Problems with Premium Bonds

straytoaster

My sister died in 2013 and I am the executor of her estate. I found out she had Premium Bond holdings under two account numbers and two addresses. I went through the relevant claims process, but only one of the accounts (the smaller one) was settled. I only knew about her main account which had £7k in it and she wanted that to go to my Son who was 3 years old at the time. So originally I asked for the £7k to be moved to a children's account in his name. I didn't worry about it too much because as far as I was concerned the money was safe and he couldn't get to it until he was 16. But as time elapsed and I was getting no updates I grew concerned. I phoned a few times and was directed to write in. I wrote in a few times and got no acknowledgement or update. I lodged a formal complaint this week and got some movement. Apparently it was never possible to transfer, the bonds should have been cashed out. But the bonds were marked as belonging to a deceased person and so after 12 months, they were removed from the draw. This means for 9 years they have not been going into the draw and receiving no interest. As far as I am concerned I have followed every step required to get this money. Can I somehow claim for this loss of interest on the bonds? 

Emmia

PBs don't attract "interest" and in 9 years it is possible you would have won no prizes with the PBs.

straytoaster

It is possible but extremely unlikely that £7k in 9 years would win no prizes. The calculator on this site says average luck for 5 years (max on the calc) is probably worth ~ £1k. My concern with the interest (I know PBs don't accrue interest) is that they have bungled the cash out and that money could have been accruing interest elsewhere until my son came of age.

Keep_pedalling

Sorry but as executor you should have made sure sure this was sorted within a year of your sister’s death but you seemed to have made an assumption rather then following up when you had no response to your request. 

p00hsticks

Personally I've found the process for claiming premium bonds after a death extremely easy, although in my case we were only talking a few tens of pounds - I've had to do it twice in the last few weeks after discovering some old paper bonds in a cupboard.
It was simply a case of filling in an online form, nominating a bank account and the money was paid out within a few days. It also gives you the option of leaving the bonds in th draw but makes it clear  that this can only be for up to a year after the death. 
What to do if an NS&I customer has died | Help | NS&I (nsandi.com)

35har1old

p00hsticks said:

Personally I've found the process for claiming premium bonds after a death extremely easy, although in my case we were only talking a few tens of pounds - I've had to do it twice in the last few weeks after discovering some old paper bonds in a cupboard.
It was simply a case of filling in an online form, nominating a bank account and the money was paid out within a few days. It also gives you the option of leaving the bonds in th draw but makes it clear  that this can only be for up to a year after the death. 
What to do if an NS&I customer has died | Help | NS&I (nsandi.com)

Once it over £5000 it's not quite as simple
Grant of probate required 

Magnolia

35har1old said:

Once it over £5000 it's not quite as simple.  Grant of probate required 

Not necessarily - I didn't need probate for my husbands at 26k.  

Always just putting in the claim form and see what they ask for.