exactly the same issue a few months ago (although with different amounts). I called them, and was given the explanation that if you start an application, and get as far as entering an amount for the investment, then their system deducts the amount you've entered from the remaining maximum, even if you haven't proceeded to the end of the application! Apparently a day or two later, it releases it again, and you then have the correct maximum amount available again. 

Did you start applying and got as far as entering £34,000 for the proposed investment amount by any chance?

I was doing it my application on the last day of the month, so this prevented me from investing the full £50,000 that month, which I was I was intending to do. I was advised on the phone that there is absolutely nothing they can do about it. It seems to be a known issue with their systems, as the advisor knew exactly what the problem was as soon as I called. I was told the maximum limit would reset itself again in a day or two, which it did (although I then decided to wait until the end of the following month, as there is no benefit investing early in the month, so you may as well earn a bit of interest on it in a normal savings account in the meantime).

Hopefully you will still be able to get in the £34,000 this month once your allowance has reset. It might be worth giving them a ring just to confirm that you have the same issue that I did.

That sounds exactly like it. It was when I entered the figure £34,000, I think I paused while checking I had the funds in the right account. I'll try again on Monday!

passau91

Bingo. With huge thanks to spider42 for exactly the right answer!! I have just managed to purchase the £34k Premium Bonds as one chunk, and it looks as though they will enter the next draw on 2 April, although that sounds optimistic - i.e. more likely the May draw. Thanks for all the answers and assistance 

Alistair31

Will definitely not be the April draw.