Double delight for Edinburgh and Cambridgeshire as Agent Million brings treats to Premium Bonds customers’ doors
The two winners will always remember the 1st of November as they are the 373rd and 374th people to win the £1 million jackpot.
Their winning numbers were just two of almost 2.4 million drawn by ERNIE for the November draw – a new record number of prizes distributed in a single monthly draw in over 60 years of Premium Bonds.
The winner from Edinburgh is the second in as many months. Prior to the win last month, the last time Agent Million visited Edinburgh was back in October 2006.
The man from Scotland becomes the 22nd jackpot winner from the country and the third from the capital itself.
He bought his winning Bond (number: 211HV345974) in September 2013, part of a £30,000 purchase, which makes up his entire current Premium Bond holding.
Similarly, the jackpot winner in Cambridgeshire bought her winning Bond (number: 235XY200329) in a £40,000 purchase – also her current total holding – in November 2014, making it a special treat for the third anniversary of her Premium Bonds investment.
She is the first person from Cambridgeshire to win since October 2015, and also the third from the county overall.
Jill Waters, Retail Director at NS&I, said:
“Three is clearly the magic number this month as Agent Million visits both winning areas for the third time.
“Congratulations to both jackpot winners, and the millions of other prize winners this month whose investments in Premium Bonds have brought a little or large treat.”
Do these things move in threes?
The connection of the number three with occult and spooky occurrences has been well documented in folklore, and in addition to the new millionaires, there were three winners of £100,000 prizes this month.
Prior to November’s draw, three other jackpot winners in 2017 bought their winning numbers in 2014 – three years ago.
Jill Waters added:
“There are some interesting coincidences with the numbers this month, but Premium Bonds customers can be assured they are just that.
“ERNIE’s number-generating is as random as it was when the first winning numbers were created in June 1957.
“But will Edinburgh make it a hat-trick of jackpot wins to close out 2017? We’ll find out at the start of next month.”
BACS to the future
The full results of this month’s draw are announced on 2 November, with prizes paid out during the month. However, for customers wanting to receive future prizes sooner, they can register to manage their account online and by phone via nsandi.com, choosing to have their prizes paid directly into their bank account.
Registering for prizes by BACS
Jill Waters said:
“Many of our customers will have chosen to have their prizes reinvested into Premium Bonds, which make them eligible for the next month’s draw, while others have decided to have their prizes paid directly into their accounts via BACS transfer, meaning they won’t have to travel to pay in a warrant at the bank over the winter.”
Over 1.5 million people now receive their prizes by BACS, including 8,650 people in Edinburgh and more than 23,000 in Cambridgeshire.
Another benefit of registering for prizes by BACS is that it reduces the chance of future prizes going unclaimed. In Cambridgeshire, over £422,000 remains unclaimed, including 27 prizes of £500 or above – five of £1,000 – while the oldest unclaimed prize is worth £25, won by a woman in the county in the October 1966 draw.
In Edinburgh, a staggering £516,300 has yet to be claimed from over 10,000 prizes, with one £25 prize dating back to July 1963, and 37 others worth £500 or more, six of £1,000.
In total, there are now over 1.4 million unclaimed prizes, worth in excess of £57 million.
Unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes
November 2017 prize draw breakdown
In the November 2017 draw, a total of 2,375,944 prizes – the highest number of prizes in any monthly draw – worth £68,308,325 will be paid out. There were 71,278,242,207 eligible Bonds for the draw.
Since the first draw in June 1957, ERNIE – the Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment that generates the winning numbers each month – has created 383 million winning numbers, paying out more than £17.8 billion.
| Value of prizes | Number of prizes |
|---|---|
| £1,000,000 | 2 |
| £100,000 | 3 |
| £50,000 | 5 |
| £25,000 | 12 |
| £10,000 | 28 |
| £5,000 | 57 |
| £1,000 | 1,366 |
| £500 | 4,098 |
| £100 | 22,190 |
| £50 | 22,190 |
| £25 | 2,325,993 |
| Total prize fund value £68,308,325 |
Total number of prizes 2,375,944 |
Notes to Editors
- NS&I has a wealth of facts and figures (including regional) about Premium Bonds. If you require any further details, please contact the NS&I media team or tweet your question to @nsandi
- You can read more about Premium Bond prize winners at nsandi.com/winning-stories
- All Premium Bond prizes are free of UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax.
- NS&I is one of the largest savings organisations in the UK, offering a range of savings and investments to 25 million customers. All products offer 100% capital security, because NS&I is backed by HM Treasury.
- The annual Premium Bonds prize fund rate is currently 1.15% and the odds of each individual Bond number winning any prize are 30,000 to 1.
- Pictures of Premium Bonds, including the Premium Bonds app and ERNIE are available in high-resolution jpeg format from the NS&I media team.
- Customers can buy Premium Bonds online at nsandi.com and over the phone by calling 08085 007 007. This is a new freephone number and calls to it from the UK are free from both landlines and mobiles. Telephone calls may be recorded.
- When reporting total unclaimed assets held by NS&I (including accounts, Certificates, Bonds, unclaimed Premium Bond prizes and other products), NS&I defines unclaimed holdings as those with no customer contact for a period of 15 years or more.
- Further information on NS&I (National Savings and Investments), including press releases and product information, is available on the website at nsandi.com. Follow us on Twitter: @nsandi or join the conversation on Facebook: Premium Bonds made by ERNIE