Treats not tricks for October’s Premium Bond jackpot winners in Dorset and Essex
Agent Million has treated October’s Premium Bonds jackpot prize winners in Dorset and Essex by surprising them with the £1 million windfall. ERNIE has made two Premium Bonds millionaires this month that are part of two very different investments.
The first £1 million jackpot winner is a women from Dorset with the winning Bond number 312TX505194. She purchased her winning Bond only two years ago, in October 2017, and holds the £50,000 maximum in Premium Bonds. Agent Million has visited Dorset ten times now, with the last visit to the county being exactly a year ago.
This month’s second millionaire is a man from Essex who purchased his winning Bond over 20 years ago, in August 1999. He becomes the 16th Premium Bonds millionaire from the county. The winning Bond number 086KL514893, is part of a £4,000 holding.
With winning Bonds that vary from the date of purchase to the value of investment, October’s winners are the perfect showcase of ERNIE’s randomness, bringing some exciting news to recipients of the 3.3 million tax-free prizes and the two newest jackpot winners.
Jill Waters, NS&I Retail Director, said:
“It’s fantastic to see the randomness of Premium Bonds being shown with October’s winners, with one new Premium Bonds millionaire holding the maximum investment and only buying the Bond exactly two years ago, while the other purchased their winning Bond over 20 years ago and holds only £4,000 in total. It shows that no matter your savings goal, Premium Bonds are an exciting yet safe way to save, with a chance to win a potentially life-changing sum of money.
“October’s draw has seen over 3.3 million tax-free prizes paid out to some of Premium Bonds’ 21 million customers. While the jackpot winners will be informed by Agent Million, the recipients of the other prizes ranging from £100,000 to £25 can find out through various means from Tuesday onwards through the prize checker on nsandi.com, the prize checker app or via Alexa.”
Help ERNIE help you! How to check if you have unclaimed prizes
If you have not been a recipient of one of the £1 million jackpots or any of the 3 million plus prizes this month, you may have won a prize previously that you didn’t know about. There are 1.6 million unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes worth £63 million, ranging from £25 to £100,000.
It is important to keep your personal details up to date as unclaimed prizes are commonly a result of NS&I not being informed of changes to personal circumstances, such as changes to contact details or addresses. Customers can also reduce the likelihood of prizes becoming unclaimed by choosing to have any future prizes paid directly into their bank account. In order to do this they need to register to manage their Premium Bonds and NS&I accounts online at nsandi.com/register.
In Dorset there are 19,790 unclaimed prizes worth more than £715,000. There are 18 prizes worth £1,000 waiting to be claimed by customers with total holdings ranging from £1 up to £20,000. The oldest unclaimed prize from Dorset was won in February 1964 and is worth £25 from a £14 investment. The Bond number is 3EW201978.
There are 44,873 unclaimed prizes in Essex worth more than £1.6 million. The highest unclaimed prize is worth £25,000 and was won in May 2014. The customer has £2,325 invested in Premium Bonds and the winning Bond number is 135MM985708. There are also three prizes worth £10,000, three prizes worth £5,000 and 29 prizes worth £1,000 that remain unclaimed in the county. The oldest unclaimed prize dates back to February 1964 and is worth £25 from an investment of only £1. The Bond number is 3AT735772.
Customers now have more ways than ever before to check if they have won a prize in this month’s draw. The official NS&I Premium Bonds prize checker Alexa skill lets customers check for good news using voice-enabled technology, while customers can also use the prize checker on nsandi.com or the official Premium Bonds prize checker app.
October 2019 prize draw breakdown
In the October 2019 draw, a total of 3,392,720 prizes worth £96,975,175 will be paid out. There were 83,121,568,735 eligible Bonds for the draw.
Since the first draw in June 1957, ERNIE has drawn 456 million winning prizes, to the value of £19.9 billion.
|
Value of prize |
Number of prizes |
|
£1,000,000 |
2 |
|
£100,000 |
6 |
|
£50,000 |
11 |
|
£25,000 |
22 |
|
£10,000 |
58 |
|
£5,000 |
114 |
|
£1,000 |
1,939 |
|
£500 |
5,817 |
|
£100 |
26,589 |
|
£50 |
26,589 |
|
£25 |
3,331,573 |
|
Total £96,975,175 |
Total 3,392,720 |
Notes to Editors
- This press release was updated on 2 October 2019 to correct information. Jill Waters is the Retail Director, not Chief Executive and Essex had not had a Premium Bonds millionaire this year until October and has had 16 millionaires in total.
- NS&I has spokespeople available for interview, including Agent Million, as well as a wealth of facts and figures (including regional) about Premium Bonds. If you require any further details, please contact the NS&I media team on the contact details below or tweet your question to @nsandi
- All Premium Bonds 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 1.40% and the odds of each individual Bond number winning any prize are currently 24,500 to 1.
- Pictures of ERNIE 5, the previous ERNIEs and Premium Bonds, including the Premium Bonds app 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 free phone number and calls to it from the UK are free from both landlines and mobiles. Calls may be recorded. Customers can also buy by post. Existing customers can also buy by bank transfer and standing order. Each investment must be at least £25.
- Further information on NS&I, 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.